Past Continuous - how to use it correctly!





WE WERE WALKING FOR A LONG TIME, SO IT WAS TIME TO TAKE SOME REST!After a rather long break connected with nice weather and my sun deficiency, I am back in front of my computer with a new dose of English grammar! Today we're gonna have a look at Past Continuous - on its own and in comparison with Past Simple. As usual - if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask me for clarification via email or in the comment box!







PAST CONTINUOUS

Click here for the printable PDF version!

CONSTRUCTION :

AFFIRMATIVE
NEGATIVE
QUESTIONS
SINGULAR
SINGULAR
SINGULAR
I was watching
I wasn’t (=was not) watching
Was I watching ?
You were watching
You weren’t (=were not) watching
Were you watching ?
She / He/ It was watching
She/ He/ It wasn’t watching
Was she/ he/ it watching?
PLURAL
PLURAL
PLURAL
We were watching
We weren’t watching
Were we watching?
You were watching
You weren’t watching
Were you watching
They were watching
They weren’t watching
Were they watching ?


USAGE:

1.       Situations that were in progress in the past. We don’t say if the person finished the activity or not. We simply exaggerate that at particular time in the past some action was in progress.

Ex: She was watching a film yesterday evening.

We don’t know if she finished watching the film, we just know what she was doing for some time in the evening. When we imagine the situation, we can see the girl still watching the film – in front of the T.V or in the cinema.

Now, compare this sentence with a similar one in Past Simple:

She watched a film yesterday evening.

We state a simple fact that she finished watching a film yesterday. When we imagine the situation, we can see the girl already doing something else, for example switching off the T.V or going out of the cinema. Past Simple DOES NOT describe actions in progress, but only states what happened (finished) in the past.


2.       Two or more situations that were happening simultaneously in the past.

Ex: When I was watching T.V, my sister was studying.

Ex: Mary was reading a book while Peter was doing homework.

Ex: What were you doing yesterday morning? – I was doing shopping and Tom was working.


3.       Descriptions of what was happening around us at a particular time in the past.


Ex: It was raining when I was coming back from work yesterday.

Ex: It was a beautiful day yesterday! The sun was shining and all the people were smiling.  
 

4.       We often mix Past Continuous with Past Simple in one sentence. We do that when a situation in progress (Past Continuous) was stopped or interrupted by a short action (Past Simple).

Ex: A loud noise woke me up when I was having a nap. (Sleeping – longer action, was disturbed by a loud noise – short action)

Ex: I was writing a letter when my mum called me.  (Writing – longer action was interrupted by the mum’s call – short action)


KEY WORDS:

·         YESTERDAY AT 12.00         You couldn’t have seen me.  I was writing a test yesterday at 12.00.

·         DURING                                I was studying during the weekend.

·         WHILE                                   Jess was cooking dinner while her boyfriend was listening to music.

·         WHEN                                   I was taking a shower when I heard the noise.


OTHER EXAMPLE SENTENCES:

I was talking to Paula when we saw the accident.

I’m sorry that I didn’t come to your party, but I was working all evening.

They were surfing the internet while her mum was cleaning the house.

Did you like the movie? – I don’t know! I couldn’t focus, because the people behind me were talking during the whole film!
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