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Past Progressive Tense
What Is the Past Progressive Tense?
The past progressive tense is used to describe an ongoing activity in the past. For example:- John was baking a cake.
- They were painting the fence.
- John was baking a cake when the storm started.
- They were painting the fence while I was cutting the grass.
Table of Contents
- Examples of the Past Progressive Tense and Its Uses
- Forming the Past Progressive Tense
- Interactive Verb Conjugation Tables
- Video Lesson
- Printable Test

Examples of the Past Progressive Tense and Its Uses
Here are three common uses of the past progressive tense:(1) The past progressive tense can be used to describe an activity in the past that was interrupted:
- He was painting the door when a bird struck the window.
- They were sleeping when the alarm went off.
- While they were painting the door, I painted the windows.
- While they weren't painting the door, I painted the windows.
- Were they painting the door when I painted the windows?
- Weren't they painting the door when I painted the windows?
- While they were painting the door, I was painting the windows.
Forming the Past Progressive Tense
The past progressive tense is formed like this:For singular:
[singular subject]
+ "was"
+ [present participle ("verb-ing")]
[plural subject]
+ "were"
+ [present participle]
Forming the Present Participle
The [verb] + "ing" part is known as a present participle. It is formed like this:Add "ing" to most verbs:
- play > playing
- shout > shouting
- prepare > preparing
- ride > riding
- lie > lying
- untie > untying
- run > running
- forget > forgetting
The Negative Version
If you need the negative version, you can use the following construction:"was not" or "were not"
+ [present participle]
- He was not painting the door when a bird struck the window.
- They were not sleeping when the alarm went off.
The Question Version
If you need to ask a question, you can use the following word order for a yes/no question:"was" or "were"
+ [subject]
+ [present participle]
- Was John painting the door when a bird struck the window?
- Were they sleeping when the alarm went off?
[question word]
+ "was" or "were"
+ [subject]
+ [present participle]
- When was John painting the door?
- Where were they sleeping when the alarm went off?
"was" or "were"
+ [subject]
+ [present participle]
+ choice A
+ or
+ choice B
- Was John painting the door or the window?
"was" or "were"
+ [subject]
+ present participle A
+ or
+ present participle B
- Were they sleeping or playing when the alarm went off?
Top 10 Regular Verbs
Top 10 Irregular Verbs
All 4 Past Tenses
Person | Simple Past | Past Progressive Tense | Past Perfect Tense | Past Perfect Progressive Tense |
---|---|---|---|---|
|
The simple past tense is for a completed activity that happened in the past.
|
The past progressive tense is for an ongoing activity in the past. Often, it is used to set the scene for another action.
|
The past perfect tense is for emphasizing that an action was completed before another took place.
|
The past perfect progressive tense is for showing that an ongoing action in the past has ended.
|
All 4 Present Tenses
Person | Simple Present | Present Progressive Tense | Present Perfect Tense | Present Perfect Progressive Tense |
---|---|---|---|---|
|
The simple present tense is mostly for a fact or a habit.
|
The present progressive tense is for an ongoing action in the present.
|
The present perfect tense is for an action that began in the past. (Often, the action continues into the present.)
|
The present perfect progressive tense is for a continuous activity that began in the past and continues into the present (or finished very recently).
|
All 4 Future Tenses
Person | Simple Future | Future Progressive Tense | Future Perfect Tense | Future Perfect Progressive Tense |
---|---|---|---|---|
|
The simple future tense is for an action that will occur in the future.
|
The future progressive tense is for an ongoing action that will occur in the future.
|
The future perfect tense is for an action that will have been completed at some point in the future.
|
The future perfect progressive tense is for an ongoing action that will be completed at some specified time in the future.
|
Are you a visual learner? Do you prefer video to text? Here is a list of all our grammar videos.
The Other Past Tenses
The past progressive tense is one of four past tenses. This table shows all four of the past tenses:The 4 Past Tenses | Example |
---|---|
simple past tense | I went |
past progressive tense | I was going |
past perfect tense | I had gone |
past perfect progressive tense | I had been going |
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