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Ch 6

Past Continuous

was/were + -ing · while/when · stative

What is the past continuous?

The past continuous describes an action that was in progress at a specific moment in the past, or that was the background to another event.

Action in progress
At 8pm, I was watching TV.
Background scene
It was raining when she arrived.
Interrupted action
I was cooking when the phone rang.

Form: was/were + verb-ing

subject + was/were + verb-ing ✓
I / he / she / it
I was working. She was sleeping.
you / we / they
You were studying. They were laughing.
Negative
I wasn't watching TV. They weren't listening.
Question
Was she working? Were they coming?

While / When — the key words

while + past continuous
While I was sleeping, she called.
background action
It rained while we were walking.
when + past simple
I was reading when she called.
moment of interruption
They were playing when it started to rain.

Past continuous vs past simple

Past continuous (in progress)
I was watching TV all evening.
Past simple (finished)
I watched the film.
Both together — typical pattern
I was walking home when I saw the accident.
Continuous = background / longer / in progress
Simple = event / shorter / completed

Stative verbs — no continuous

Mental states
know, believe, understand, think (= opinion), remember
Feelings
love, hate, like, want, need, prefer
Perception
see, hear, smell, taste, feel
Possession
have (= own), belong to, own
Stative verbs use the simple form, not continuous: ✗ "I was knowing" → ✓ "I knew".

Common mistakes

I was knowing the answer.
→
I knew the answer.
stative verb → past simple
When I cooked, the phone was ringing.
→
When I was cooking, the phone rang.
background = continuous · interruption = simple
She was play tennis yesterday.
→
She was playing tennis yesterday.
was/were + verb-ing (not base verb)
They was watching TV.
→
They were watching TV.
they → were (not was)

Recap

Form
was/were + verb-ing
I was working
Use
in-progress past action · background · interrupted
at 8pm I was watching TV
while + cont · when + simple
background vs interruption
while sleeping · when she called
Stative
no continuous: know, love, see
I knew (NOT was knowing)
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