The Past Progressive Tense

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THE PAST PROGRESSIVE TENSE 
 
The Past Progressive describes an action which went on during a stretch of 
time in the past and finished. Other actions may have happened at the same 
time (short and immediate or ongoing). 
While I was walking down the street yesterday, I suddenly met my boss. 
 
An ongoing incomplete action 
which continued for a stretch 
of time in the past and ended. 
The emphasis is on the duration 
of the action and the fact that 
the doer invested time and 
effort in the activity 
Donna was doing her homework for hours 
yesterday. 
Last weekend, the guys were shopping all 
night long. 
The Prime Minister was still talking at 
09:00 yesterday morning. 
 
(Donna, the guys, and the Prime Minister 
were all busy doing an activity, which 
lasted for some time before it finished.) 
A few ongoing actions that 
were happening at the same 
time 
While you were riding the train to the 
airport, I was trying to call you. (During his 
ride to the airport, I was continuously 
trying to call him, but since the train was 
making a noise, he didn’t hear his cell 
phone. It was all happening at the same 
time.) 
Michelle was working in London the same 
month her boyfriend was spending his 
vacation there. (It turned out that 
Michelle’s boyfriend was spending his 
vacation in parallel to her working in 
London. The two got to be together during 
that time after all.) 
Ron was making dinner while his 
roommates were cleaning the apartment. 
(The roommates were all busy doing 
something concurrently and therefore 
could not be interrupted.) 
An ongoing past activity with a 
shorter past action that 
occurred and was completed in 
the middle of the longer one 
I was jogging in the park when you called. 
(He called at some point during the jog. 
Because I was running, (longer activity) I 
couldn’t answer my cell phone as I was 
busy in the middle of the activity. He only 
made one call (short action) and didn’t 
continue trying.) 
Don was writing an email when the 
computer suddenly shut down. (Don was in 
the process of writing an email on the 
computer when the malfunction caught 
him by surprise. He was already in the 
middle of the activity when something new 
 
 
happened, in this case interrupting his 
work.) 
As Sherry was walking home, she 
unexpectedly met an old friend. (Sherry 
was minding her own business getting 
home (extended activity), when she 
suddenly bumped into a friend (short 
sudden activity)). 
Background information, to give 
atmosphere to a story 
It was a beautiful day. The birds were 
singing, the sun was shining and in the 
cafes people were laughing and chatting. 
An annoying and repeated 
action in the past, usually with 
‘always’ 
He was always leaving the tap running. 
NB: Remember you can’t use this tense or any continuous tense with stative 
verbs.