Learn the definition, rules, usage, formulas, example sentences, and practice exercises of the past progressive tense in English. Learn the entire lesson and boost your English grammar learning skills.
Past Progressive Tense
When you refer to a past action, state, or event that is incomplete or in progress, use the past progressive.
- PAST ACTION: In 2012, I was working for a large company in Houston.
- PAST STATE: I was feeling fine ten minutes ago.
- PAST EVENT: Something strange was happening.
A specific time reference is often used with the past progressive. This reference is generally a prepositional phrase or another clause with a simple-past verb form.
- PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE: By 5:00, all the participants were packing their bags.
- CLAUSE: While I was preparing breakfast, I heard the news on the radio.
When you want to indicate two simultaneous ongoing actions, use the past progressive for both.
- SIMULTANEOUS ACTIONS: While I was preparing breakfast, I was listening to the news.
The past progressive consists of the auxiliary verb be and the -ing form of the main verb. The auxiliary verb is marked for tense.
| Singular | Plural | |
| First Person | I was verb + ing | we were verb + ing |
| Second Person | you were verb + ing | you were verb + ing |
| Third Person | he, she, it was verb + ing | they were verb + ing |
When a one-syllable word or a word with a stressed final syllable ends in a single consonant sound, double the last letter before adding -ing.
- One-syllable word: swim ➞ swimming
- Word ending in a stressed syllable: permit ➞ permitting
- BUT show ➞ showing [This word ends in a vowel sound.]
When a word ends with the letter e, drop the e before adding -ing.
Forming Negatives
To make a past progressive verb negative, place not after the auxiliary verb.
Structure:
- Subject + was/were + not + verb + -ing + object
Example:
They were not running.
- was not going
- were not going
Forming Contractions
Contractions are often formed by combining the auxiliary verb be and not. You will often hear these contractions in conversation or see them in informal writing, but you will rarely find them used in formal contexts.
Notice that an apostrophe indicates that the letter o is omitted:
- I wasn’t moving
- We weren’t moving
- He wasn’t moving
- You weren’t moving
- She wasn’t moving
- They weren’t moving
- It wasn’t moving
Forming yes-or-no Questions
To form yes-or-no questions, begin the question with the auxiliary verb be. After the auxiliary verb, place the subject and the -ing form of the main verb.
Structure:
- Was/Were + subject + verb + -ing + object?
Example:
Was he sleeping?
- Statement: Prices were dropping.
- Yes/no question: Were prices dropping?
Forming Wh-Questions
In wh-questions, when the question word is the subject of the sentence, the form of the question is similar to the form of a statement.
Structure:
- Was/Were + subject + verb + -ing?
Example:
Were you cooking?
- Statement: Ken was demanding your attention.
- Wh-question: Who was demanding your attention?
When the question word is any other part of the sentence, the auxiliary verb be comes after the question word and is followed by the subject and the -ing form of the main verb.
- Statement: They were going to church.
Wh-question: Where were they going? - Statement: He was playing solitaire.
Wh-question: What was he playing?
Past Progressive Tense Exercise
Exercise-1
Complete each sentence with the past progressive form of the verb in parentheses.
1. The customer ——— (be) rude.
2. The telephone ——— (ring) all day long.
3. While I ——— (wait), I ——— (dream) of distant places.
4. When you visited last year, they ——— (live) in a different apartment.
5. My roommate ——— (take) a nap while I ——— (study).
6. She ——— (put) on her coat when I walked in.
7. Someone ——— (knock) at the door just as I ——— (get) out of bed.
8. It ——— (rain) a few minutes ago.
9. They saw an accident while they ——— (go) to work.
10. We found old books and toys when we ——— (clean).
Exercise-2
The verb forms in the following sentences are either simple past or past progressive. Decide whether the verb in each sentence indicates a complete action or an ongoing past action.
1. He played the piano beautifully.
(a) Complete action (b) Action in progress
2. He was playing the piano as the guests were arriving.
(a) Complete action (b) Action in progress
3. I was cooking dinner when I remembered his name.
(a) Complete action (b) Action in progress
4. I cooked dinner for everyone.
(a) Complete action (b) Action in progress
5. They were shopping for a new lamp, but they couldn’t find a nice one.
(a) Complete action (b) Action in progress
6. They shopped for a lamp until they found a nice one.
(a) Complete action (b) Action in progress
7. When we lived in the suburbs, we commuted to work.
(a) Complete action (b) Action in progress
8. While we were commuting to work, we talked about our families.
(a) Complete action (b) Action in progress
9. She was working for Apex Law Firm when she received a new job offer.
(a) Complete action (b) Action in progress
10. She worked for Apex Law Firm from 1999 to 2002.
(a) Complete action (b) Action in progress
Exercise-3
Make each of the following sentences negative.
EXAMPLE:
- We were visiting our relatives.
- We were not visiting our relatives.
1. He was attending a conference.
2. They were laughing.
3. I was complaining about the work.
4. She was helping us.
5. Ted was studying last night.
6. They were paying attention.
7. I was talking to myself.
8. You were speaking loud enough.
9. They were doing their homework.
10. We were trying hard.
Exercise-4
Rewrite the following statements as yes/no questions.
EXAMPLE:
- You were singing to yourself.
- Were you singing to yourself?
1. The band was giving a free concert.
2. The light was blinking on and off.
3. You were watching the championship on television.
4. They were being careful.
5. It was snowing all day.
6. Gabe and Don were singing together.
7. They were closing the store.
8. The companies were considering a merger.
9. They were recycling most of the waste products.
10. As young children, they were always getting into trouble.
Exercise-5
Complete the following questions based on the statements provided:
EXAMPLE:
- The assistant was making travel arrangements.
- Who was making travel arrangements?
1. They were protesting in front of the post office.
Where ——— ———
2. Carmen was using this computer.
Who——— ———
3. You were watching a funny movie on television last night.
What ——— ———
4. The committee was discussing the new plan.
What ——— ———
5. The noise was bothering them.
What ——— ———
6. Lev was spreading rumors.
Who ——— ———
7. He was working at McDonald’s.
Where ——— ———
8. She was driving at 75 mph.
How fast ——— ———
9. He was reading a newspaper during class today.
What ——— ———
10. They were standing in front of city hall.
Where ——— ———
Past Progressive Worksheet
Past Progressive Tense in English
