Using Past Continuous Tense

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• Using Past Continuous Tense

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What is Past Continuous Tense?

• The past continuous tense is commonly used in
  English for actions which were going on (had not
  finished) at a particular time in the past.
• We form this tense by using

was/ were verb ing
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When to use past continuous tense

• There are three situations to use past continuous
  tense.
• We usually use the connectives When and While
  to link the two clauses.
• Situation 1
• Situation 2
• Situation 3

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The past continuous is usually used when one
action began before another, and finished after
it. e.g. While I was reading, he arrived.
900pm
He arrived
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Sam
meet his friend
wait for the MTR
While Sam was waiting for the MTR, he met his
friend.
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I
travel on the new Disneyland Resort Line train
excited
While I was travelling on the new Disneyland
Resort Line Train, I was excited.
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Susan and her friend
Talk on the road.
get lost
While Susan and her friend were talking on the
road, they got lost.
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we
out of order
stand on the escalator
While we were standing on the escalator, it was
out of order.
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We can also use the tense when we talk about an
action that had already started and was still
continuing at a particular time e.g. At five
oclock, it was raining.
500pm (specific time)
still raining
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last train arrived
200 am
At 200 am, the last train was arriving.
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John
Susan
8 oclock yesterday
wait for me at the MTR station
me
At 8 o clock yesterday, John and Susan were
waiting for me at the MTR station.
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Finally, we can use this tense to describe TWO
actions that were BOTH continuing at the same
time in the past. In this case, we use the past
continuous for both actions. e.g. While I was
sleeping, she was working.
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read newspaper
talk on the phone
mother
father
While my mother was talking on the phone, my
father was reading newspaper on the train.
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buy breakfast
buy tickets
My sister
I
I was buying the tickets while my sister was
buying her breakfast before we got onto the
train.