PAST CONTINUOUS TENSE

PAST CONTINUOUS TENSE

Past Continuous is a verb form that is used to express actions that occur during particular moment in the past.Action occurs singly, repetedly, interrupted by the action or in another. We use this tense to talk about actions that were going on, or happening at a certain moment in the past.

For example :

At this time last Saturday, Paul was playing in the park with his friends.

We often use past continuous to say what was in progress, when something happened.
For example :

o    The phone rang while I was doing my homework.

o    I was reading a comic book while my sister was watching TV.

o    When I was walking along the road, I saw a car hit a motorbike.

1.       Key words

1.    While

2.    Interruption

For Example :

  Last night, while I was sleeping, the sound of the broken window woke me up.

2.     Form

1.    Affirmative(Declarative)

Formula :

 S + be₂ ( was, were)+ v-ing

Ø    I, He, She, It + was + v-ing

          I was studying.

          He was playing.

Ø  You, We, They + were + v-ing

          You were reading.

          They were sleeping.

2.    Negative form

   Formula :
S + be₂ ( was, were)+ not + v-ing

Ø    I, He, She, It + wasn’t(not) + v-ing

          I wasn’t (not) studying.

          He wasn’t (not) playing.

Ø  You, We, They + weren’t(not) + v-ing

          You weren’t (not) reading.

          They weren’t (not) sleeping.\

3.    Question form

•  Was + He, She, It + v-ing?

          Was he working?

• Were + you, we, they + v-ing?

          Were they working?

4.    Short answers

• Yes, he, she, it + was.

              you, we, they was.

•   No, he, she, it + wasn’t.

             you, we, they + weren’t.           

                                                 Example another from Past Continuous Tenses

    

  

        Jack got up at 6.00 and worked from 8 a.m. - 3 p.m.

        At 8 p.m., when Jack came home, I was reading cartoon book. 

We often use the past continuous and the past simple together with while.

 Past continuous: longer action or situation

 Past simple: complete shorter action that happened during the longer action.

    

   While I was having dinner, the phone rang.

   While I was talking to my brother, Bill came in.

  

Sometimes we use the past continuous tense to talk about two or more actions which were taking place at the same time in the past.