Understanding Past Continuous Tense

This video tutorial by Ben introduces the past continuous tense, also known as the past progressive tense. It explains how to form the tense using 'was' or 'were' plus a verb ending in 'ing'. The tutorial covers its usage in describing longer actions interrupted by shorter ones, setting the background of a story, and actions that continued over a period in the past. Key words and phrases associated with the past continuous tense are also discussed, providing examples to illustrate each point.

What is another name for the past continuous tense?

• Future continuous tense

• Past perfect tense

• Past progressive tense

• Present continuous tense

What is the correct structure for forming the past continuous tense?

• Subject + was/were + verb + ing

• Subject + is + verb + ing

• Subject + have + verb

• Subject + will + verb

Which of the following sentences correctly uses the past continuous tense?

• I eat dinner when the phone rang.

• I was eating dinner when the phone rang.

• I have eaten dinner when the phone rang.

• I will eat dinner when the phone rang.

In the sentence 'I was walking across the street when Supergirl jumped in front of me,' what does the past continuous tense indicate?

• A habitual action

• An ongoing action interrupted by another event

• A future action

• An action that was completed

How is the past continuous tense used in storytelling?

• To express wishes

• To list completed actions

• To set the background of a story

• To describe future events

Which sentence uses the past continuous tense to describe a background action?

• The sun shines brightly.

• The sun was shining as I walked through the field.

• The sun will shine tomorrow.

• The sun has shone all day.

What does the past continuous tense indicate when used for actions that started and finished in the past?

• An action that never happened

• An action that was ongoing in the past

• An action that is happening now

• An action that will happen

Which of the following is a key word often used with the past continuous tense?

• Tomorrow

• Always

• Soon

• Never

Identify the sentence that uses the past continuous tense correctly.

• She always bites her nails.

• She was always biting her nails.

• She will always bite her nails.

• She has always bitten her nails.

Which phrase is commonly used with the past continuous tense to indicate duration?

• All day

• Yesterday

• Tomorrow

• Next week