Past Progressive Tense
Past Progressive Tense
Past progressive tense is used to indicate that an action was in progress when another action occurred in the past.
Past progressive (was/were + Ving) refers to the action in progress, and simple past tense refers to the “interrupting” action.
- While I was eating dinner, the telephone rang.
- The telephone rang while I was eating dinner.
- When the telephone rang, I was eating dinner.
- I was eating dinner when the telephone rang.
Past continuous can also be used to indicate only one action which occurred in the past:
- What was John doing yesterday?
- He was working at the factory.
- What were they doing yesterday afternoon?
- They were playing soccer.
- What were you doing last night?
- I was studying English.
See also:
Past Continuous (from Englishpage.com)
If you have questions or comments about this page, please contact us.
- Reading
- Writing
- Pronunciation
- Test your English
- Search our sites