Grade 2 English Tenses – Past Continous Tense Notes
English — Tenses
Past Continuous Tense (was / were + verb‑ing) 🕒
What it tells us: The Past Continuous shows an action that was happening at a time in the past. Think: "was/were ...ing" — something was going on.
Structure
Affirmative: subject + was / were + verb + -ing
Negative: subject + was / were + not + verb + -ing (wasn't / weren't)
Question: Was / Were + subject + verb + -ing ?
Who uses "was" or "were"?
- I, he, she, it → was
- we, you, they → were
Examples (Kenyan life 🏡🏫):
- I was eating ugali. 🍽️
- She was sweeping the floor. 🧹
- They were playing football at school. ⚽
- We were walking to the market. 🛒
- The baby was sleeping. 😴
Use with words: "while" and "when"
Use "while" for two actions happening at the same time: We were singing while Mama was cooking. 🎶🍳
Use "when" to show one action was happening and another happened: I was studying when the rain started. ☔
Make the -ing form (easy rules):
- Most verbs: add -ing → play → playing
- Verbs ending in -e: drop the e → make → making
- Short verbs like run → double last letter → running (only some short words)
Short practice — Fill the blanks
- She _______ (play) with dolls yesterday.
- They _______ (run) to the bus.
- I _______ (eat) chapati at 5 pm.
- We _______ (watch) a story when the teacher came.
- He _______ (sleep) in class.
Write was / were + verb‑ing.
Answers
- She was playing with dolls yesterday.
- They were running to the bus.
- I was eating chapati at 5 pm.
- We were watching a story when the teacher came.
- He was sleeping in class.
Tip: Try to use Past Continuous to tell about two things happening at the same time in the past. Keep practicing with short sentences! 😊