The past continuous tense can be used to describe an action that was in progress at a specific time in the past.

Positive: subject + was/were + verb+ing
Negative: subject + was/were + not + verb+ing
Question: Was/Were + subject + verb+ing?

Common uses:

1. Describing an action in progress at a specific time in the past

• She was dancing at the party last night.
• They weren’t studying when I walked in.
• Were you watching TV when I called?

2. Describing two actions that were in progress at the same time in the past

• He was cooking dinner while she was watching TV.
• They weren’t playing basketball when we arrived.
• Were you studying while she was sleeping?