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Past continuous (I was working)

Past continuous: form​

We use was/were + the -ing form of the verb.

+I, she, he, ityou, we, theywaswereworking.
–I, she, he, ityou, we, they(full form)was notwere notworking.
I, she, he, ityou, we, they(short form)wasn’tweren’t
? +WasWereI, she, he, ityou, we, theyworking?
? –(full form)WasWereI, she, he, ityou, we, theynotworking?
(short form)Wasn’tWeren’tI, she, he, ityou, we, they

There are a number of spelling rules for when we make the -ing form of the verb.

See also
  • Spelling

Past continuous: uses​

Events happening at a particular time in the past​

We generally use the past continuous to talk about actions and states in progress (happening) around a particular time in the past. It can emphasise that the action or state continued for a period of time in the past:

  • A: Where was Donna last night?
  • B: I’m not sure. I think she was visiting her family. (action)
  • I remember that night. You were wearing that red dress. (state)
See also
  • Past continuous or past simple?

Background events​

When one event is more important than another in the past, we can use the past continuous for the background event (the less important event) and the past simple for the main event:

  • [background event] Lisa was cycling to school when [main event] she saw the accident.
  • [background event] What were you thinking about when [main event] you won the race?
See also
  • Past continuous or past simple?

Reasons and contexts for events​

We often use the past continuous to give a reason or context for an event:

  • A: I can’t believe you met Fran and Dave in Portugal.
  • B: It was funny. They were staying in the hotel next to ours. (giving a reason/context for meeting them)
  • I didn’t make the meeting last week; I was travelling to Rome.

Ongoing and repeated events​

We can use the past continuous to talk about repeated background events in the past. It can suggest that the situation was temporary or subject to change:

  • She was feeding her neighbours’ cat every morning while they were on holiday. Then one morning, it was gone.
  • The neighbours were making so much noise, night after night. We had to complain eventually.
warning

We only use the past continuous for repeated background events. If they are repeated main events, we use the past simple:

  • I phoned you four times last night. Where were you?
  • Not: I was phoning you four times last night.

We don’t use the past continuous in the same way as used to when we talk about things in the past which are no longer true:

  • We used to go on holiday to Yorkshire every year when I was little.
  • Not: We were going on holiday …
See also
  • Used to

Adverbs such as always, constantly, forever are used with the past continuous when we talk about repeated, unplanned or undesired events:

  • We were always spending so much time in traffic. That’s the main reason why we decided to move to the country and work from home.
  • My boss was constantly phoning me in my last job. I hated it.
  • She was forever losing her keys.

The past continuous and definite time​

We sometimes use the past continuous to refer to a definite period of past time. This usually emphasises the event continuing over a period of time:

  • We were cooking all morning because we had 15 people coming for lunch.
  • Lots of us were working at the office on Saturday because we had to finish the project by Monday.