To talk about actions that were in progress at a specific moment in the past, use the past continuous. This is the Spanish equivalent of "was doing" or "were doing".
Forming the past continuous
Conjugate estar in the imperfect tense and add a gerund (a verb ending in -ando or -iendo).
| Pronoun | estar (imperfect) |
|---|---|
| yo | estaba |
| tú | estabas |
| él/ella/usted | estaba |
| nosotros | estábamos |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | estaban |
| They were fixing the roof at two o'clock. | Ellos estaban arreglando el techo a las dos. |
| The building was shaking at three o'clock. | El edificio estaba temblando a las tres. |
Setting the scene and interruptions
The past continuous is perfect for setting the scene. It describes an ongoing background action, while the preterite tense describes a sudden event that interrupts it. These two events are often connected by cuando (when).
| What were you doing when the earthquake happened? | ¿Qué estabas haciendo cuando sucedió el terremoto? |
| They were looking for the shelter when the lightning struck. | Ellos estaban buscando el refugio cuando el rayo cayó. |
Simultaneous actions with "mientras"
To describe ongoing actions that were happening at the exact same time, use mientras (while).
| The dog was sleeping while it was raining. | El perro estaba durmiendo mientras estaba lloviendo. |
| They were resting in the shelter while it was raining. | Ellos estaban descansando en el refugio mientras estaba lloviendo. |
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