Active Voice (Past Continuous Tense)
In active voice, the past continuous tense describes an ongoing action or state that was happening at a specific point in the past. It emphasizes the doer of the action and the continuous nature of the action in the past.
Example: “She was painting a picture at 5 PM yesterday.”
In this sentence, “She” is the subject performing the action “was painting,” highlighting the continuous action she was engaged in at a specific past time (5 PM yesterday).
Passive Voice (Past Continuous Tense)
In passive voice, the past continuous tense describes an ongoing action or state that was happening at a specific point in the past, but it shifts the focus to the receiver of the action rather than the doer.
Example: “A picture was being painted by her at 5 PM yesterday.”
In this passive voice sentence, “A picture” is the subject receiving the action “was being painted,” and “by her” indicates the doer of the action. The emphasis is on the ongoing action (the picture being painted) at a specific past time (5 PM yesterday), but the focus is on the result or receiver of the action.
Here is a past continuous active to passive voice quiz for you.You will find the answer once you complete the quiz.