Learning English - Past Continuous Tense

The past continuous is used to tell events that were held/going on in past time. Its use is the same with the present continuous. The only thing that differs betwen is that the present continuous is used for present days whereas the past continuous is for former times.

Here are some formula that you have to addhere to to arrange sentences using this form

1. Positive: S + Was/Were + O for the nominal one. And S + Was/Were + Verb Ing + O for the Verbal one.

2. Negative: S + Was/Were + Not + O for the nominal one. And S + Was/Were + Not + Verb Ing + O for the Verbal one.

3. Interrogative: Was/Were + S + O for the nominal one. And + Was/Were + S + Verb Ing + O for the Verbal one.

4. Question form: What, Where, Who, and so forth + Was/Were + S for the nominal one. And What, Where, Who, and so forth + Was/Were + S + Verb Ing for the Verbal one.

Read the following examples

1. Positive: S + Was/Were + O for the nominal one. And S + Was/Were + Verb Ing + O for the Verbal one.

Nominal

- i was a student.
- you were there.
- they were tenagers.
- he was a tall man.

Verbal

- i was going out.
- you were studying at smp 3 jakarta.
- they were sneaking into my house.
- he was crying every night.

2. Negative: S + Was/Were + Not + O for the nominal one. And S + Was/Were + Not + Verb Ing + O for the Verbal one.

Nominal

- i was not a student.
- you were not there.
- they were not tenagers.
- he was not a tall man.

Verbal

- i was not going out.
- you were not studying at smp 3 jakarta.
- they were not sneaking into my house.
- he was not crying every night.

3. Interrogative: Was/Were + S + O for the nominal one. And + Was/Were + S + Verb Ing + O for the Verbal one.

Nominal

- was i a student ?.
- were you there ?.
- were they tenagers ?.
- was he a tall man ?.

Verbal

- was i going out ?.
- were you studying at smp 3 jakarta ?.
- were they sneaking into my house ?.
- was he crying every night ?.

4. Question form: What, Where, Who, and so forth + Was/Were + S for the nominal one. And What, Where, Who, and so forth + Was/Were + S + Verb Ing for the Verbal one.

Nominal

- who was him ?.
- where were you ?.
- what were them ?.
- how was the man ?.

Verbal

- who was going out ?.
- where were you studying ?.
- what were they doing in my house ?.
- how was he passing his days ?.

Additional explanation

- Tobe were, is intended for use with subject: We, They, You.
- Tobe was, is intended for use with I , She, He, It.

Abreviation

- you, we, they + were: you're.
- was not: wasn't.
- were not: weren't.