I was working (past continuous)

POSITIVE:  They / We / You + WERE + working / eating 

I / He / She / It + WAS + working / eating 

  NEGATIVE:  They / We / You + WERE NOT (weren’t) + working / eating 

I /  He / She / It + WAS NOT (wasn’t) + working / eating 

  QUESTION:  WERE + They / We / You + working / eating… ?  WAS + I / He / She / It + working / eating… ?    For Example,

The children were shouting when the teacher came in. 

Tina was going to the library at 8 p.m. last night. 

What were you doing at 10 p.m. yesterday? 

The dog was barking last night. 

USES 

An action in the past that overlaps another action or a time. The action in the past continuous starts before and often continues after the other shorter action or time. 

For example,

I was having my breakfast when she called me. (I started having my breakfast before she called me, and maybe I continued afterward.) 

They were discussing something when I arrived. (They started discussing something before I arrived, and maybe we continued afterward.) 

 

Past Continuous can be used to show that two actions were going on at the same time in the past. 

For example,

John was making pizza while Tony was watching him. 

She was playing the guitar while he was singing on stage. 

We were sitting outside while the planes were flying overhead. 

 

The Past continuous can shed light on what was happening at a precise time in the past. 

For example,

At 10 o’clock last night, I was having a conversation with my girlfriend. 

They were cleaning the house at 7 p.m. yesterday.