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    Past Continuous Tense

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    Vincent Reeves
    The document describes the uses of the past continuous tense in English. It is used to indicate: 1) An interrupted action in the past, where one ongoing action was interrupted by another shorter action. 2) When a specific time interrupts an ongoing past action. 3) To express parallel or simultaneous past actions. 4) To describe the atmosphere or scene at a specific past time using multiple ongoing actions. 5) To express irritation with actions that often occurred in the past, using words like "always" or "constantly."

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    Past Continuous Tense

    Uploaded by

    Vincent Reeves
    55 views9 pages
    The document describes the uses of the past continuous tense in English. It is used to indicate: 1) An interrupted action in the past, where one ongoing action was interrupted by another shorter action. 2) When a specific time interrupts an ongoing past action. 3) To express parallel or simultaneous past actions. 4) To describe the atmosphere or scene at a specific past time using multiple ongoing actions. 5) To express irritation with actions that often occurred in the past, using words like "always" or "constantly."

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    The document describes the uses of the past continuous tense in English. It is used to indicate: 1) An interrupted action in the past, where one ongoing action was interrupted by another shorter action. 2) When a specific time interrupts an ongoing past action. 3) To express parallel or simultaneous past actions. 4) To describe the atmosphere or scene at a specific past time using multiple ongoing actions. 5) To express irritation with actions that often occurred in the past, using words like "always" or "constantly."

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pptx, pdf, or txt
    55 views9 pages

    Past Continuous Tense

    Uploaded by

    Vincent Reeves
    The document describes the uses of the past continuous tense in English. It is used to indicate: 1) An interrupted action in the past, where one ongoing action was interrupted by another shorter action. 2) When a specific time interrupts an ongoing past action. 3) To express parallel or simultaneous past actions. 4) To describe the atmosphere or scene at a specific past time using multiple ongoing actions. 5) To express irritation with actions that often occurred in the past, using words like "always" or "constantly."

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    Past Continuous Tense

    FORM
    [was/were + present participle]
    Examples:
    You were studying when she called.
    Were you studying when she
    called?
    You were not studying when she
    called.
    USE 1 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.
    USE 2 Specific Time as an Interruption
    • In USE 1, 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.
    USE 3 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.
    USE 4 Atmosphere
    • In English, we often use a series of parallel
    actions to describe the atmosphere at a
    particular time in the past.
    • Example:
    • 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.
    • USE 5 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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