The past continuous tense is a way to talk about actions or events that were happening in the past. It is formed by using the past tense of the verb "to be" (was/were) and adding the present participle (-ing form) of the main verb.
| Positive | Negative | Negative short form |
|---|---|---|
| I was crying | I was not crying | I wasn't crying |
| You were explaining | You were explaining | You were explaining |
| She, he, it was working | She, he, it was not working | She, he, it wasn't working |
| We were thinking | We were not thinking | We weren't thinking |
| They were talking | They were not talking | They weren't talking |
We use the past continuous to describe something that was happening in the past when another other event interrupted it or a repetitive action that no is no longer happening.