PAST CONTINUOUS

We form the past continuous with the past tense of be + verb with -ing.

We use the past continuous to:

Talk about a situation or action that continued for a period of time in the past and was completed in the past.

The workers were repairing the roads last week.

My stomach was hurting after I ate that burrito.

Talk about two actions that were both happening at the same time in the past.

My roommate was talking on the phone while I was watching a movie.

The roofers were working on the roof while we were painting the walls.

Talk about an action that happened before, during, and after a certain time.

I was sleeping last night at 12am.

She was driving home at 7:30pm last night.

Talk about an action that was completed repeatedly in the past, but does not occur any longer.

He was smoking three packs a day.

They were having meetings 3 times a day.

Past continuous questions

  1. What were you doing yesterday at 3pm?
  2. What were your friends doing Saturday evening?
  3. What were you doing right before class?
  4. Who were you talking to yesterday afternoon?
  5. What were you eating the last time you spilled food on your clothes?
  6. What were you doing Friday night at 9pm?
  7. What were you doing last New Year’s Eve at 11:30pm?
  8. Were you watching a movie last Sunday at 8pm?
  9. Who were you texting before class?
  10. What were you doing yesterday at nine in the morning?
  11. What TV show were you watching Monday night?
  12. What were you doing the last time you got a phone call?
  13. Were you working hard last night? What were you doing?
  14. What were you doing last Christmas morning at 10am?
  15. What were you doing the last time you got caught in the rain?
  16. What were you doing while you were eating dinner last night?
  17. What were you doing the last time someone told you to stop being childish?
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