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Lesson ID: 10117
What was happening? Learn how to use past progressive verbs to bring your stories to life—with action-packed grammar, fun practice, and creative projects!
What Was Happening?
Maybe you were eating lunch when the fire alarm rang. Or maybe your dog was barking while you were watching a movie.
When you want to talk about something that was happening in the middle of something else, you use the past progressive tense (it’s also called the past continuous tense).
Don’t worry—it sounds tricky, but it’s actually pretty easy!
How to Build the Past Progressive
The past progressive tense uses two parts:
was or were + a verb that ends in -ing
Here's how it works.
| Subject | Use was or were | Verb + -ing | Example |
| I | was | playing | I was playing soccer. |
| You | were | eating | You were eating lunch. |
| He / She / It | was | drawing | She was drawing a picture. |
| We / They | were | running | They were running fast. |
When Do You Use It?
There are two ways you use the past progressive.
One thing was happening, and then something else happened!
I was reading when the lights went out.
He was walking home when it started to rain.
Look for the word "when"—it usually shows the moment something happened during the action.
Two actions at once!
The kids were talking while the teacher was writing on the board.
I was singing while my brother was dancing.
Look for the word "while"—it shows that both things were going on at the same time.
A Bit More Grammar
A sentence has two parts called clauses. Each clause has a subject and a verb.
I was eating dinner = one clause
when the phone rang = another clause
You can switch them around.
When the phone rang, I was eating dinner.
I was eating dinner when the phone rang.
Tip: If the sentence starts with when or while, use a comma after that part.
Some Verbs Don’t Work With -ing
Some verbs don't sound right in the past progressive.
You don’t say: I was knowing the answer.
You say: I knew the answer.
Words like know, like, and believe usually don’t get the -ing ending in these kinds of sentences.
Bonus: Talking About Annoying Things
If someone was always doing something annoying in the past, you can use the past progressive to show that.
He was always talking in class!
She was always forgetting her homework!
Time to Try It!
Now that you know how to use the past progressive, it’s your turn! In the Got It? section, you’ll get to practice what you’ve learned and make up some sentences of your own.
Let’s go!
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