Past Continuous Tense|Passive Voice

Past Continuous Tense or Past Progressive Tense(Passive Voice) is used to indicate the progressive or continuous actions that were in passive mode and had been practiced during the past time. Active Voice Sentences of Past Continuous Tense or Past Progressive Tense can be converted to Passive Voice Sentences, just by following the following General Rules.

Rules to Convert Past Continuous Tense(Active Voice) Sentences to Passive Voice Sentences

Following are some rules, that must be followed to convert the Active Voice Sentences of Past Continuous Tense into Passive Voice form.

• First of all, convert the Object(me, us, you, them, him, her, it) of Past Continuous Tense(Active Voice) Sentences into the Subject(I, we, you, they, he, she, it) of the Passive Voice Sentences.
• Then, use “was being/were being” as helping verbs to show that action is in progressing stage during the past time.
• Then, use the 3rd Verb to indicate that the action is in a Passive state.
• Then, use the preposition “by” in Passive Voice Sentences to indicate the actual doer of the action.
• After that, convert the Subject(I, we, you, they, he, she, it) of Active Voice Sentences into Objective case(me, us, you, them, him, her, it) to make Passive Voice Sentences.
• At the end, write the remaining words if there are any in the Active Voice Sentences.

Helping Verbs of Past Continuous Tense(Passive Voice)

The following 2 helping verbs can be used as helping Verbs with respective singular or plural number nouns or pronouns in Past Continuous Tense(Passive Voice) Sentences.

• Was being
• Were being

“Was being” As Helping Verb in Past Continuous Tense(Passive Voice)

“Was being” is used as a helping verb in Passive Voice Sentences of Past Continuous Tense with Singular Number Nouns and Pronouns (I, He, She, It), to indicate the progressive/continuous actions of the past time. Thus, Passive Sentences with “was being” as a helping verb, have the following Sentence Structural formula.

Singular Number Nouns/Pronouns+ was+ being+ 3rd Verb+ by+ Subject+ Remaining Words

“Were being” As Helping Verb in Past Continuous Tense(Passive Voice)

“Were being” is used as a helping verb in Past Continuous Tense(Passive Voice) Sentences with plural Number Nouns and Pronouns(We, you, they), to indicate the past time passive progressing/continuous actions. Thus, Passive Voice Sentences with “were being” as a helping verb, have the following Sentence Structural formula.

Plural Number Nouns/Pronouns+ were+ being+ 3rd Verb+ by+ Subject+ Remaining Words

Sentence Structure of Past Continuous Tense(Passive Voice)

Following are Sentence Structural formulas for Assertive, Negative, Interrogative, and Negative-Interrogative Sentences of Past Continuous Tense(Passive Voice)

Assertive Sentence Structure of Past Continuous Tense(Passive Voice)

Assertive Sentences of Past Continuous Tense(Passive Voice) take “was being/were being” as helping verbs with respective Singular and Plural Pronouns to indicate the declarative passive progressing actions of the past time. Thus, Assertive Sentences of Past Continuous Tense(Passive Voice) have the following Sentence Structure.

He/she/it/I/we/you/they/Singular or Plural Nouns+ was/were+ being+ 3rd Verb+ by+ Subject+ Remaining Words

Examples of Assertive Sentences of Past Continuous Tense(Passive Voice)

Following are some examples of Assertive Sentences of Past Continuous Tense(Passive Voice).

1. I was selecting apples.
   • Apples were selected by me.
2. We were taking a bath.
   • A bath was being taken by us.
3. You were sewing my shirt.
   • My shirt was being sewn by you.
4. They were speaking the truth.
   • The truth was being spoken by them.
5. He was feeling some pain.
   • Some pain was being felt by him.
6. She was looking at him.
   • He was looking at her.
7. The dog was barking at them.
   • They were being barked at by the dog.
8. She was calling me repeatedly.
   • I was being called by her repeatedly.
9. You were telling us an interesting story.
   • We were being told an interesting story by you.
   • An interesting story was being told to us by you.
10. They were looking at you all over the place.
    • You were being looked by them all over the place.
11. Someone was following them last night.
    • They were being followed by someone last night.
12. They were bringing him some food.
    • He was being brought some food by them.
    • Some food was being brought to him by them.
13. They were sending her updates regularly.
    • She was being sent updates by them regularly.
    • Updates were being sent by them regularly.
14. The teacher was explaining it to me.
    • It was being explained by the teacher to me.

Negative Sentence Structure of Past Continuous Tense(Passive Voice)

Negative Sentences of Past Continuous Tense(Passive Voice) takes “not” between helping verbs “was/were” and “being”, to indicate the negative nature of the passive progressing actions of the past time. Thus, Negative Passive Voice Sentences of Past Continuous Tense have the following Sentence Structure.

He/she/it/I/we/you/they/Singular or Plural Number Nouns+ was/were+ not+ being+ 3rd Verb+ by+ Subject+ Remaining Words

Examples of Negative Sentences of Past Continuous Tense(Passive Voice)

Following are some examples of Negative Sentences of Past Continuous Tense(Passive Voice).

