Rules for using Past Continuous (Past Progressive Tense, or past long time) seem to many to be rather complicated. Actually it is not. Today's lesson will help you understand once and for all when we use the past continuous in English language.
The Past Continuous form is formed in almost the same way as the Present Continuous, with the only difference that the verb to be has the form of the past tense.
Education Past Progressive
Scheme Education Past Continuous looks like this:
Let's take the verb to work as an example and conjugate it into the Past Continuous:
The conjugation of any verb will look the same. The difference lies only in the formation of the gerund (ing form). In some cases it will be different.
The past continuous tense describes unfinished (unfinished) actions or events in the past. It's not entirely clear yet, so let's take a closer look.
Use Past Continuous (Past Progressive)
1. Interrupted actions in the past
The Past Continuous Tense is used to show that a continuous action in the past has been interrupted. Since interruption is a relatively short action, it is conveyed through the Past Simple form. The word "interruption" does not always mean the actual termination of the action. Sometimes it means simply the imposition of one event (action) in time on another, when a short action, expressed in Past Simple, breaks into a long, unfinished action, as it were.
When the phone rank, I was writing a letter.- When the phone rang, I was writing a letter.
While Kate was sleeping, someone stole her car. While Kate was sleeping, someone stole her car.
I was waiting for her when she got off the plane.- I was waiting for her (met) when she got off the plane.
When the fire started I was watching television. When the fire started, I was watching TV.
In such cases, it is also possible to specify a specific time:
At six o'clock, I was working. I worked at six o'clock.
Yesterday at 8 PM, we were eating dinner. We had dinner at 8 o'clock yesterday evening.
At midnight, we were still watching TV. We were still watching TV at midnight.
IMPORTANT:
The Simple Past is used when specifying a specific time to show when the action started or ended, but with the Past Continuous the situation is somewhat different. Let's see an example:
Last night at 6 PM, I ate dinner. (I started supper at 6 o'clock.)
Last night at 6 PM, I was eating dinner. (I started dinner earlier, and at 6 o'clock I was in the process.)
2. Parallel events
She was reading while he was making dinner. She was reading while I was preparing dinner.
What were you doing while you were waiting? What were you doing while you were waiting?
When two actions or events in the Past Continuous are indicated in one sentence, this means that these actions (events) occur simultaneously (in parallel).
3. Story in the past tense
Past Continuous can be found in narratives written in the past tense. In this case, any background events are described using this time. Let's see an example:
In the example, you will notice several situations where the Past Continuous is used. As you can see, these are events that have a certain duration (length): the sun was shining, the birds were singing, she was looking for her child, and so on. If you decide to write your own story in English, then this lesson will help you a lot. At the same time, note that in such cases, Past Continuous is used in conjunction with Past Simple.
It can also be said that with the help of the past long time, the so-called atmosphere that reigned in certain place at the certain time.
4. Past habits
Past Progressive is also used when describing any habits (most often annoying) in the past. Words can be indicators of such sentences. always, constantly, forever, at that time, in those days. In Present Continuous there is also such a rule, but for the present time.
He was constantly talking.“He talked all the time.
She was always coming to class late. She was always late for lessons.
I didn't like his friend because he was always complaining. I didn't like his friend because he complained all the time.
5. Finally, we use the past continuous tense when we want to emphasize that some event or action lasted for some long time. This is often indicated by expressions such as all day, all night, for hours and so on.
We were working all day.— We worked all day.
I was preparing for the exam all evening. I have been preparing for the exam all evening.
A few more specific cases of using Past Progressive Tense
1. When a person changed his mind and changed plans (in the construction was / were going to):
I was going to spend the day at the beach but I've decided to get my homework done instead. I wanted to spend the whole day at the beach, but I decided to do my homework instead.
2. With a verb to wonder to form polite requests:
I was wondering if you could give me your e-mail address.
while and when
When we talk about the past using when and while, then when is usually followed by Past Simple, while while is followed by the Past Continuos form, because while is translated as “during the time as”, “while”, that is, it implies lengthy process. The following two examples have exactly the same translation, but pay attention to the use of the past tense - they are different from each other.
He was studying when his mother called.
While he was studying, his mother called.
Remember that some verbs are not used in the continuous form. That is, instead of Past Continuous, such verbs are used in Past Simple:
I was being at my house when she came. Not properly!
I was at my house when she came. Correctly
Active and passive form:
Assets: The salesman was helping the customer when the thief came into the store. The shop assistant was helping the customer when a thief entered the store.
Passive: The customer was being helped by the salesman when the thief came into the store.
