past continuous tense

Also called the past progressive, the past continuous tense is used to describe something that was in progress at a certain moment in the past.

It is called the past continuous because it uses the past tense of the auxiliary verb be (was or were) followed by the present participle of the main verb (which is used to describe an action that is or was continuously happening).

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Noun

past progressive - a progressive tense used to describe on-going action in the past; "`I had been running' is an example of the past progressive"

past progressive tense

continuous tense, imperfect, imperfect tense, progressive, progressive tense - a tense of verbs used in describing action that is on-going

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References in periodicals archive

Which sentence uses the past progressive? After eating his dinner, David went outside to ride his bike.

Could you pass a SATs test? Try our not-so-simple quiz; zoe chamberlain on the tough sats questions that are foxing some graduates

But to think that is to forget past progressive uprisings, such as in Beirut in 2005, Algiers and Tehran in 2009, and the Arab Spring that began in Tunisia and spread throughout the region in 2011.

How to help the Middle East

Asking a question following Mr Gibb's statement yesterday, Ms Goodman said: "Last Wednesday the Prime Minister was not able to tell the House his definition of a modal verb, what the past progressive tense is, or to distinguish a subordinating conjunctive from a co-ordinating conjunctive.

MINISTER AVOID'S MP'S CLEVER QUESTION

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