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T HE PAST CONTINUOUS TENSE. FORM. Was / were + verb + -ing They were driving to Paris. I was writing my English homework all afternoon. We weren’t waiting for a long time. What were they doing ? Was your friend listening to the teacher?
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FORM Was / were + verb + -ing • They were driving to Paris. • I was writing my English homework all afternoon. • We weren’t waiting for a long time. • What were they doing? • Was your friend listening to the teacher? • No, he wasn’t. He was looking at his smatphone.
Use 1) to expressactivities in progress before, and probably after, a particular time in the past (that were not yet finished at a past time) • At 7 o’clock this morning I was having my breakfast. • Yesterday at this time I was writing my English homework. • Two hours ago I was drinking coffee in my office.
2) for descriptions • Jan looked beautiful. She was wearing a green dress. • The man was busy. He was walking fast and in his right hand he was carrying a suitcase.
3) to express an interrupted past activity • When the phone rang, I was having a shower. • Tim was driving his car when a bird hit his windscreen.
4) to express an incomplete activity • I was reading a book during the flight. • She was learning Statistics yesterday.
5) to describe the background when narrating a story • It was a lovely morning. Matthew got out of bed and opened his bedroom window. The sun was shining and some birds were singing in the trees.
While • two (or more) actions that were in progress in the past at the same time Examples: Sorry, I wasn’t listeningto you while you were talking. While I was reading, he was writing.
When • for an action that was in progress that was interrupted by another event in the past): Examples: I was just leaving when you called. He was doing his maths homework when I arrived. When my phone rang, the teacher was explaining the rules.
Punctuation with WHEN and WHILE • When and while at the front of a sentence, use a comma: When you called, I was watching TV. While he was washing the clothes,I was doing the dishes. • When and while in the middle of a sentence, no comma: I was watching TV when you called. I was doing the dishes while he was washing the clothes.
Past Simple or Past Continuous • The past simple is used to talk about finished actions in the past. • The past continuous is used to describe an action n progress at a specific moment in the past. Compare: • What did you do yesterday? PAST SIMPLE • What were you doing at 18.30 yesterday evening? PAST CONTINUOUS
youtube - past continuous • Tutorial • ONLINE EXERCISE • ONLINE EXERCISE 2