Past continuous biography of christopher

The past continuous, or past progressive, is used to talk about actions that were in progress at a specific time in the past. It is created using the past of be (was/were) and the verb + ing (known as the present participle).

You can download this guide as a PDF, along with a number of past continuous activities, using the links at the bottom of the page.

Past continuous structure

Uses of the past continuous

There are many ways we can use the past continuous, including:

1. To show an action was in progress at a particular time in the past
2. To show an action in the past was interrupted by another action
3. To show two actions in the past were in progress at the same time
4. To emphasise the duration of a past action
5. To show actions repeated in the past over a short time
6. To emphasise that past habits were surprising or annoying
7. To set the background scene of another event in the past

An action that was in progress around a specific time in the past

We can use the past