Do you know what the past progressive tense is? This article will provide you with all of the information you need on past progressive tenses, including its definition, usage, example sentences, and more!
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According to Walden, there are many different forms of verbs in the English language, from a simple form of the verb to complex:
Conditional progressive tense
Perfect passive tense
Past progressive tense
Past participle tense
Present progressive tense
Conditional perfect progressive tense
Simple past tense
Past perfect tense
Future progressive tense
To-infinitive tense
Present perfect progressive tense
Present perfect continuous tense
Future perfect tense
Bare infinitive tense
Imperative tense
Present perfect progressive/continuous tense
Infinitive tense
Present indicative tense
Present participle tense
Past progressive/continuous tense
Simple future tense
Conditional perfect tense
Future perfect progressive tense
Simple present tense
Subjunctive tense
Present continuous tense
Indicative tense
Conditional tense
Past perfect progressive tense
Simple conditional tense
Present perfect tense
Gerund tense or gerund phrase
Today we will go over the past progressive tense. Progressive tenses, also known as continuous tenses, describe actions that are in progress. The past continuing tense or past continuous verb tense can be used to form affirmatives or negatives of a past action. Like the present progressive tense and future progressive tense, the past progressive or past continuous tense is used to refer to actions that were previously ongoing. The past continuous tense can be used to form a positive sentence or a negative sentence. These can also be used to form and answer wh-questions in the past such as time expressions. In English grammar, we add ing to the stems of the verb form and the words was and were. The use of the past progressive form can also be utilized with simple tenses that show the interruption of an action. A past progressive verb can show when something else happened in a particular moment or while something else was going on. Past progressive verbs can have a singular subject or a plural subject, and can be a negative version or a positive version. These continuous forms can work with an auxiliary verb.
The main uses of the past progressive tense are to show past actions that were in progress, two actions that were happening at the same time, an action that interrupted a continuous action, to form questions about the past, and more.
The past progressive also exists in Spanish. Here, the word “estar” is conjugated for the subject in the past and then the last syllable of the action verb is replaced with ando for an ar verb, endo for an er verb, or iendo for an ir verb.
What are examples of the past progressive tense?
Take a look at the below list of past progressive examples from Ginger and English Post:
I was coming from the supermarket when I saw an accident
Were you fixing your car when you saw a man breaking into your house?
While we were sitting at the breakfast table, the telephone rang.
Wasn’t Tom sitting in the cafe when you drove past?
While he was writing an e-mail, the phone rang
When you came home, was he singing in the shower?
They were waiting for the bus when he dropped his phone.
When the phone rang, he was writing an e-mail.
Her English was improving.
The trains weren’t running on schedule yesterday, were they?
Anne was writing a letter while Steve was reading the New York Times.
James was running from the police while Mike was hiding the drugs
I was playing soccer with my friends when an stranger stole my bike
Was I talking to you?
When Ms. Foster came in, the girls weren’t studying.
Was she playing soccer when she broke her leg?
What were you cooking last night? Were you preparing dinner for your wife?
Jennifer wasn’t trying very hard, was she?
Carlos lost his watch while he was running.
She was always doing exercises very early in the morning
While Melanie was working upstairs, I was preparing dinner
Why wasn’t she waiting at the meeting point?
Jessica was running when she broke her leg.
When Mr. Thomas called, David was solving crossword puzzles, wasn’t he?
What was she cooking when her mom called?
I was preparing dinner while Melanie was working upstairs.
The children were growing up quickly.
I was sleeping when someone knocked on my door.
What were you doing last night?
He was always playing guitar in the middle of the night
Peter was reading a book yesterday evening.
While she was preparing dinner, he was washing the dishes.
He was writing an e-mail when the phone rang.
He was playing soccer when he broke his leg
Where were you standing when the trouble started?
When I was having breakfast, Somebody stole my car.
Were you writing the report when the electricity went off?
I was snoring last night, wasn’t I?
I wasn’t sleeping when you came home last night.
Sam wasn’t lying when he said he loved you.
I was studying for my college-level English and elementary education custom course on Friday night when Robert called me to say what good work I was doing.
Amy was thinking about getting her master’s degree in cello composition.
The Spanish immersion software was identifying my unfinished action. This new software had the ability to track course progress as well.
She was filling her novel about a math whiz with unexpected twists and fun rhetoric.
The class at Colorado State University was checking their practice tests against the answer key and looking over the related study materials to ensure they get the correct answers on their exam abot the root verb, the main verb, the infinitive form, and the perfect form of verb matches.
The professor was providing unlimited access to his library of ESL books on English grammar rules while the course was in progress.
Overall, the past progressive tense refers to past continuous action.
Kevin Miller is a growth marketer with an extensive background in Search Engine Optimization, paid acquisition and email marketing. He is also an online editor and writer based out of Los Angeles, CA. He studied at Georgetown University, worked at Google and became infatuated with English Grammar and for years has been diving into the language, demystifying the do's and don'ts for all who share the same passion! He can be found online here.
Kevin
November 29, 2021
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