Click here to download this explanation as a PDF.
Click here for practice on how to USE the past continuous.
Here's the positive form:
- I was sleeping
- you were working
- he was coming
- she was reading 'War and Peace'
- it was raining
- we were shopping
- they were watching a film
Next, here's the negative - it's very easy, just add 'not':
- I was not (wasn't) sleeping
- you were not (weren't) working
- he was not (wasn't) coming
- she was not (wasn't) reading 'War and Peace'
- it was not (wasn't) raining
- we were not (weren't) shopping
- they were not (weren't) watching a film
Here's an exercise about the positive and negative verb forms.
And, just like the past simple with 'be', to make a 'yes / no' question, put 'was / were' in front of the subject:
- Was I listening?
- Were you working?
- Was she working?
- Was he living in Paris at the time?
- Was it snowing when you arrived?
- Were we eating?
- Were they studying?
To make a 'wh' question (of course) put the question word at the beginning:
- Why was I working?
- Where were you living?
- How was she travelling?
- Where was he going?
- Why was it snowing in the summer?
- What were we eating?
- Why were they studying?
Mixed exercise 1 (includes all positive, negative and question forms).
Mixed exercise 2 (includes all positive, negative and question forms).