1. I was not knocking at the door.
   • The door was not being knocked at by me.
2. We were not playing at the cards.
   • The cards were not being played by us.
3. You were not taking this site.
   • This site was not being taken by you.
4. They were not giving us a test in English.
   • We were not being given a test in English by them.
   • A test in English was not being given to us by them.
5. He was not painting a picture.
   • A picture was not being painted by him.
6. She was not writing a letter to her father.
   • A letter was not being written by her to father.
7. The wind was not blowing the leaves away.
   • The leaves were not being blown away by the wind.
8. They were not showing me the new project plan during the meeting.
   • I was not being shown by them the new project plan during the meeting.
   • The new project plan was not being shown by them during the meeting.
9. The tour guide was not leading us through the museum when the fire alarm went off.
   • We were not being led by the tour guide through the museum when the fire alarm went off.
10. The author was not reading you an excerpt from his latest book.
    • You were not being read an excerpt by the author from his latest book.
11. They were not telling them stories about their adventures.
    • They were not being told stories by them about their adventures.
12. His friends were not surprising him with a party when he walked in.
    • He was not being surprised by his friends with a party when he walked in.
13. The team was not updating her on the progress of the project.
    • She was not being updated by the team on the progress of the project.
14. The children were not flying their kites.
    • Their kites were not being flown by the children.

Interrogative Sentence Structure of Past Continuous Tense(Passive Voice)

Interrogative Sentences of Past Continuous Tense(Passive Voice) takes “was/were” as a helping verb at the start of Sentences to show the questionable nature of the passive progressive actions of the past time. Thus, Interrogative Sentences of Past Continuous Tense(Passive Voice) have the following Sentence Structural formula.

Was/were+ he/she/it/I/we/you/they/he/she/it/Singular or Plural Nouns+ being+ 3rd Verb+ by+ Subject+ Remaining Words +?

Examples of Interrogative Sentences of Past Continuous Tense(Passive Voice)

Following are some examples of Interrogative Sentences of Past Continuous Tense(Passive Voice).

1. Was I learning my lesson?
   • Was my lesson being learned by me?
2. Were we closing the door?
   • Was the door being closed by us?
3. Were you cleaning the road?
   • Was the road being cleaned by you?
4. Were they doing their duty?
   • Was their duty being done by them?
5. Was he plucking flowers?
   • Were flowers being plucked by him?
6. Was she keeping pigeons?
   • Were pigeons being kept by her?
7. Was the storm causing a lot of damage?
   • Was a lot of damage being caused by the storm?
8. Were they watching me while playing soccer in the park?
   • Was I being watched by them while playing soccer in the park?
9. Was the manager giving us instructions on the new project?
   • Were they being given instructions on the new project by the manager?
   • Were instructions being given to us by the manager on the new project?
10. Was the coach training you for the upcoming match?
    • Were you being trained by the coach for the upcoming match?
11. Were they showing them around the city when it started to rain?
    • Were they being shown by them around the city when it started to rain?
12. Was the doctor examining him when the power went out?
    • Was he being examined by the doctor when the power went out?
13. Were we helping her to move into her new house?
    • Was she being helped by us to move into her new house?
14. Was the sun melting the ice?
    • Was the ice being melted by the sun?

Negative-Interrogative Sentence Structure of Past Continuous Tense(Passive Voice)

Negative-Interrogative Sentences of Past Continuous Tense(Passive Voice) take “was/were” as a helping verb at the start of Sentences to show the interrogative nature of the action. And “not being” comes after the Object of the Sentences to show the negative and passive nature of the past progressive action. Thus, Negative-Interrogative Sentences of Past Continuous Tense(Passive Voice) have the following Sentence Structure.

Was/were+ he/she/it/I/we/you/they/he/she/it/Singular or Plural Nouns+ not+ being+ 3rd Verb+ by+ Subject+ Remaining Words+?

Examples of Negative-Interrogative Sentences of Past Continuous Tense(Passive Voice)

Following are some examples of Negative-Interrogative Sentences of Past Continuous Tense(Passive Voice).

1. Was I not posting the letter?
   • Was the letter not being posted by me?
2. Were we not cooking the food late at night?
   • Was the food not being cooked by us late at night?
3. Were you not sending a telegram?
   • Was a telegram not being sent by you?
4. Were they not chasing the thieves?
   • Were the thieves not being chased by them?
5. Was he not chaining the dogs?
   • Were the dogs not being chained by him?
6. Was she not washing your clothes?
   • Were your clothes not being washed by her?
7. Was the television not showing the documentary?
   • Was the documentary not being shown on television?
8. Was the babysitter not watching me?
   • Was I not being watched by the babysitter?
9. Was the waiter not serving us dessert?
   • Were we not being served dessert by the waiter?
   • Was dessert not being served to us by the waiter?
10. Was the detective not questioning you about the incident?
    • Were you not being questioned by the detective about the incident?
11. Was the tutor not helping them with their mathematics homework?
    • Were they not being helped by the tutor with their mathematics homework?
12. Was the nurse not giving him his medication?
    • Was he not being given his medication by the nurse?
13. Was the guide not leading her through the forest?
    • Was she not being led by the guide through the forest?
14. Was the mechanic not fixing their car while they waited?
    • Was their car not being fixed by the mechanic while they waited?