We form the Past Continuous with was / were + verb-ing. Use was with I / he / she / it and were with you / we / they. The negative uses was not (wasn't) or were not (weren't).
| Subject | was / were | verb-ing | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| I / He / She / It | was | working | She was working the night shift. |
| You / We / They | were | treating | They were treating the patient when I arrived. |
| Subject | wasn't / weren't | verb-ing | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| I / He / She / It | wasn't | listening | He wasn't listening during the meeting. |
| You / We / They | weren't | working | They weren't working — they were on strike. |
| Was/Were | Subject | verb-ing | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Was | she | operating | Was she operating the machine? |
| Were | they | negotiating | Were they negotiating a contract? |
| What was | he | doing | What was he doing at the time? |
The Past Continuous is used in several specific situations. Understanding why we use it helps you choose correctly between Past Simple and Past Continuous.
This is one of the most important distinctions at A2 level. The key question is: was the action in progress (Past Continuous) or completed (Past Simple)?
| Tense | Meaning | Signal Words | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Past Continuous | Action in progress — ongoing, not finished at that moment | while, at that moment, all day, at 6pm | She was writing the report when I called. |
| Past Simple | Completed action — finished, a single event in the past | yesterday, last week, in 2019, then, suddenly | The fire alarm went off. She stopped writing. |
While and when are both used to connect two past actions, but they have different patterns. Getting this right separates A2 from B1 learners.
Last Thursday was one of the busiest nights Dr Elena Petrov had ever experienced at City General Hospital. At 11pm, she was treating her fourth patient of the shift when the emergency team called her to A&E. Two nurses were preparing a room while a third was monitoring a patient in intensive care. The situation was difficult. While the doctors were operating in theatre, the rest of the ward was short-staffed. The receptionist was managing phone calls and directing visitors at the same time. "Everyone was working incredibly hard," Dr Petrov said afterwards. At 3am, things finally calmed down. Dr Petrov wrote her report while the junior doctors were finishing their rounds. She left the hospital at 6am, just as the morning shift was arriving.
1. What was Dr Petrov doing when the emergency team called her?
2. What were two of the nurses doing while the doctors were operating?
3. Which tense is used for "she was treating her fourth patient"? Why? (Language focus)
4. What can we infer about the atmosphere that night? (Inference)
At 7am last Monday, the team at Sova Architecture was already hard at work. The lead architect, Marco, was reviewing the final blueprints when his phone rang. His client was calling to say the deadline had moved forward by two weeks. While Marco was speaking on the phone, his two engineers were already updating the structural calculations. The project manager was sending urgent emails to suppliers. "Everyone was doing something different, but we all knew what was at stake," Marco said later. By midday, the team had a new plan. Marco negotiated a short extension with the client — they agreed on an extra three days. While the engineers were making the last changes, Marco sat down and wrote a clear update to all involved parties. The project was difficult, but the team did not give up.
1. What was Marco doing when his phone rang?
2. What were the two engineers doing while Marco was on the phone?
3. "Marco negotiated a short extension" — which tense is this, and why? (Language focus)
4. What can we infer about Marco's character from the text? (Inference)
Last Friday was an unusual day for Sofia, a (1) who works for a national newspaper. At 8am, she (2) to her office when she saw smoke coming from a building. She stopped and called the emergency services. While she (3) for the firefighters, she (4) photographs and spoke to witnesses.
The firefighters arrived quickly. They (5) for nearly two hours to control the fire. (6) the crew was fighting the fire, the (7) supervisor was coordinating from outside. Nobody was injured.
Sofia (8) the story for the evening edition. The editor said it was excellent. "I (9) my job," Sofia said. Her article was published that same (10) day — just before the evening (11) was over, without any extra work needed.