What is the past continuous tense?

The past continuous is was or were plus the -ing form of a verb: I was working, they were talking. It describes an action that was in progress at a particular moment in the past, without saying whether it was finished: At six o'clock I was still working. It is also used for background scenes, parallel actions, repeated behaviour with always, and polite requests like I was wondering.

When do I use the past continuous instead of the past simple?

Use the past continuous for an action that was already under way at the moment you are talking about, and the past simple for a complete event: I was cooking when she arrived. The cooking was in progress; the arriving was a single finished event. For a sequence of completed actions, use the past simple throughout: I cooked, we ate, and she left.

Can I use while with the past simple?

Yes, but while usually introduces a longer action, so the past continuous is more natural after it: While I was waiting, I read the paper. While plus the past simple is fine when the action is seen as a whole period: While I lived in Rome, I learned Italian. When, by contrast, most often introduces the short past simple event: I was waiting when the bus came.

Why can't I say I was knowing or I was wanting?

Know and want are stative verbs: they describe a condition, not an activity, and English does not put states into continuous forms even when they were true at a specific moment. Say I knew, I wanted, I believed, I needed. A few verbs switch category with their meaning: I was thinking about you (activity) but I thought you were away (opinion).

What does I was wondering mean?

It is a polite way of asking something now. The past continuous adds distance, which makes the request feel less direct: I was wondering if you could help me move on Saturday. The same softening works with hope and think (I was hoping to leave early, I was thinking we could eat out), and although the verb is past, the wondering is happening as you speak.

English grammar · Intermediate

Past Continuous: Form, Every Use, and the Verbs That Avoid It

Written by Eleanor Whitfield, Lead English Curriculum Editor · Reviewed September 2026

The past continuous is formed with was or were plus the -ing form of the verb (I was reading, they were talking). It describes an action that was in progress at a particular moment in the past, or that set the scene for another event. It also covers two actions going on at the same time, repeated past behaviour with always, and polite, tentative requests such as I was wondering.

At eight o'clock last night I was cooking dinner.

an action in progress at a specific past time

What it is

The past continuous freezes a moment in the past and shows an action already under way at that moment. Was or were carries the past tense, and the -ing form carries the sense of being in the middle of something: the action had started, had not finished, and its edges are out of view. That is why it is the tense of scene-setting (The sun was shining, people were queuing), of interruptions (I was having a shower when the phone rang), and of parallel activities (While I was cooking, he was setting the table). It also softens requests and suggestions: I was wondering if you could help.

At nine o'clock I was driving to work. (In progress at nine: I had started before nine and continued after.) At nine o'clock I drove to work. (A complete event, told as a fact.)

How to spot it

Look for was or were followed by an -ing form. Then check for a past time point (at six, at that moment, in 2019) or a past simple clause with when: those anchor the moment the action was in progress. While often introduces the past continuous clause itself.

What were you doing at ten last night? (asking about an action in progress at a past time)
She was reading when the lights went out. (background action, interrupted by a past simple event)
They were laughing and joking all evening. (activity filling a period)
I was hoping to see you. (tentative, softer than I hoped)

Was and were also form the past simple of be (I was tired) and the passive (the house was built). Only was or were plus an -ing form is the past continuous.

Past Continuous Quick Reference

The uses of the past continuous

Use	Example	Typical words
In progress at a past moment	At midnight we were still working.	at + time, at that moment, then
Background to an event	I was walking home when it started to rain.	when + past simple
Two actions at the same time	She was cooking while he was laying the table.	while, as
Setting the scene in a story	It was raining and the streets were emptying.	story openings, descriptions
Temporary past situation	I was living with my aunt that year.	that year, at the time, for a while
Changing or developing situation	Prices were rising every month.	more and more, gradually
Repeated, often annoying, behaviour	He was always losing his keys.	always, forever, constantly
Polite or tentative request	I was wondering if you could help.	wonder, hope, think

Common Past Continuous Examples in English

Grouped by what the past continuous is doing in the sentence:

In Progress at a Past Moment

This time last year I was living in Berlin.: a temporary situation around a past point
At half past seven we were having breakfast.: the meal was under way at 7:30
What were you thinking about? You looked miles away.: mental activity in progress
The kids were still sleeping when I left.: still + past continuous stresses that it had not finished

The time point can be a clock time, a date, a phrase like at that moment, or simply then.

