past continuous

IPA/ˌpɑːst kənˈtɪn.ju.əs/
IPA/ˌpæst kənˈtɪn.ju.əs/

past continuous — noun

1. An English verb tense that expresses an activity happening and continuing over a

1.nounB1
Definition

An English verb tense that expresses an activity happening and continuing over a period of time at a specific moment in the past. You make this tense by placing 'was' or 'were' in front of the present participle (the verb ending in -ing).

Example

In class, the teacher showed how to form the past continuous with 'was' and 'were'.

formation: was/were + present participle (-ing)

Students often confuse the past continuous with the past simple when telling a story.

contrast with past simple in storytelling

Common collocations
  • past continuous tense
  • use the past continuous
  • form the past continuous
  • past continuous + 'was/were'
  • past continuous + present participle
Synonyms
  • past progressive

    Exact synonym; 'past progressive' is more common in American grammar materials, while 'past continuous' is standard in British English and international EFL courses.

Antonyms
  • past simple

    The past simple describes completed actions or single events ('She walked home'), while the past continuous describes ongoing activities ('She was walking home when it started to rain').

Usage Note

Also known as the past progressive. The past continuous is only appropriate for continuing actions in the past — stative verbs expressing states (like 'know', 'believe', 'own') are rarely used in this form. Use the past simple instead for completed single events.

Common Mistakes

When she called, I watched TV.
When she called, I was watching TV.
Use the past continuous for an ongoing background action interrupted by another event.
Every summer I was visiting my grandparents.
Every summer I visited my grandparents.
Use the past simple, not the past continuous, for habitual actions in the past.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four terms describe English verb tenses, but each refers to a different structure and time relationship. 'Past continuous' (also called 'past progressive') describes actions that were in progress at a specific past moment, formed with 'was/were' + the -ing form (e.g., 'Theo was reading at 8 PM'). 'Past continuous' and 'past progressive' are exact synonyms; the former is more common in British English and international EFL coursebooks, while the latter appears more often in American grammar references. 'Past simple' describes completed past actions ('Theo read the book yesterday') and uses the -ed ending for regular verbs or an irregular second form. 'Past perfect' orders two past events chronologically, putting one before another ('Theo had already left when the package arrived'). For learners, the key difference is focus: past continuous highlights duration and background setting, past simple reports finished events, and past perfect clarifies which of two past events happened first.

past continuous ↗past progressivepast simplepast perfect

Common collocations

Nouns

  • past continuous tense
  • past continuous form
  • use of the past continuous
  • past continuous + stative verb restriction

Phrases

  • in the past continuous
  • form the past continuous
  • use the past continuous to describe

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchEnglish

The term 'past continuous' combines 'past', from the past participle of 'pass' (via Old French 'passer' and Latin 'passare', meaning 'to step or go by'), with 'continuous', from Latin 'continuus' (uninterrupted, holding together). Grammarians in the 18th and 19th centuries coined compound labels like 'past continuous' to distinguish ongoing past actions from the simple completed past, as part of the systematic description of English verb tenses.