English Standard Four: Topic 4 – Expressing Past Events (Past Continuous Tense)

Main Competence 1.0: Demonstrate mastery of basic English language skills

Specific Competence 1.2: Use appropriate grammar and vocabulary both orally and in writing

Learning content: Expressing past events using the Past Continuous Tense.

1. Meaning of the Past Continuous Tense

The Past Continuous Tense is used to talk about an action that was in progress at a particular time in the past. It tells us what someone was doing or what was happening at that time.

Examples:

• I was reading a book yesterday evening.
• Neema was cooking at 7 o’clock last night.
• The pupils were playing football after school.

2. Formation of the Past Continuous Tense

We form the Past Continuous Tense using was/were + verb-ing.

Subject	Helping verb	Example
I	was	I was writing.
He / She / It	was	She was singing.
You / We / They	were	They were running.

Remember: use was with I, he, she and it. Use were with you, we and they.

3. Adding -ing to Verbs

• Most verbs: add -ing (read – reading; play – playing).
• Verbs ending in silent -e: remove -e and add -ing (write – writing; dance – dancing).
• Some short verbs ending in consonant-vowel-consonant: double the last consonant and add -ing (run – running; sit – sitting).

4. Sentence Forms

A. Affirmative sentences

Structure: Subject + was/were + verb-ing.

• Juma was washing his bicycle.
• We were learning English.

B. Negative sentences

Structure: Subject + was/were + not + verb-ing.

• Juma was not washing his bicycle.
• We were not learning English.

Short forms: was not = wasn’t; were not = weren’t.

C. Questions

Structure: Was/Were + subject + verb-ing?

• Was Amina sweeping the classroom?
• Were the pupils reading?

Short answers: Yes, she was. / No, she wasn’t. Yes, they were. / No, they weren’t.

5. Time Expressions

Common expressions used with the Past Continuous Tense include:

• At 7 o’clock yesterday
• At this time yesterday
• Yesterday evening
• Last night
• When
• While

6. Using When and While

When can introduce a shorter action that happened during an action in progress. While is often used to introduce an action that was continuing.

• I was sleeping when the phone rang.
• While Mother was cooking, I was washing the dishes.
• The pupils were playing when it started to rain.

7. Examples from Our Environment

• At home: Father was reading a newspaper. Mother was preparing dinner.
• At school: The teacher was writing on the board. The pupils were copying notes.
• At the market: A woman was buying tomatoes. A seller was weighing rice.
• At the bus station: Passengers were waiting for a bus. The driver was checking the vehicle.

8. Reading Passage: What Was Happening Yesterday?

Yesterday evening, Asha was doing her homework at home. Her younger brother was drawing a picture. Their mother was cooking in the kitchen, while their father was reading a newspaper. At seven o’clock, the electricity went off. Asha was still writing when the lights went out. The family then sat together and talked.

Comprehension questions

• What was Asha doing?
• What was her brother doing?
• Where was their mother cooking?
• What was their father reading?
• What happened at seven o’clock?

9. Classroom Activities

• The teacher acts out an activity, such as reading or sweeping, and asks pupils: “What was I doing?”
• Pupils work in pairs to ask and answer questions using “What were you doing yesterday?”
• Pupils describe actions happening in a picture using was/were + verb-ing.
• Pupils make sentences about what family members were doing at a given time yesterday.

10. Exercises

A. Choose was or were.

• I ______ reading a story.
• They ______ playing football.
• She ______ washing clothes.
• We ______ singing songs.
• The dog ______ sleeping.

B. Write the -ing form.

• write – __________
• run – __________
• play – __________
• dance – __________
• sit – __________

C. Complete the sentences using the correct form of the verbs in brackets.

• Juma __________ (read) at 8 o’clock last night.
• The children __________ (swim) yesterday afternoon.
• Mother __________ (cook) when I arrived.
• We __________ (study) English at this time yesterday.
• The baby __________ (sleep) when the phone rang.

D. Change these sentences into negative.

• She was washing the plates.
• They were playing netball.
• I was doing my homework.

E. Change these sentences into questions.

• He was riding a bicycle.
• The pupils were writing.
• You were listening to the teacher.

F. Choose the correct answer.

• At 6 p.m. yesterday, we (was / were) eating.
• Neema was (read / reading) a book.
• They were (run / running) to school.
• (Was / Were) your mother cooking?

G. Join the sentences using when or while.

• I was sleeping. The rain started.
• Mother was cooking. Father was reading.
• The pupils were walking home. They saw a dog.

H. Guided writing. Write five sentences about what people in your home or school were doing yesterday at 6 o’clock.

11. Answer Guide

A: was, were, was, were, was.

B: writing, running, playing, dancing, sitting.

C: was reading; were swimming; was cooking; were studying; was sleeping.

D: She was not washing the plates. They were not playing netball. I was not doing my homework.

E: Was he riding a bicycle? Were the pupils writing? Were you listening to the teacher?

F: were, reading, running, Was.

G (sample answers): I was sleeping when the rain started. While Mother was cooking, Father was reading. The pupils were walking home when they saw a dog.

12. Assessment

A pupil should be able to:

• Explain the meaning of the Past Continuous Tense.
• Use was and were with the correct subjects.
• Form verbs ending in -ing.
• Construct affirmative, negative and interrogative sentences.
• Describe actions that were in progress in the past.
• Use when and while in simple sentences.

13. Support for Slow Learners

• Use pictures and real actions to demonstrate what people were doing.
• Practise was and were separately before combining them with verbs.
• Provide sentence frames such as “I was ______ing” and “They were ______ing”.
• Let pupils practise in pairs and give immediate correction and encouragement.

14. Teaching and Learning Resources

• Pictures showing people doing different activities.
• Flashcards with action verbs.
• Chalkboard and chalk or whiteboard and markers.
• Exercise books and learners’ environment.

15. Summary

The Past Continuous Tense describes an action that was in progress at a particular time in the past. Its basic structure is was/were + verb-ing. For example: “I was studying at 8 o’clock yesterday.”

Remember the difference: Simple Past tells us about a completed past action (I cooked dinner), while Past Continuous describes an action that was in progress at a past time (I was cooking dinner at 7 o’clock).