Background and Interruption

I was locking up when the phone rang.: long action in progress, short event cuts in
She was talking on the phone, so I waited outside.: the background explains the past simple action
It was snowing heavily and the roads were closing one by one.: two scene-setting details at once
While we were waiting, the announcement came.: while + past continuous, then the past simple event

The when-clause takes the past simple for the short event; the while-clause takes the past continuous for the longer one. Either clause can come first.

Two Actions at the Same Time

While I was washing up, he was drying the dishes.: parallel activities, both in progress
The band was playing and everyone was dancing.: two ongoing actions in the same scene
As she was speaking, the audience was taking notes.: as, like while, links two continuous actions

Parallel actions can take while or as, and the second verb usually keeps the past continuous too.

Habits with Always and Tentative Uses

My brother was always borrowing my clothes.: repeated behaviour, with a hint of irritation
She was forever changing her mind.: forever works like always here
I was wondering whether you'd like to join us.: polite, tentative invitation
We were hoping you could stay a bit longer.: softer than we hoped

The tentative use is about the present, despite the past form: I was wondering means I am wondering, said gently.

How the Past Continuous Works

One auxiliary that agrees, one ending that never changes, and a clear idea of what in progress means.

Was or Were Plus the -ing Form

Was goes with I, he, she, and it; were goes with you, we, and they. The main verb takes -ing and never changes, so all the work of tense and agreement falls on the auxiliary. Negatives put not after was or were (wasn't, weren't); questions move was or were in front of the subject.

I was working. They weren't working. Were you working?

was and were change; working does not

was/were + verb-ing.

-ing Spelling Follows Three Rules

Drop a silent final -e before -ing (make, making; write, writing; but see, seeing). Double the final consonant of a short verb ending in one vowel plus one consonant when the stress is on that syllable (sit, sitting; run, running; begin, beginning; but open, opening). Change -ie to -y (lie, lying; die, dying).

We were making dinner, the kids were running around, and the dog was lying by the door.

making, running, lying: all three spelling rules

Drop -e, double the consonant, -ie to -y.

In Progress Means Unfinished at That Moment

The past continuous never tells you whether the action was completed. I was reading that book last week says only that the reading was under way; whether I finished is left open. If you want to say the action was done, use the past simple: I read that book last week. This is why the past continuous is so useful for background: it hangs there while other things happen.

She was writing a novel when I met her.

the novel may or may not have been finished

Continuous = middle of the action, no end in view.

When and While Anchor the Moment

When usually introduces the short past simple event that interrupts or coincides with the ongoing action (I was cooking when he arrived). While introduces the longer past continuous action (While I was cooking, he arrived) or pairs two continuous actions. When plus the past continuous is also possible and simply means during the time that.

The phone rang while I was in the shower. I was in the shower when the phone rang.

same event, either clause can lead

When + short event, while + long action.

Stative Verbs Resist the Continuous

Verbs that describe states rather than activities (know, believe, understand, want, like, love, hate, need, own, belong, seem, mean) are not used in the past continuous even when the state was true at the moment in question: I knew the answer, not I was knowing. Some verbs have both a stative and an active meaning: I was thinking about you (activity) but I thought it was Tuesday (opinion); she was having lunch (activity) but she had a car (possession).

I wanted to leave, but I was enjoying the conversation.

want stays simple; enjoy is an activity and goes continuous

States take the past simple, even mid-action.

Common Mistakes with Past Continuous

Incorrect: I was knowing the answer, but I didn't say anything.

Correct: I knew the answer, but I didn't say anything.

Know describes a state, and states are not put in the continuous even when they were true at that past moment. The same applies to want, need, like, believe, understand, and belong.

Incorrect: While I was walking home, I was seeing an old friend.

Correct: While I was walking home, I saw an old friend.

Seeing the friend is a short, complete event that happened during the walk, so it takes the past simple. The past continuous is for the longer background action, not for the event that occurs against it.

Incorrect: They was watching TV when I came in.

Correct: They were watching TV when I came in.

Were goes with you, we, they, and all plural subjects; was is only for I, he, she, and it. The auxiliary is the one part of the past continuous that changes, so it is the part to check.

Incorrect: Yesterday I was going to the gym, then I was having lunch, then I was working.

Correct: Yesterday I went to the gym, then I had lunch, then I worked.

A list of completed events in sequence is the job of the past simple. The past continuous would leave every action unfinished and hanging, which is not what a list of things you did is meant to say.

