Past continuous

The past continuous is used to describe one or more progressing actions in the past; to describe an on going action in the past which is interrupted by another action usually expressed in the past simple. The past continuous form in the affirmative is the following: was/were+base form+ing.

Affirmative	Negative	Interrogative	Interro-negative
I was working	I wasn’t working	Was I working?	Wasn’t I working?
You were working	You weren’t working	Were you working?	Weren’t you working?
He, She, It was working	He, she, it wasn’t working	Was he, she, it working?	Wasn’t he, she,it working?
We were working	We weren’t working	Were we working?	Weren’t we working?
You were working	You weren’t working	Were you working?	Weren’t you working?
They were working	They weren’t working	Were they working	Weren’t they working?

The simple past is used to describe the progression of one or more past actions, or to describe an action that is interrupted by another in the past simple.

Use	Example
Progression of one past action	What were you doing yesterday between 4 and 5 p.m.? Yesterday, betsween 4 and 5 p.m. I was reading a book.
Two actions in simultaneous progress (use of while)	While she was making a cake, he was cleaning the house with the hoover. While the teacher was explaining the new subject he was playing with a videogame under the desk.
One action in progress that is interrupted by another action (use of when or while)	She was typing the letter at the computer when her phone rang. The bridge collapsed while several vehicles were driving along it.