How to teach the past continuous: when, while and a 60-minute A2 lesson

The past continuous is easy to form and harder to use well. Here is how to teach it next to the past simple at A2, with a lesson plan, the mistakes to listen for and practice ideas.

November 6, 2026 · 8 min read

Most A2 students can make the past continuous after five minutes: was or were plus a verb with -ing. The hard part is knowing when to use it. Some students never use it, and others put every past verb in it once they've learned it. The fix is to teach it next to the past simple, because its main job is to show what was already happening when something else happened.

What students need to know

Form

  • was / were + -ing: I was working. They were watching a movie.
  • Negative: She wasn't listening. We weren't sleeping.
  • Questions: Was it raining? What were you doing at eight o'clock?
  • Short answers: Yes, I was. No, they weren't.

The -ing spelling is the same as in the present continuous (making, running, studying), so students who know that tense only need to swap am, is, are for was, were. Say the sentences at natural speed. In statements, was and were are short and unstressed, but in short answers they are stressed: Yes, I was.

Use 1: in progress at a time in the past, and background

At nine last night, I was watching TV. I started before nine and I was still watching after nine. On the whiteboard, draw a wavy line for watching TV with a mark for 9 p.m. in the middle of it.

The same use sets the scene at the start of a story: It was a cold evening. It was raining, and people were hurrying home. The past continuous gives the background. The past simple tells what happened: Then a man in a red coat stopped in front of me.

Use 2: a longer action interrupted by a shorter one

I was cooking dinner when the phone rang. The cooking started first and was in progress. The ringing was short and happened in the middle of it. On the timeline, the cooking is a wavy line and the phone call is a cross on it.

This is the use students need most when they tell stories.

When or while?

  • while + the longer action, usually in the past continuous: While I was walking home, I saw an accident.
  • when + the shorter action, usually in the past simple: I was walking home when I saw an accident.
  • while for two long actions at the same time: While I was cooking, my husband was setting the table.

When can also go with the longer action (When I was living in Lima, I met my wife), and that's correct. At A2, though, the simple rule above is enough, because it gives students one safe pattern. When the when or while part comes first, put a comma after it.

Then show how the tense changes the meaning:

  • When Ana arrived, we were having dinner. We started dinner before she arrived.
  • When Ana arrived, we had dinner. She arrived, and then we had dinner.

Ask "Which came first, dinner or Ana?" for each one. This pair teaches more than any rule.

Verbs that don't take -ing

State verbs such as know, want, like, believe, understand and have (when it means "own") stay in the past simple: I knew the answer, not I was knowing the answer. Have for actions is fine: We were having lunch.

A 60-minute A2 lesson

Aim: the student can tell a short story with the past continuous for background and the past simple for events, joined with when and while.

Stage 1: Warm-up (5 minutes). Ask what the student did yesterday evening. This warms up the past simple, which they'll need all lesson.

Stage 2: A short text (10 minutes). Show a text like this one, then ask the questions.

Last Saturday, at three in the afternoon, the fire alarm went off in our building. I was making pancakes. My neighbor Dan was taking a shower, and the two boys on the third floor were playing video games. We all ran outside. It was raining, and Dan was wearing only a towel. Ten minutes later, a firefighter came out and said, "It's OK. Someone burned some toast."

  1. What was Dan doing when the alarm went off? (He was taking a shower.)
  2. What were the boys doing? (They were playing video games.)
  3. What was the weather like? (It was raining.)
  4. Why did the alarm go off? (Someone burned some toast.)

Stage 3: Meaning (10 minutes). Write I was making pancakes when the fire alarm went off on the whiteboard and draw the timeline. Then ask concept-check questions:

  • Which started first, the pancakes or the alarm? (The pancakes.)
  • Which was longer? (Making pancakes.)
  • Did I finish the pancakes before the alarm went off? (No.)

Stage 4: Form (5 minutes). The student finds the past continuous verbs in the text and tells you the pattern. Write it up with a negative, a question and short answers.

Stage 5: Controlled practice (10 minutes). Two short tasks. First, past simple or past continuous?

  1. I ___ (drive) to work when I ___ (see) the accident. (was driving, saw)
  2. What ___ you ___ (do) when I ___ (call)? (were … doing, called)
  3. She ___ (not listen), so she ___ (not hear) the question. (wasn't listening, didn't hear)
  4. While they ___ (wait) for the bus, it ___ (start) to rain. (were waiting, started)
  5. I ___ (know) the answer, but I ___ (not say) anything. (knew, didn't say)

Then join the sentences with when or while:

  1. I was sleeping. The doorbell rang. (I was sleeping when the doorbell rang.)
  2. We were walking in the park. We found a wallet. (While we were walking in the park, we found a wallet.)
  3. He cut his finger. He was cutting onions. (He cut his finger while he was cutting onions.)

After each answer, ask "Which was longer?"

Stage 6: Speaking (15 minutes). Play the alibi game. Someone ate the cake in the office kitchen yesterday between 7 and 9 p.m. The student is the detective and asks you questions: What were you doing at 7:30? Who were you with? What was she wearing? Then swap roles. After that, the student tells a short true story about something surprising that happened while they were doing something ordinary.

Stage 7: Feedback and homework (5 minutes). Show three of the student's sentences, one with a mistake, and ask them to find it. For homework, ask for five sentences about what their family was doing at 8 p.m. yesterday, or a voice message with a short story that starts I was … when ….

Typical mistakes

  • I was go to the store when I saw her. → I was going to the store when I saw her.
  • They was playing outside. → They were playing outside.
  • I was cooking when the phone was ringing. → I was cooking when the phone rang. (The short action takes the past simple.)
  • While the phone rang, I was cooking. → When the phone rang, I was cooking.
  • I was knowing him from school. → I knew him from school.
  • Yesterday I was going to the gym and then I was cooking dinner. → Yesterday I went to the gym and then I cooked dinner. (Finished actions one after another take the past simple.)
  • When I was a child, I was playing soccer every day. → When I was a child, I played soccer every day. (Or I used to play.)

The last one is common among students who speak Spanish, French, Italian or Russian, because their languages can use the same past form for background and for past habits. English uses the past simple, used to or would for habits.

Practice ideas

  • The memory picture. Show a busy street or park scene for 30 seconds, then hide it and say: "Suddenly a dog ran through the park. What was everyone doing?" The student answers from memory: A woman was reading on a bench. Two kids were playing with a ball.
  • Story chain. Give the first line: It was a dark night, and it was snowing. Take turns adding a sentence. You add the events in the past simple, the student adds what was happening around them, then swap.
  • Where were you when…? Ask about moments the student remembers: when they heard some big news, when they met their partner, when they got their first job offer. I was sitting in a café when my sister called.

Teaching it online

Draw the timeline on the whiteboard and let the student draw their own for each story. For the memory game, put the picture on a shared slide, then move to the next slide to hide it.

Ready-made lessons on the past continuous

If you'd rather not build the slides yourself, these lessons from the SnappySchool library are ready to teach, and each downloads as a PDF:

Questions

At what level is the past continuous taught?

Usually at A2, soon after the past simple. At B1 it comes back with the past perfect, as part of narrative tenses.

What's the difference between when and while?

While usually goes with the longer action, in the past continuous: While I was driving, my phone rang. When usually goes with the shorter action, in the past simple: I was driving when my phone rang.

Can I use when with the past continuous?

Yes. When I was living in Lima, I met my wife is correct. Teach the simple rule first, then show this once the student is comfortable with it.

Which verbs can't be used in the past continuous?

State verbs, such as know, like, want, believe and understand, and have when it means "own." Use the past simple instead: I wanted to leave.

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