Special Agent Entrance Exam 2025 – 400 Free Practice Questions to Pass the Exam

The phrase "They were speaking to the press" is a clear example of Past Progressive tense because it specifically describes an ongoing action that was happening at a particular moment in the past. In this construction, "were" serves as the auxiliary verb, while "speaking" is the present participle of the verb "speak." This combination indicates an action that was in progress during a specified time in the past.

Past Progressive is used to highlight actions that were ongoing at a certain point rather than actions that were completed or habitual, which helps to convey a sense of continuity and context. For example, if you wanted to express what someone was doing at a particular time yesterday, you would use the Past Progressive to illustrate that they were in the middle of that action, rather than simply stating that the action occurred and finished.