The phrase “were asking” is in the past continuous tense.
Explanation:
- Past continuous tense describes an action that was ongoing at a specific time in the past.
- It is formed using the past tense of the verb “to be” (was/were) + the present participle (verb ending in -ing).
Example:
- “They were asking questions during the meeting.”
This indicates that the act of asking was happening continuously at a certain point in the past.