Grammar · Free lesson
Past continuous: what were you doing when it happened?
Your friend asks what you were doing when a visitor arrived. You want to place the arrival inside your activity, not say that you started the activity afterward.
Professor Scott MendozaThe short answer
Use was or were + an -ing verb for the activity already in progress: “I was reading when the doorbell rang.” Reading was underway at the moment the bell rang. Use the past simple for that event: rang.
Show the activity in progress, then place the event inside it.
Build the background with a subject + was/were + an -ing verb. I, he, she and it take was; you, we and they take were. Add when + a past event: I was reading when the doorbell rang. This tells us that the reading had already started. It does not tell us whether you stopped reading afterward.
Two parts of one moment.
I was reading.
The doorbell rang.
I was reading when the doorbell rang.
Was reading shows what was in progress. Rang identifies the event that happened during it.
Put the moment together
Start with the person
I
Add the activity in progress
I was reading.
Place the event
I was reading when the doorbell rang.
Try it now
Choose the sentence that matches the moment.
Read all answers and explanations
Reading had already started when the doorbell rang. Which sentence clearly shows that background?
I was reading when the doorbell rang.Was reading puts you in the middle of the activity at the bell. Will read is future; started reading after places the start later.
Complete the background activity: “They ___ talking when I arrived.”
wereThey takes were, and were talking is the past continuous. Did talking is not this construction.
Choose the complete past-continuous statement.
She was waiting outside.The pattern needs both was and waiting. Omitting was leaves an incomplete ordinary statement; was wait lacks the -ing form.
Put it into practice
Repair the background without changing the moment.
The reading was already happening when the doorbell rang. Keep I and reading, and fix the verb form.
I reading when the doorbell rang.
See a model answer
I was reading when the doorbell rang.
Adding was repairs the sentence while preserving the relationship between the activity and the event.
A little more clarity
Common questions
A few useful details before you move on.
Does the sentence mean I stopped reading?
Not necessarily. It places the bell during the reading, but does not say what you did next. Add another sentence if that detail matters.
I was reading when the doorbell rang. I kept reading.
Can I put the when clause first?
Yes. The timing can stay the same. Put a comma after the opening when clause in this example.
When the doorbell rang, I was reading.
Take it into your day
Use was/were + -ing for the background in progress and a past event to locate the moment.
Your next step · Available on Udemy
Give your past stories a clearer timeline.
This is one useful way to connect two past actions. The English Grammar and English Speaking course builds out the past continuous with Learn it, Review it, Use it and Practice it lessons, alongside a wider grammar and speaking foundation.
Explore the course English Master Course: English Grammar and English Speaking