Past Continuous
Lesson 3 of 7 · ~4 minutes

Lesson 3 · Past Continuous

Wasn't working

Negative

The negative doesn't move anything. It adds not to the part that's already in the sentence — was or were: I wasn’t working, they weren’t working.

not goes with was / were

  • I / he / she / itShe wasn’t reading — was + not
  • you / we / theyWe weren’t waiting — were + not
  • verb-ing stays where it is: not was not read and not weren’t wait

Who

I / he / she / it
you / we / they

Full form

was not working
were not working

Contraction

wasn’t working
weren’t working
Who
Full form
Contraction
I / he / she / it
was not working
wasn’t working
you / we / they
were not working
weren’t working

At nine I wasn’t sleeping. I was reading.

The children weren’t playing outside.

Where people usually slip

Didn’t doesn't fit here. It brings the base form with it and makes the past simple: I didn’t work — the whole action didn't happen.

If an action wasn't in progress at a particular moment, you need I wasn’t working. Don't mix them: not I didn’t working.

The full and short forms are both correct. Wasn’t and weren’t are used in everyday speech; was not and were not in writing and when you want to stress the negative.

In short

  • I / he / she / itwasn’t + verb-ing
  • you / we / theyweren’t + verb-ing
  • diddoesn't appear
  • -ingstays on the verb
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