Past Continuous
– It describes an action that was ongoing at specific time in the past, for example:
Yesterday at 7 pm, I was cooking for my family
– It describes a longer action that was interrupted by a shorter one, for example:
I was watching tv when the phone rang.
– It describes two actions happening at the same time, for example:
He was exercising while I was listening to music.
– Describe una acción que estaba ocurriendo en un momento específico del pasado, por ejemplo:
Ayer a las 7 p. m., estaba cocinando para mi familia.
– Describe una acción más larga que fue interrumpida por una más corta, por ejemplo:
Estaba viendo la televisión cuando sonó el teléfono.
– Describe dos acciones que ocurrieron al mismo tiempo, por ejemplo:
Él estaba haciendo ejercicio mientras yo escuchaba música.
Affirmative / Afirmativa
| Subject (Sujeto) | Was / Were | Verb + Ing (Verbo + ing) | Examples (Ejemplos) |
|---|---|---|---|
| I, she, he, it | Was | Working | Last week at this time I was working La semana pasada a esta hora estaba trabajando |
| Was | Cooking | She was cooking when her mom called her Ella estaba cocinando cuando su mamá la llamo | |
| You, we, they | Were | Eating | You were eating when I was cleaning the kitchen Tú estabas comiendo cuando yo estaba limpiando la cocina |
| Were | Studying | We were studying when the teacher arrived Estábamos estudiando cuando el profesor llegó |
* Ing es la terminación ando y endo en español
Negative / Negativa
| Subject (Sujeto) | Was not / Were not | Verb + Ing (Verbo + ing) | Examples (Ejemplos) |
|---|---|---|---|
| I, she, he, it | Was not (Wasn’t) | Working | Last week at this time I was not working La semana pasada a esta hora no estaba trabajando |
| Was not | Cooking | She was not cooking when her mom called her Ella no estaba cocinando cuando su mamá la llamo | |
| You, we, they | Were not (Weren’t) | Eating | You were not eating when I was cleaning the kitchen Tú no estabas comiendo cuando yo estaba limpiando la cocina |
| Were not | Studying | We were not studying when the teacher arrived No estábamos estudiando cuando el profesor llegó |
Interrogative / Interrogativa
| Was / Were | Subject (Sujeto) | Verb + Ing (Verbo + ing) | Examples (Ejemplos) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Was | I, she, he, it | Working? | Was I working last week at this time? ¿Estaba trabajando la semana pasada a esta hora? |
| Cooking? | Was she cooking when her mom called her? ¿Estaba cocinando cuando su mamá la llamo? | ||
| Were | You, we, they | Eating? | Were you eating when I was cleaning the kitchen? ¿Tú estabas comiendo cuando yo estaba limpiando la cocina? |
| Studying? | Were we studying when the teacher arrived? ¿Estábamos estudiando cuando el profesor llegó? |
📘Past continuous activity