Past continuous formula

Use was with I, he, she and it, and were with you, we and they. The main verb takes -ing.

Form	I, he, she, it	You, we, they
Positive	She was studying.	They were studying.
Negative	She was not (wasn't) studying.	They were not (weren't) studying.
Question	Was she studying?	Were they studying?

When to use it

An action in progress at a past time: "At 6 o'clock yesterday, I was driving home."

A longer action interrupted by a shorter one: "She was crossing the road when she saw her teacher." The interruption takes the past simple.

Two actions in progress at the same time, often with while: "While I was cooking, my brother was doing his homework."

Background in a story: "The sun was shining and people were walking by the river. Suddenly, a dog ran past."

Stative verbs such as know, want, believe and own stay in the past simple: "I knew the answer", not "I was knowing the answer".

Past continuous or past simple?

Use when before the short action and while before the long action. The order of the clauses can change, but the tenses stay the same.

Sentence	Meaning
When she arrived, we were having dinner.	Dinner was already in progress; she arrived during it.
When she arrived, we had dinner.	She arrived first; then we had dinner.
I was reading while he was cooking.	Both actions were in progress at the same time.
I read a book yesterday.	One complete, finished action.

Common mistakes

Wrong: While I walked home, I was seeing an accident.
Right: While I was walking home, I saw an accident.
The longer background action takes the past continuous; the short event takes the past simple.
Wrong: They was playing in the park.
Right: They were playing in the park.
They takes were, not was.
Wrong: I was wanting to call you yesterday.
Right: I wanted to call you yesterday.
Want is a stative verb, so it takes the past simple.
Wrong: When the teacher was entering, we stood up.
Right: When the teacher entered, we stood up.
Entering is a short, complete action, so it takes the past simple.

Using this in IELTS and PTE

In IELTS Speaking Part 2, the past continuous lets you set the scene before the main event ("I was travelling back from college when..."), which makes a story easier to follow and shows range. Combining it correctly with the past simple matters more than using it often. It is less common in Writing Task 1, where most past data uses the past simple.

5 questions

Exercise

Try each one, then open it to check your answer.

1. Complete this: "At 10 p.m. last night, we ___ (watch) a film."
were watching
The action was in progress at a past moment, and we takes were.
2. Complete this: "I ___ (have) a shower when the doorbell ___ (ring)."
was having, rang
The longer action takes the past continuous; the interruption takes the past simple.
3. Make this negative: "She was listening to the teacher."
She wasn't listening to the teacher.
Not goes after was.
4. Choose: "(When / While) I was studying, my phone kept buzzing."
While
While introduces the longer action in progress.
5. Correct this: "He was believing every word she said."
He believed every word she said.
Believe is a stative verb.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between the past simple and past continuous?+

The past simple is for a finished action ("I phoned my mother"). The past continuous is for an action in progress at a past moment ("I was phoning my mother when you arrived").

What is the formula of the past continuous tense?+

Subject + was or were + verb-ing. Was goes with I, he, she and it; were goes with you, we and they.

When do I use when and while?+

While usually introduces the longer action in the past continuous. When usually introduces the shorter action in the past simple, although when can also be used with the longer action.

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