What is a past progressive?

The past progressive (also called the past continuous) is a verb tense that describes an action that was happening at a specific point in the past. It's formed by using the past tense of the verb "to be" (was/were) followed by the present participle (the -ing form of the verb).

Here's a breakdown:

Structure:

* Subject + was/were + verb + -ing

Examples:

* I was walking to the store when I saw a cat.

* They were playing soccer in the park.

* She was reading a book by the fireplace.

Uses:

* To describe an action happening at a specific time in the past: "I was eating breakfast when the phone rang."

* To emphasize the duration of an action: "He was working on the project for weeks."

* To describe two actions happening simultaneously: "While I was cooking dinner, my husband was watching TV."

* To describe an interrupted action: "I was reading a book when I fell asleep."

Key Points:

* The past progressive is used for actions that were ongoing in the past.

* It can be used with time expressions like "yesterday," "last night," "at 3 o'clock," etc.

* It is often used in conjunction with the simple past tense to show a contrast between a completed action and an ongoing action.

Let me know if you'd like more examples or have any other questions about the past progressive!