I) An Introduction
This from of tense indicates activities that have already happened in the past and have been completed before the time of mention. These sentences are formed with the help of an auxiliary verb and giving the main verb an 'ing' ending.
Examples
-
You were studying when she called.
-
Were
you studying when she called?
-
You were not studying when she called.
Structure
[was/were + present participle]
II) Description
Positive, Negative, Question Forms
|
positive
|
negative
|
question
|
|
I was reading a book.
|
I wasn't (was not) reading. |
Was I reading? |
| He/she was talking |
He/she wasn't talking |
Was he/she talking? |
| It was raining |
It wasn't raining |
Was it raining? |
| You were reading a book |
You weren't (were not) reading |
Were you reading? |
| We were waiting |
We weren't waiting |
Were we waiting? |
| They were drinking |
They weren't drinking |
Were they drinking? |
| I was reading a book. |
I wasn't (was not) reading. |
Was I reading? |
You were reading a book.
|
You weren't (were not) reading a book. |
Were you reading a book? |
Common Mistakes
|
Common mistakes
|
Correct version
|
Why?
|
I waiting for him almost two hours.
|
I was waiting for him almost two hours.
|
To form the past continuous we use was/were + ing.
|
What did he doing when you saw him?
|
What was he doing when you saw him?
|
We were playing tennis every morning.
|
We played tennis every morning.
|
We use the past simple for repeated actions in the past.
|
They watched TV when I came.
|
They were watching TV when I came.
|
We use the past continuous when we want to say what was happening (what was in progress)
at a particular time in the past.
|
III) Usages
Interrupted Action in the Past
Use the Past Continuous to indicate that a longer action in the past was interrupted. The
interruption is usually a shorter action in the Simple Past.
Remember this can be a real interruption or just an interruption in time.
Examples:
-
I was watching TV when she called.
-
When the phone rang, she was writing a letter.
-
While we were having the picnic, it started to rain.
-
What were you doing when the earthquake started?
-
I was listening to my iPod, so I didn't hear the fire alarm.
-
You were not listening to me when I told you to turn the oven off.
-
While John was sleeping last night, someone stole his car.
-
Sammy was waiting for us when we got off the plane.
-
While I was writing the email, the computer suddenly went off.
-
A: What were you doing when you broke your leg?
B: I was snowboarding.
Specific Time as an Interruption
As described above, the Past Continuous is interrupted by a shorter action in the Simple Past.
However, you can also use a specific time as an
interruption.
Examples:
-
Last night at 6 PM, I was eating dinner.
-
At midnight, we were still driving through the
desert.
-
Yesterday at this time, I was sitting at my desk at work.
IMPORTANT
In the Simple Past, a specific time is used to show when an action began or finished. In the
Past Continuous, a specific time only interrupts the action.
Examples:
-
Last night at 6 PM, I ate dinner.
I started eating at 6 PM.
-
Last night at 6 PM, I was eating dinner.
I started earlier;
and at 6 PM, I was in the process of eating dinner.
Parallel Actions
When you use the Past Continuous with two actions in the same sentence, it expresses the idea
that both actions were happening at the same time. The
actions are parallel.
Examples:
-
I was studying while he was making dinner.
-
While Ellen was reading, Tim was watching
television.
-
Were
you listening while he was talking?
-
I wasn't paying attention while I was writing the
letter, so I made several mistakes.
-
What were you doing while you were
waiting?
-
Thomas wasn't working, and I wasn't working
either.
-
They were eating dinner, discussing their plans,
and having a good time.
Atmosphere
In English, we often use a series of parallel actions to describe the atmosphere at a particular
time in the past.
Examples:
-
When I walked into the office, several people were busily typing,
some were talking on the
phones, the boss was yelling directions, and customers were
waiting to be helped. One customer was yelling at a
secretary and waving his hands. Others were
complaining to each other about the
bad service.
Repetition and Irritation with "Always"
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.
While vs. When
Clauses are groups of words which have meaning, but are often not complete sentences. Some
clauses begin with the word "when" such as "when she called" or
"when it bit me." Other clauses begin with "while" such as "while she was sleeping" and "while
he was surfing." When you talk about things in the past,
"when" is most often followed by the verb tense Simple Past, whereas "while" is usually
followed by Past Continuous. "While" expresses the idea of "during that time." Study the
examples below. They have similar meanings, but they emphasize
different parts of the sentence.
Examples:
-
I was studying when she called.
-
While I was studying
, she called.
REMEMBER Non-Continuous Verbs / Mixed Verbs
It is important to remember that Non-Continuous Verbs cannot be used in any continuous tenses.
Also, certain non-continuous meanings for Mixed Verbs cannot be used in continuous tenses.
Instead of using Past Continuous with these verbs, you must use Simple Past.
Examples:
-
Jane was being at my house when you arrived. Not Correct
-
Jane was at my house when you arrived. Correct
ADVERB PLACEMENT
The examples below show the placement for grammar adverbs such as: always, only, never, ever,
still, just, etc.
Examples:
-
You were just studying when she called.
-
Were you just studying when she called?
ACTIVE / PASSIVE
Examples:
-
The salesman was helping the customer when the thief came into the
store. Active
-
The customer was being helped by the salesman when the thief came
into the store. Passive
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