Brief scheme of using Past Progressive:
These were all the rules for using the past long tense. Don't forget to practice using English tenses and come up with your own examples to reinforce the material.
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In this article, we will look at the past long tense in English. We call all past tenses in English Past Tenses, the difference of which is only in their duration or quality: whether it will be simple past - Past Simple, long past - Past Continuous or past perfect - Past perfect. In this article, let's stop and look at Past Continuous Tense.
Past continuous is a tense that is used to describe a continuous action in the past. Basically, this is a process that lasted at a certain moment or period in the past. The moment of action must be clearly defined, or be understandable in the context of the proposal.
Formation of affirmative sentences in the Past Continuous
When I came to London, it was raining. When I arrived in London, it was raining. Martin was studying history from three till eight o'clock. From three to eight o'clock Martin taught history. Lisa was cooking the pancakes, when I entered the kitchen. Lisa was making pancakes when I entered the kitchen.
Examples of negative sentences in the past continuous tense
He wasn't sleeping all the night. He didn't sleep all night. They weren't having a class at this time yesterday We didn't have a class at this time yesterday. Last year she wasn't eating fat food as she was on diet. Last year she didn't eat fatty food because she was on a diet.
Examples of affirmative sentences in the past continuous tense
Was Kate listening to the professor at the lecture? Did Kate listen to the professor during the lecture? How long were they traveling round Russia? How long did they travel around Russia? What kind of music was George playing when I entered the room? What music was George playing when I entered the room? What were you doing at five o'clock? I was searching the web. What were you doing at five o'clock? Sat on the Internet.
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Using the Past Continuous
Time Indicators (time indicators)
All the time all day long at seven o'clock yesterday the whole Friday during the film from three till eight o'clock
Examples of using sentences in the Past Continuous
I was reading an interesting article at 6 pm yesterday evening. I read interesting article at 6 pm yesterday. My parents were staying in Rome for three months. My parents stayed in Rome for three months. We went to the country. The sun was shining, the birds were singing. We drove out of town. The sun was shining, the birds were singing.
Watch video on Past Continuous tense
The past continuous/extended is the past tense to denote an ongoing activity. It is formed by the form of the service verb be+ real communion. Past continuous negatives was not / wasn't, were not / weren't before communion.
The past continuous says that someone was in the process of doing something at a particular time. This action/situation has already begun by that time, but has not yet ended.
It was raining all night - Allnightlilo
was/were + -ing |
was sb doing sth | sb was doing sth | sb wasn't doing sth |
Past continuous spelling
To add an end –ing
- consonant verbs + — e discard the last vowel (except being)
starve – starving
carve-carving
- verbs with a stressed vowel + consonant double the final consonant
rub-rubbing
stop-stopping
- verbs in — ie change it to – y-
lie-lying
die-dying
- vowel verbs + — l double the final consonant (in British English)
travel-travelling
cancel - cancelling
Past Continuous Values
- past actions (with a temporary indication)
At 7 o'clock yesterday evening they were having dinner - Yesterdayin7 pmtheyhad dinner
In May of last year she was studying hard for her final examspastMayshe isstubbornlypreparedtograduationexams
At 6 o'clock this morning I was walking along the beach6 a.mIwalkedonbeach
What were you doing at 10 o'clock last night? - WhatYoudidin10 pm?
- temporary situations (around another past interruption)
He was walking down the street when he ran into an old friend - Hewalkedonstreet, whencame acrosson thehisoldfriend
They were watching a film when we arrived - Whenwecame, theywatchedmovie
She was studying law when the war started - Onmomentstartwarsshe isstudiedjurisprudence
I waved to her but she wasn't looking - Iwavedher, butshe isevennotwatched
Ithoughtyouwerenevercoming - I already thought you would never come
- concurrent processes
Shewastalkingonhermobilephonewhileshewasdrivingtowork - She was talking on a mobile phone, while she was driving to work
While I was driving along this morning, I was thinking about what you'd saidIwasin the morningperdriving, Ithoughtaboveyourwords
He was cooking the dinner while she was talking to him - Byeshe isWiththemtalking, hecookeddinner
- stage plots (introductions/prehistory of stories)
One beautiful autumn afternoon, Ben was strolling down a quiet country lane. The birds were singing and the leaves were rustling in the breeze - OnebeautifulautumnafternoonBenwalked
along a quiet lane. The birds sang and the leaves rustled in the breeze
The wind was blowing and the rain was beating down. John Snell was standing at the bus stop shivering. He was trying to imagine being at home sitting by a warm fire – Dulwind, andpoundedrain. John Snell stood trembling at the bus stop. He tried to imagine how he sits at home by a warm fire.
