Past Continuous Tense Rules With Examples
Hello friends! You can get a good idea about each Tense. In this sequence, we are going to study about Past Continuous Tense today. In the previous notes we learned and understood about Past Indefinite Tense. This is another type of past tense. Which we are going to discuss in detail : Past Continuous Tense Rules With Examples
What is Past Continuous Tense
Past Continuous Tense : When an action was continuously running in the past and can still continue. But nothing is known about the time when this action starts or ends, then this form of the verb is called Past Continuous Tense. To understand it well, let us look at some examples :
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| He was eating Food. | We were trying to write a Novel. |
| She was washing Clothes. | They were going to Jaipur. |
| Ram was learning a Lesson. | I was buying a Book. |
After reading these examples carefully you found that
- In all these sentences, Ist Form of the Verb + ing is being used.
- And it appears to have used “was / were” as a helping verb.
— From both these points you must have noticed that Helping verb – “was / were” and “Ist Form of the Verb + ing” are used in Past Continuous Tense. But how to use them in a sentence? For this, we have to understand the rules and structures of Past Continuous Tense. So let’s know :
Important Rules of Past Continuous Tense :
Friends! Let me tell you that Past Continuous Tense is exactly like Present Continuous Tense. The structure of both these tenses is also similar. There is only the difference of helping verb. Which we can understand as follows :
- As we now know that Helping Verb – Was with Singular Subject and Helping Verb – Were with Plural Subject are used in this Tense.
- Here is one thing you have to keep in mind that “I” is a plural subject but in this tense only Helping Verb – Was is used with “I”.
- In this tense, “Ist Form of the Verb + Ing” is always used after Helping Verb.
You can understand and remember these rules from the table given below.
| Helping Verb : | Was, Were |
| Main Verb : | Ist Form of Verb + ing |
| Subjects | Helping Verb | |
|---|---|---|
| Singular | He, She, It and Single Names | was |
| Plural | We, You, They and Plural Names. | were |
| Plural | I | was |
By keeping these rules in mind, you will be able to understand Past Continuous Tense easily. So let us now know about the four types of sentences of Past Continuous Tense and understand the structures used to make them :
Types of Sentence Structure of Past Continuous Tense :
Friends! We all know that four types of sentences are made in each tense. What are these four types of sentences and what are the structures to make them? We understand this one by one :
- Affirmative or Simple Sentence
- Negative sentence
- Interrogative Sentence
- Interrogative Negative Sentence
Affirmative Sentences | Simple Sentence :
Keep the following structure in mind to make a simple sentence of Past Continuous Tense :
| For Singular : | Subject + was + Ist Form+ ing + Object + Others. |
| For Plural : | Subject + were + Ist Form+ ing + Object + Others. |
| For Plural (I) : | I + was + Ist Form+ ing + Object + Others. |
For Example :
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| He was eating Food. | I was buying a Book. |
| She was washing Clothes. | We were trying to write a Novel. |
| It was drying. | You were drinking water. |
| Ram was playing Cricket. | They were going to Jaipur. |
| Sita was singing a song. | Radha and Shyam were speaking Hindi. |
Negative Sentence :
- Always keep in mind that the “not” is essentially used immediately after the helping verb in a negative sentence.
Keep the following structure in mind to make a Negative sentence of Past Continuous Tense :
| For Singular : | Subject + was + not + Ist Form+ ing + Object + Others. |
| For Plural : | Subject + were + not + Ist Form+ ing + Object + Others. |
| For Plural (I) : | I + was + not + Ist Form+ ing + Object + Others. |
For Example:
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| He was not eating Food. | I was not buying a Book. |
| She was not washing Clothes. | We were not trying to write a Novel. |
| It was not drying. | You were not drinking water. |
| Ram was not playing Cricket. | They were not going to Jaipur. |
| Sita was not singing a song. | Radha and Shyam were not speaking Hindi. |
Interrogative Sentence :
Friends! The interrogative sentence always starts with the helping verb and after that the remaining structure will remain the same. Be sure to put a question mark at the end of the sentence.
Keep the following structure in mind to make a Interrogative sentence of Past Continuous Tense :
| For Singular : | Was + Subject + Ist Form+ ing + Object + Others ? |
| For Plural : | Were + Subject + Ist Form+ ing + Object + Others ? |
| For Plural (I) : | Was + I + Ist Form+ ing + Object + Others ? |
For Example:
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| Was He eating Food ? | Was I buying a Book ? |
| Was She washing Clothes ? | Were We trying to write a Novel ? |
| Was It drying ? | Were You drinking water ? |
| Was Ram playing Cricket ? | Were They going to Jaipur ? |
| Was Sita singing a song ? | Were Radha and Shyam speaking Hindi ? |
Interrogative Negative Sentence :
Friends! This sentence is interrogative, so start with the helping verb and also negative, so add “not” immediately after the subject. Finally put question mark.
Keep the following structure in mind to make a Interrogative Negative sentence of Past Continuous Tense :
| For Singular : | Was + Subject + not + Ist Form+ ing + Object + Others ? |
| For Plural : | Were + Subject + not + Ist Form+ ing + Object + Others ? |
| For Plural (I) : | Was + I + not + Ist Form+ ing + Object + Others ? |
For Example:
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| Was He not eating Food ? | Was I not buying a Book ? |
| Was She not washing Clothes ? | Were We not trying to write a Novel ? |
| Was It not drying ? | Were You not drinking water ? |
| Was Ram not playing Cricket ? | Were They not going to Jaipur ? |
| Was Sita not singing a song ? | Were Radha and Shyam not speaking Hindi ? |
Golden Structure For Past Continuous Tense :
Friends! To remember Past Continuous Tense, you can learn the following Golden Structure. Which can be used by modifying according to sentence with the above rules. Read it below :
| Subject + | H.V. (was/were) | M.V. (Ist Form)+ ing | Object + | Others. |
Some Important Uses of Past Continuous Tense :
1. Past Continuous Tense is used to tell about any action that is going on in the past time, like :
- I was teaching English.
- You were driving a Car.
2. Past continuous Tense is also used along with always, often, continuously etc. to show a persistent habit of past. like :
- He was always writing a letter.
- I was continuously going to my office.
- They were often complaining against him.
3. Past Continuous Tense is also used to show the growth or decline of an object or thing in the past, Like :
- She was becoming thin.
- The day was getting brighter
Friends! If you have understood Present Continuous Tense in our earlier notes, then it is very easy for you to understand Past Continuous Tense.
Only you have to remember its helping verb. All other structures and rules are almost the same. Nevertheless, we have explained to you the Past Continuous Tense in detail. Hope your concept gets cleared.
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