Past Continuous is formed by means of the auxiliary verb was (were) and verb with ending -ing. Подробнее об образовании формы — ing >>
For example:
I was doing it at 6 p.m. yesterday.
They were doing it at 6 p.m. yesterday.
I was not doing it at 6 p.m. yesterday. (wasn’t)
They were not doing it at 6 p.m. yesterday.(weren’t)
Was I doing it at 6 p.m. yesterday?
Were they doing it at 6 p.m. yesterday?
Cases of using:
1. Action In the middle of happening at a stated past time
He was playing tennis at 4.30 yesterday.
2. Past action in progress interrupted by another past action. The longer action is in the Past Continuous, the shorter action is in the Past Simple.
While I was getting dressed the bell rang.
3. Two or more simultaneous past actions
While I was sunbathing, Tim was swimming.
4. Background description to events in a story
She was flying to Paris. The sun was shining …
Time expressions used with:
while, when, as etc