Past progressive

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Simple past

•The simple past refers to a completed action at one particular time in the past.

Simple past

I walked home.

They lived in London.

We tried to turn the car around.

Thunder clapped.

Lighting flashed.

Regular: verb + ed = past tense

Irregular He went on a trip last weekend.

We left the city to see the country.

The clouds grew dark.

A strong wind began to blow.

We drove for endless hours.

Past progressive

• The past progressive refers to an action in progress during a particular time in the past. It is formed with was/ were + the –ing form of the verb.

Past progressive

I was playing video games all afternoon.

Where were you? We were waiting for hours!

I was running back to the hotel.

The wind was blowing.

The waves were crashing over our canoe.

Question form

• Was he doing his homework at 5:00?

• Were they swimming in the pool?

• Were you waiting for hours?

• Was I running fast?• Was she playing video

games all afternoon?

• The past progressive is often used with a when clause. This use draws attention to the idea of one action in progress interrupted by another past action. The simple past is used in the when clause.

Past progressive with when clause

• I was practicing the piano when the electricity went out.

• They were walking their dog when lighting struck a tree next to them.

• I was swimming when it began to rain.

• We were fishing when it suddenly got very windy.

Question form

• What was she doing when the accident happened?

• What were you doing when the electricity went out?

• What were they doing when the lighting struck a tree?

• What was he doing when it began to rain?

The when clause can go first or it can go second. The meaning is the same.

• When the accident happened, she was riding her bike.

• She was riding her bike when the accident happened.

• The past progressive is also often used with a while clause. This use is also focuses on the idea of an action in progress interrupted by another past action. But in this case, the past progressive is used in the while clause.

Past progressive with while clause

• While I was taking a shower, the telephone rang.

• While Dan and David were playing basketball, it began to rain.

• While I was running, I fell and broke my ankle.

• While we were driving, it got very cold and snowy.

The while clause can go first or it can go second. The meaning is the same.

• While they were riding their bikes, it began to rain.

• It began to rain while they were riding their bikes.

Question form

• What happened while they were playing basketball?

• What happened while they were riding their bikes?

• What happened while she was reading a book?

• What happened while he was walking home?

Good luck!