We use the past continuous when we talk about things that were happening at a particular time in the past. The action started before, and probably went on after that particular time. It is formed this way:
I | was | |
You | were | |
He She It |
was | VERB+ing |
We You They |
were |
They were still playing
tennis at 4 o'clock
They started playing tennis before 4 o'clock, and they probably went on
afterwards.
It was still raining
at lunch-time.
This means that it started to rain before lunch-time and it went on fpr
sime time after lunch.
We make questions and negative phrases in the past continuous
like this:
What was she doing
at 10 o'clock last night? -She wasn't doing
anything special.
Were they having breakfast when I rang? -No,
they weren't.