Past Continuous Forms

The full forms with the verb work. Was and were carry the tense; working never changes. In speech the negatives contract to wasn't and weren't.

Affirmative, negative, question

Was for singular subjects and I, were for plural subjects and for you.

Pronoun	Affirmative	Negative	Question
I	was working	was not working	Was I working?
you	were working	were not working	Were you working?
he / she / it	was working	was not working	Was she working?
we	were working	were not working	Were we working?
they	were working	were not working	Were they working?

Wh-questions put the question word first: What were you doing? Where was she going? A subject question keeps statement order: Who was making that noise?

Polite, Tentative, and Narrative Uses

The past continuous can soften what you say about the present, describe past arrangements, and paint the scene a story starts in.

I was wondering, I was hoping, I was thinking

With wonder, hope, and think, the past continuous makes a request, invitation, or suggestion less direct. The meaning is present; the past form adds distance and politeness.

I was wondering if I could leave early today.: a softened request
We were hoping to have a word with you.: gentler than we want to
I was thinking we could try the new Thai place.: a tentative suggestion

Was wondering is followed by if or whether plus a statement, not a question: I was wondering if you were free, not if are you free.

Arrangements seen from the past

Just as the present continuous describes arrangements (I'm meeting her tomorrow), the past continuous describes arrangements that existed at a past moment, often ones that then changed.

I was meeting Sam at six, but he cancelled.: the plan existed in the past
They were leaving the next morning, so we said goodbye that night.: an arrangement viewed from the past
She said she was flying home on Friday.: reported speech: I'm flying becomes she was flying

Was going to does a similar job for intentions: I was going to call you.

Setting the scene in narrative

Stories often open with a run of past continuous verbs for the situation, then switch to the past simple when the events begin.

The rain was falling steadily and the last customers were leaving. Then the door opened.: two continuous verbs for the scene, past simple for the event
Everyone was talking at once, so nobody heard the doorbell.: background noise, then the consequence
It was getting dark, and we were still driving through the hills.: a developing situation and an ongoing action

The past simple carries the plot; the past continuous paints the picture around it.

Quick Check: Past Continuous

Put the verb in brackets into the past continuous or the past simple.

1. At midnight I ___ (still / read) in bed.

Answer: was still reading

in progress at a past time

2. She ___ (read) in the garden when it ___ (start) to rain.

Answer: was reading, started

background action, then the short event

3. While the children ___ (play), their parents ___ (talk) in the kitchen.

Answer: were playing, were talking

two parallel actions

4. I ___ (not / understand) what he ___ (say).

Answer: didn't understand, was saying

understand is stative; say is the activity in progress

5. He ___ (always / interrupt) me in meetings, which drove me mad.

Answer: was always interrupting

repeated annoying behaviour with always

6. I ___ (wonder) if you could give me a hand with this.

Answer: was wondering

polite, tentative request about the present

Past Continuous FAQs

What is the past continuous tense?: The past continuous is was or were plus the -ing form of a verb: I was working, they were talking. It describes an action that was in progress at a particular moment in the past, without saying whether it was finished: At six o'clock I was still working. It is also used for background scenes, parallel actions, repeated behaviour with always, and polite requests like I was wondering.
When do I use the past continuous instead of the past simple?: Use the past continuous for an action that was already under way at the moment you are talking about, and the past simple for a complete event: I was cooking when she arrived. The cooking was in progress; the arriving was a single finished event. For a sequence of completed actions, use the past simple throughout: I cooked, we ate, and she left.
Can I use while with the past simple?: Yes, but while usually introduces a longer action, so the past continuous is more natural after it: While I was waiting, I read the paper. While plus the past simple is fine when the action is seen as a whole period: While I lived in Rome, I learned Italian. When, by contrast, most often introduces the short past simple event: I was waiting when the bus came.
Why can't I say I was knowing or I was wanting?: Know and want are stative verbs: they describe a condition, not an activity, and English does not put states into continuous forms even when they were true at a specific moment. Say I knew, I wanted, I believed, I needed. A few verbs switch category with their meaning: I was thinking about you (activity) but I thought you were away (opinion).
What does I was wondering mean?: It is a polite way of asking something now. The past continuous adds distance, which makes the request feel less direct: I was wondering if you could help me move on Saturday. The same softening works with hope and think (I was hoping to leave early, I was thinking we could eat out), and although the verb is past, the wondering is happening as you speak.