In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 39 in the category of PAST is simply defined as:
past continuous NEGATIVE
TLC STUDENT SPEAKING TEST example:
(discussing saving money as a child)
I was saving. I was not eating chocolates.
I was just spending my money on my studies.
male India B1
An iWeb search:
_VBD _XX _VVG
1 WASN’T GOING 29202
2 WAS NOT GOING 16267
3 WERE NOT GOING 12242
4 WASN’T WORKING 8222
5 WASN’T EXPECTING 8109
6 WEREN’T GOING 8090
7 WAS NOT WORKING 6612
8 WASN’T GETTING 5244
9 WASN’T LOOKING 4281
10 WERE NOT TALKING 3855
11 WASN’T TRYING 3732
12 WAS NOT EXPECTING 3708
13 WASN’T THINKING 2721
14 WASN’T FEELING 2602
15 WAS NOT GETTING 2512
16 WERE NOT WORKING 2413
17 WAS NOT WEARING 2326
18 WEREN’T GETTING 2320
19 WERE NOT GETTING 2231
20 WASN’T PAYING 2128
21 WAS NOT LOOKING 2118
22 WEREN’T EXPECTING 2115
23 WASN’T MAKING 1956
24 WEREN’T WORKING 1896
25 WASN’T USING 1884
26 WASN’T PLAYING 1884
27 WASN’T WEARING 1838
28 WERE NOT LOOKING 1783
29 WASN’T PLANNING 1758
30 WEREN’T LOOKING 1623
31 WASN’T TALKING 1573
32 WAS NOT TRYING 1537
33 WERE NOT USING 1485
34 WASN’T TAKING 1481
35 WERE NOT TRYING 1456
36 WASN’T COMING 1432
37 WERE NOT EXPECTING 1414
38 WAS NOT USING 1357
39 WAS NOT MAKING 1287
40 WERE NOT SAYING 1233
41 WAS NOT FEELING 1173
42 WAS NOT TAKING 1144
43 WASN’T HAPPENING 1114
44 WASN’T RUNNING 1052
45 WASN’T SAYING 1033
46 WERE N’T TRYING 1032
47 WEREN’T USING 1032
48 WERE NOT WEARING 1028
49 WEREN’T PAYING 1004
50 WERE NOT TAKING 999
51 WASN’T GON 998 gonna
52 WAS NOT RUNNING 975
53 WERE NOT MAKING 969
54 WEREN’T PLAYING 910
55 WAS NOT THINKING 895
56 WASN’T MOVING 882
57 WASN’T GIVING 859
58 WEREN’T MAKING 855
59 WASN’T KIDDING 843
60 WAS NOT COMING 815
61 WAS NOT PAYING 804
62 WASN’T EATING 757
63 WAS NOT MOVING 719
64 WASN’T HELPING 718
65 WASN’T SHOWING 713
66 WAS NOT TALKING 713
67 WAS NOT PLANNING 707
68 WAS NOT BREATHING 701
69 WAS NOT PLAYING 688
70 WASN’T SEEING 650
71 WAS NOT ACTING 650
72 WAS NOT GIVING 650
73 WERE NOT PAYING 633
74 WEREN’T TAKING 615
Please tell me you weren’t talking about business.
75 WASN’T ASKING 608
76 WASN’T LYING 603
77 WEREN’T COMING 594
78 WASN’T BREATHING 584
79 WASN’T LISTENING 578
80 WERE NOT RECEIVING 575
81 WAS NOT SHOWING 573
82 WEREN’T TALKING 573
83 WEREN’T PLANNING 565
84 WEREN’T THINKING 557
85 WAS NOT RESPONDING 552
86 WAS NOT SAYING 540
87 WAS NOT REFERRING 527
88 WAS NOT SPEAKING 521
89 WAS NOT LIVING 514
90 WASN’T WATCHING 512
91 WASN’T BUYING 495
92 WEREN’T KIDDING 493
93 WASN’T REFERRING 486
94 WAS NOT HAPPENING 486
95 WAS NOT FUNCTIONING 482
96 WAS NOT HELPING 478
97 WERE NOT SEEING 474
98 WERE NOT GIVING 471
99 WERE NOT PLANNING 471
No, we were not planning anything and we only had one bomb.
100 WAS NOT EATING 463
A2:
happening, lying, moving, receiving, trying
B1:
acting, breathing, expecting, planning
B2:
responding
C2:
referring
EXPERT EXAMPLE:
One negative comment on the website was that the app was not working properly.