Temporary indication
while, when, as
I was walking home when I met Dave - Ialreadywalkedhome, whenmetDave
Ann was watching TV when the phone rang – AnnwatchedTV, whenrangtelephone
Tom burnt his hand when he was cooking the dinner – Tomburnedhandcookingdinner
- adverbial phrases
all morning/evening/day/yesterday/night/week
I was watching TV all evening - IwatchedTVthe wholeevening
Were you working all weekend? - Youworkedallweekends?
This time last yearI was living in Brazil – RivneyearbackIlivedinBrazil
English Joke
The little girl in the zoological park tossed bits of a bun to the stork, which gobbled them greedily, and bobbed its head towards her for more.
"What kind of a bird is it, mamma?" the child asked.
The mother read the placard, and answered that it was a stork.
"O-o-o-h!" the little girl cried, as her eyes rounded. Of course, it recognized me!
affirmative form Past Continuous Tense is formed with an auxiliary verb to be in the simple past tense (Simple Past / Past Indefinite - was, were) and participle I (Participle I) of the main verb (i.e. infinitive + ending -ing).
was, were + Participle I
I was working at 6 p.m. I worked at six o'clock in the evening.
We were reading. We read.
Interrogative form Past Continuous is formed by rearranging the auxiliary verb and the subject of the affirmative form - the auxiliary verb is placed before the subject.
was he working? He worked?
Were you reading? Did you read?
| Was I cooking? | Were we cooking? |
| Were you cooking? | Were you cooking? |
| Was he/she/it cooking? | Were they cooking? |
In the negative form, it is possible to use abbreviated forms (only the negation of not is abbreviated):
I wasn't working.
We weren't reading.
Use
Past Continuous is used:
- 1. To express a continued action that took place at a certain moment in the past. The moment of the action may be clear from the context or indicated:
a) the exact indication of the time: at 6 o’clock (yesterday) - (yesterday) at 6 o'clock, at that moment - at that moment, at that time - while etc.
We were reading newspapers at 7 o'clock (yesterday). At seven o'clock (yesterday) we were reading the papers.
At that time I was talking with my friend over the telephone. At the time, I was talking to my friend on the phone.
b) to express an action that began (but did not end) before another action expressed in Simple Past / Past Indefinite, and was still continuing at the time of the action expressed in Simple Past.
They were playing when the teacher came in. They were playing when the teacher came in.
The teacher came in when they were playing. The teacher came in while they were playing.
- 2. To express excessive duration of action with expressions such as: all day long - all day, all the time - all time, the whole day - all day, from 10 till 12 - from 10 am to 12 pm, during - during and etc.
They were working the whole day.
They worked all day.
- 3. In descriptions - to describe the development of an action or the environment against which the event takes place.
A girl was playing the piano and (was) singing softly to herself. Suddenly there was a knock at the door. The girl stopped playing. The cat woke up…
The girl played the piano and sang softly. Suddenly there was a knock at the door. The girl stopped playing. The cat woke up...
- 4. With an adverb always to express a repetitive action that is already annoying, annoying the speaker.
My mother was always saying not to come late. My mom always told me not to come in late.
Was not always ringing me up after his work. He always called me after work. (I'm sick of you.)
Compare:
Not always rank me up after his work.
The use of Past Indefinite (Simple Past) changes the emotional attitude of the speaker to what was happening, is perceived by him as an ordinary, normal phenomenon, action-fact and is translated: He always called me after work.
- 5. To express gradually developing actions, events, even if the time is not indicated (the time of the development of the action is clear from the context).
It was getting dark. It was getting dark.
The wind was rising. The wind was up.
- 6. In matters of interest in the time spent, the use of the Past Continuous is more polite form question or answer than Simple Past/Past Indefinite.
What were you doing during your summer holidays?
What did you do during summer holidays?
(This sounds more polite than "What did you do during your summer vacation?")
Hello my dear readers.
If you doubt your knowledge of such an important tense as the Past Continuous, then today's lesson is for you. Past Continuous: Rules and Examples is the topic of today's lesson.
You will learn how to correctly form a form, all the necessary rules, you will see examples of all possible ways to use time. Also, not for greater difficulty, but for your careful study, I will give you the rule in both Russian and English.
Icons used in this article:
V+ing (Ving) - English verb first form ending -ing.
Rule of time formation
The affirmative form of tense is formed as follows:
Subject + was/were + Ving
She was making pizza at that moment. She was cooking pizza at that time.
Of course, it is often necessary to form negative sentences. In this case, to auxiliary verbs was/were a particle is added not.
She wasn't making pizza at that moment. She wasn't cooking pizza at that time.