The past continuous tense is a tense in English grammar that denotes an action or state of being that was going on at some point in the past. Its structure and usage are as follows:
1. Structure of the past continuous tense.
The structure of the past continuous tense is the form "was + ing", where was is used in the first person singular and third person singular, and those in the first person plural, second person singular and plural, and third person plural.
2. Usage in the past continuous tense.
1.Indicates an action that was in progress at some point in the past. For example: I was watching tv at 8 o'clock last night(I was watching TV at 8 o'clock last night.) )
2.Indicates an action that has been going on in the past at a certain stage. For example: he was working in the company from January to June last year(He worked for the company from January to June last year.) )
3.Indicates a cause, effect, or condition, and is used in a subjunctive mood that is contrary to past facts. For example: if you had studied hard, you would h**e passed the exam(If you study hard, you'll pass the exam.) )
4.Used to describe the context of a story or the sequence in which events occur. For example: it was raining hard when they arrived at the airport(It was raining heavily when they arrived at the airport.) )
5.Used to indicate a polite or euphemistic tone. For example: i was wondering if you could help me with this problem(I was wondering if you could help me with this.) )
3. The difference between the past continuous tense and other tenses.
1.Difference Between Past Continuous Tense and Simple Past Tense: The past continuous tense emphasizes the action that was happening at some point in the past, whereas the simple past tense denotes the action that has been done at some time in the past. For example: i was reading a book last night(I was reading last night.) The action of emphasizing reading a book was going on at some point last night) vs i read a book last night.(I read a book last night.) The action of emphasizing reading was done last night).
2.Difference Between Past Continuous Tense and Present Perfect Tense: Present perfect tense denotes that an action has lasted from the past to the present and has an impact on the present; Whereas, the past continuous tense indicates that an action was carried out at some point in the past and does not involve the influence of the present. For example: i h**e has been working in this company for three years(I've been with this company for three years.) In the present perfect tense, it means that he is still working for the company) vs she was working in this company last year.(She worked for the company last year.) In the past tense, it indicates that she was working for the company at some point last year, and it is unknown whether she is still working for the company).
Materials** on the Internet.