Ongoing Past Actions

Using Past Continuous for Ongoing Past Actions:

• Structure: Subject + was/were + present participle (verb-ing).
  • Example: I was reading a book yesterday evening.

Describing Ongoing Past Actions:

1. Actions in Progress: She was studying all night for the exam.
2. Interrupted Past Actions: We were having dinner when the phone rang.
3. Simultaneous Past Actions: He was listening to music while working on his project.
4.  
5. Setting the Scene in Stories: It was raining as the detective arrived at the scene.

Discussing Ongoing Past Actions

• Emphasizing Duration: They were traveling in Asia for several months.
• Describing Background Events: The sun was setting as the ceremony began.
• Indicating Habitual Actions in the Past: He was always helping others.
• Combining with Simple Past: While I was cooking, the doorbell rang.

Common Mistakes When Using Past Continuous

• Using Simple Past Instead of Past Continuous:
  • 🚫 Wrong: I read a book when you called.
  • ✅ Right: I was reading a book when you called.
• Incorrect Form of 'Be' Verb:
  • 🚫 Wrong: She were walking to school.
  • ✅ Right: She was walking to school.
• Forgetting the -ing Ending:
  • 🚫 Wrong: They was play chess yesterday.
  • ✅ Right: They were playing chess yesterday.
• Misusing for Single Completed Actions:
  • 🚫 Wrong: I was went to the store.
  • ✅ Right: I went to the store. (Simple past for completed actions)
• Overusing Past Continuous:
  • 🚫 Wrong: Last summer, I was going to Spain.
  • ✅ Right: Last summer, I went to Spain. (Past continuous is not typically used for stating past facts)