past continuous

The past continuous says that an action was in progress at a time in the past. It started before that time and went on after it.

Interrupted actions: when

Use the past continuous for the longer action, and the past simple for the short one that happens in the middle of it. When goes before the short action.

Two actions at the same time: while

While goes before a longer action. With two longer actions, both are in the past continuous.

The background of a story

In a story, the past continuous describes the scene, and the past simple says what happened.

Negatives and questions

Common mistakes

• × When I was arriving, they were eating. → When I arrived, they were eating.
• × They was playing. → They were playing.
• × I was cook when he called. → I was cooking when he called.
• × I was knowing the answer. → I knew the answer.

Verbs for states, like know, want and like, stay in the past simple.