The Past Continuous with words such as “always” or “constantly” expresses the idea that something irritating or shocking often happened in the past. The concept is very similar to the expression “used to” but with negative emotion. Remember to put the words “always” or “constantly” between “be” and “verb+ing.”

Examples:

  • She was always coming to class late.
  • He was constantly talking. He annoyed everyone.
  • I didn’t like them because they were always complaining.