5 past continuous tense uses and examples

1) An action in the past that gets interrupted

One of the most common uses of the past continuous tense shows a past action that was interrupted by another past action. These are often complex sentences featuring subordinating conjunctions like when, while, before, after, until, or whenever.

Put the action that was interrupted in the past continuous tense and the action that interrupts it in the simple past.

[Marta was leaving her apartment] ( <-- past continuous) when [she heard the thunderstorm] ( <-- simple past).
[They were sleeping peacefully] ( <-- past continuous) until [the alarm rang] ( <-- simple past)
[My parents arrived] ( <-- simple past) while I was shopping ( <-- past continuous).

2) Ongoing actions at a specified time in the past.

When you mention an exact time in the past, use the past continuous tense if the action started before that time and continued afterward. If the action begins at the time mentioned, use the simple past instead.

At midnight (exact time in past), everyone at the party was still having fun (action started before, past continuous).
I was working as a cashier (action started before, past continuous) in October (exact time in past).
By the age of nine (exact time in past), I was training to be a ninja (action started before, past continuous).

3) Habitual actions in the past (usually with adverbs like always)

Use the past continuous tense to talk about an action that used to be done frequently in the past but is not done in the present.

This form is usually used with adverbs and adverb phrases, specifically ones that suggest the action was done a lot, like those listed below:

As a baby (but not anymore), my brother was always making a mess (action done frequently in the past, past continuous).

My first year of college (but not anymore), I was making spelling mistakes all the time (action done frequently in the past, past continuous).

She was forever (but not anymore) trying to impress her crush (action done frequently in the past, past continuous).

4) Emphasizing how long a past action took

This form usually uses adverb phrases (describes an action) that explain the length of time, such as:

all morning/afternoon/evening
all day/night
all week/month/ year
for hours/days/weeks/months/years
the whole time

The players were training (action/verb) all year for this match.

She was gardening (action/verb) all morning and missed the delivery.

I was trying to complete (action/verb) the final level for hours.

5) Setting the background for a story

When telling a story (or writing one), you can use the past continuous tense to “set the scene,” or describe exactly what was happening at the beginning of your story. We use the past continuous tense because these actions were, presumably, already happening before the story began.

Past continuous tense examples:

The birds were singing (past continuous), and the sun was shining (past continuous). I knew it would be a good day.

Everyone at the cafe was enjoying their coffee (past continuous). Then the stranger appeared.

The city was going about its business (past continuous) without knowing the aliens had arrived.

Past continuous vs Simple Past

“My hamster was sleeping all day” and “My hamster slept all day” have the same meaning.

The simple past is generally more commonly used. However, there are subtle differences worth mentioning in certain situations.

The past continuous tense means the action started before the other action.
The simple past means one action started after the other.

In the example below, which uses the past continuous, the speaker started running before the whistle blew:

When the whistle blew, I was running.

PAST [—— was running —— (whistle blew) — running –]—— NOW ——— FUTURE

In this example using the simple past tense, the speaker started running after the whistle blew:

When the whistle blew, I ran.

PAST [— (whistle blew) — ran —— — running –]—— NOW ——— FUTURE

Likewise, when you mention a time directly, the past continuous tense means the action started before the time, whereas the simple past means the action started at the time. Here, the speaker started eating lunch before noon:

At noon I was eating lunch.

PAST [—— was eating lunch —— (at noon) — eating lunch –]—— NOW ——— FUTURE

Here, the speaker started eating lunch at noon:

At noon I ate lunch.

PAST [— (at noon) — ate lunch —— — running –]—— NOW ——— FUTURE