Past Continuous

FORM
[was/were + present participle]

Examples:

You were studying when she called.
Were you studying when she called?
You were not studying when she called.

In the Simple Past, a specific time is used to show when an action began or finished. In the Past Continuous, a specific time only interrupts the action.

El el Pasado Simple, un tiempo especifico es usado para demostrar cuando una accion comienza o termina. En el Pasado Continuo, un tiempo especifico solo interumpe la accion.

Examples:

Last night at 6 PM, I ate dinner.
(I started eating at 6 PM.)

Last night at 6 PM, I was eating dinner.
(I started earlier; and at 6 PM, I was in the process of eating dinner)

When you use the Past Continuous with two actions in the same sentence, it gives the idea that both actions were happening at the same time. The actions are parallel.

Cuando usas el Pasado Continuo con dos acciones, en el mismo enunciado, eso da la idea de que ambas acciones, estaban pasando al mismo tiempo. Las acciones son paralelas.

Examples:

I was studying while he was making dinner.
While Ellen was reading, Tim was watching television.
Were you listening while he was talking?
I wasn't paying attention while I was writing the letter, so I made several mistakes.
What were you doing while you were waiting?
Thomas wasn't working, and I wasn't working either.
They were eating dinner, discussing their plans, and having a good time.