Form: past continuous
was / were + present participle (verb-ing)
The past continuous (also called the past progressive) is formed with was / were (the past tense forms of be) + the present participle -ing form of the verb.
Affirmative
| Subject | Auxiliary | Verb (present participle) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I He/She/It |
was | sleeping | when George arrived. |
| You We You They |
were |
Negative
| Subject | Auxiliary | not | Verb (present participle) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I He/She/It |
was | not | sleeping | when George arrived. |
| You We You They |
were |
The contracted forms wasn't and weren't are often used instead of was not and were not in spoken and in informal written language.
Interrogative
| (Question word) | Auxiliary | Subject | Verb (present participle) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Where) | was | I he/she/it |
sleeping | when George arrived? |
| were | you we you they |
