Here are some examples of Past Continuous Tense :
What was the construction worker doing, when the woman walked in?
I was trying to reach you.
You weren’t using the telephone?
Were you using this?
I was reading that.
Where were they living before?
They were living in France.
What were they doing there?
They were teaching.
Look at this conjugation of the verb “to live” in past continuous tense.
I was living
You were living
He was living
It was living
We were living
You (plural) were living
They were living
Past Continuous and Past Simple
Past Continuous is used for description.
Past Simple is used to move the story (narrative) forward.