Past continuous tense – Past Progressive Actions

Past continuous tense

Rule I:  

When two actions are happening or continue, both sentences use in past continuous:

1. I was cooking food; While she was sleeping.
2. While they were playing badminton, their sisters were watching television.
3. As he was talking on the phone, his mother was taking food.
4. his father was talking with his friend while his son was driving a car.

Rule II:

 When get, become, grow are used to indicate increasing and decreasing. The sentences use in past continuous tense:

1. He was becoming richer and richer.
2. She was becoming more and more beautiful.
3. It was becoming more and more tough time.
4. The poor are becoming poorer and poorer and the rich are becoming richer and richer.
5. It was getting darker and darker.

Rule III:

We use past continuous tense to tell about past tense:

 For Actions that continued before and after another incident:

1. The students were doing their classwork when I entered the classroom.
2. As I was surfing the internet, my friend came to me.
3. As he was playing chess, his mother came into the room and scolded him.
4.  When I was singing a song. Neighbours were looking at me.

Rule IV:

Past continuous tense is very common to use at the beginning of a story:

1. The other day I was going to college when she came to me.
2. Last Sunday as I was making a speech, a beautiful woman came to the assembly.
3. Just as I was awaking; I heard a crying lady.
4. The other day while I was listening to songs on the bus, a beggar came to me for begging.

Rule V:

Past continuous tense is used “to tell something that happened before and after a particular time,”:

1. It was ten O’clock. I was watching Titanic movie.
2. It was midnight. I was celebrating my birthday with friends.
3. It was eight o’clock; it was pouring.

Compare:

1. At seven O’clock, I watched Titanic movie.
2. In January he was working in Flipkart.
3. To denote something was happening again and again.
4. I was playing badminton every day thrice a day.
5. They were meeting secretly after college.

Rule V:

 To indicate that something continued for some time(past continuous tense):

1. I was weeping.
2. She was running.
3. Everyone was shouting at him.
4. Somebody was crying there.
5. He was playing.

Some verbs which show change or growth:

1.  The children were growing up quickly.
2. Her German was improving.
3. My hair was growing white.
4. The village was changing quickly, and cities were developing rapidly.
5. New houses were growing up everywhere.

Exercise

Write appropriate past  forms of verbs(past continuous tense):

1. While she  ………….(cook), I …….. (read a book).
2. While they ……….. billiards(play), she …… with friends. (gossip)
3.  It  ……… darker and darker. (get)
4. They ……..richer and richer. (become)
5. She …….. an E-mail when I reached the office. (write)
6. As he ………. chess, his mother came into the room and scolded him.    (play)
7. when I …….. in the ground, all my friends ……… at me. (run, look)
8. the last day, as I ………. in wee hours, somebody knocked the door.   (study)
9. The other day, I ……..to school, she came to me. (go)
10. It was 11 ‘ o’clock. I ……..  Hollywood movie. (watch)