Past Continuous Tense – Day 5

Yes / No Questions (Clear Structure & Usage)

🎯 Objective of Day 5

Today you will learn how to ask Yes / No questions in Past Continuous Tense correctly and confidently.

Understand question structure
Learn correct word order
Avoid common question mistakes
Practice real-life question examples

Question Structure (Golden Rule)

Was / Were + Subject + Verb + ing ?

👉 Was / Were comes first 👉 Subject comes next 👉 Main verb must end with -ing

✍️ Basic Yes / No Questions

Was I studying?
Was she cooking?
Was he working?
Were we watching TV?
Were they playing outside?

Statements vs Questions

Statement	Question
She was reading.	Was she reading?
They were sleeping.	Were they sleeping?

Questions with Time Expressions

Was he working yesterday evening?
Were they travelling last night?
Was she talking on the phone at 9 PM?
Were you waiting at the bus stop then?

Questions Using “When” (Yes / No)

Even though “when” is present, the answer is still Yes or No.

Was she sleeping when you called?
Were they playing when it started raining?
Was he driving when the accident happened?

Common Mistakes (Avoid These)

❌ Was she ~~cook~~ dinner?
✅ Was she cooking dinner?
❌ Were they ~~play~~ cricket?
✅ Were they playing cricket?
❌ Was they watching TV?
✅ Were they watching TV?
❌ Were he working late?
✅ Was he working late?

How to Answer Yes / No Questions

Short answers are commonly used:

Was she reading? → Yes, she was. / No, she wasn’t.
Were they playing football? → Yes, they were. / No, they weren’t.

Practice Section

______ you studying at night?
______ she cooking dinner then?
______ they travelling last evening?
______ he working when you arrived?
______ we waiting for the bus?

(Answers will be discussed in Day 6)

Final Thought

Yes / No questions help you ask whether an action was happening at a specific time in the past.

Once the structure is clear, forming questions becomes easy.

— Shaktimatha Learning

📘 Past Continuous Tense – Complete Library

Learn Past Continuous Tense step by step with clear explanations, examples, practice lessons, corrections, and exam-style models.

📗 Concept & Usage Lessons

📝 Advanced Practice & Applications

✍️ Corrections & Exam Models

🔗 Learning Resources

This Past Continuous Tense library helps learners move from basic understanding to confident usage through structured lessons and practice.