Formation of the past continuous
| Positive sentences |
Subject + was/were + verb(ing)
|
They were talking about her when she walked into the room. |
| Negative sentences |
Subject + was/were + not + verb(ing)
Subject + wasn't/weren't + verb(ing)
|
He asked me why I was not having dinner at the hotel.
We weren't playing football when the earthquake began.
|
| Questions |
Was/were + subject + verb(ing)
|
Was she going to the theatre when it started raining? |
Exceptions in spelling
| Final 'e' is dropped (but: 'ee' is not changed) |
 |
come – coming (but: agree – agreeing) |
| After a short, stressed vowel, the final consonant is doubled |
 |
sit – sitting |
| 'L' as a final consonant after a vowel is doubled (in British English) |
 |
travel – travelling |
| Final 'ie' becomes 'y' |
 |
lie – lying |
Signal words: 'when', 'while', 'as long as'.