What were you doing...?

The Simpsons

What is the past continuous?

It is a tense verb that is formed with the past tense of the verb to be, that is was or were and the   -ing form of the verb we want to use. To form the negative we use the forms wasn't and weren't and we use the verb to be as the auxiliary to form the interrogative putting it before the subject, then the subject and then the -ing form of the verb we need.

To see it more clearly:

Affirmative	Negative	Interrogative
I was eating.	I wasn't eating.	Was I eating?
Mary was sleeping.	Mary wasn't sleeping.	Was Mary sleeping?
They were listening to a CD.	They weren't listening to a CD:	Were they listening to a CD?

When do we use the past continuous?
We use the past continuous with non-stative verbs, that is, verbs that, due to their meaning do not accept well the progress, such as know, have, and like and many others. We use it mainly for three things:

• To talk about something that was happening in the past at a given time. 
• To describe a scene in a narration.
• To talk about something that was in progress and interrupted by another action (which would be in the past simple).

We also use it to talk about things that were happening at the same time in the past. If you want to practice the past continuous, you can go to Perfect English Grammar or English Grammar Secrets.

Ok, now that we know more about the past continuous, can you tell me what were the Simpsons doing at their last Thanksgiving dinner? Leave your comments and tell us!!