Was/were + verb-ing

Use the Past Progressive for an action that was already in progress at a particular time in the past. Build it with **was** or **were** plus the **-ing** form: *I was working*, *she was reading*, *they were waiting*.

Choose **was** with *I, he, she,* and *it*. Choose **were** with *you, we,* and *they*. Put **not** after was or were for negatives, and move was or were before the subject for questions: *They weren't sleeping. Were you listening?*

A shorter Simple Past event can interrupt the action in progress: *I was cooking when the phone rang.* Use **while** when two actions were developing at the same time: *She was reading while I was making dinner.*