Past continuous

Self-study activity:
Watch the first part of this Mr Bean video (up to minute 4'00) and answer these questions:

What was Mr Bean doing at eight o'clock yesterday?
What was Mr Bean doing at quarter past eight yesterday?
What was Mr Bean doing at half past eight yesterday?
What was Mr Bean doing at ten to nine yesterday?



In English we use the past continuous to show that an action was in progress at a specific moment in the past. Examples:

At eight o'clock yesterday Mr Bean was sleeping.
At ten to nine yesterday Mr Bean was shaving / getting ready to go to the dentist.

Sometimes, we combine the past continuous with the past simple to express an interrupted past activity:
Mr Bean was sleeping when the alarm went off.
Mr Bean was getting ready when his shaver got stuck with his nose hair.
When the phone rang, I was having a shower.
While we were playing tennis, it started to rain.

You can read a more detailed explanation of the past continuous in Englishpage.com. You can also do some online activities there.

Self-study activity: Get together with an English-speaking friend and ask each other what you were doing at specific times yesterday xample:
What were you doing at quarter past eleven yesterday?