The Past Continuous Tense

The past continuous tense is a verb tense that is used to talk about actions that were in progress at a specific time in the past. It is also known as the past progressive tense.

Here are some examples of how to use the past continuous tense:

• To talk about actions that were happening at a specific time in the past: I was reading a book when you called.
• To talk about actions that were happening over a period of time in the past: We were playing tennis when it started to rain.
• To talk about actions that were interrupted by another action: I was sleeping when the alarm went off.

Here are some rules for using the past continuous tense:

• The past continuous tense is formed with the verb “to be” in the past tense + the -ing form of the verb. For example, “I was reading” is the past continuous tense of the verb “to read.”
• **The past continuous tense is used with time expressions that indicate the past, such as “at 2 o’clock yesterday,” “while I was talking,” and “while they were eating.”