I suggest you get acquainted with one more time from the Continuous group, namely - Past Continuous Tense (Past Long Time). Although it is not used very often in speech or writing, you will still need to master it when learning English grammar.
Past Continuous Time is one of several English time forms that describe an action already taken in the past. The peculiarity of this past tense is that it was long. Action in Past Continuous Tense is expressed as lasting (flowing) at a certain point in the past tense. Education Past Continuous Tense - Elapsed Long Time
Past Continuous Tense Education Rules
Past Continuous Tense is a complex tense formed with the auxiliary to be in Past Simple Tense (was, were) and the present participle of the main verb. Simply put, the Present Participle is a verb with the ending -ing.
The rules that must be followed when forming the present participle (Present Participle), you can find in the article Present Continuous
- Affirmative form Past Continuous Tense is formed with a verb to be(I / he / she / it was, we / you / they were), which is placed after the subject and before the Present Participle of the main verb.
- In education interrogative form Past Continuous Tense auxiliary verb to be(was, were) is placed before the subject, and the Present Participle of the main verb is placed after the subject.
- Negative form forms a particle not, which in colloquial speech merges into one whole with an auxiliary verb to be:
The subject is followed by the verb to be(was, were) combined with denial not, and then the Present Participle of the main verb.
Conjugation Table of the verb to dream in Past Continuous Tense
| Number | Face | Affirmative form | Interrogative form | negative form |
| Unit h. | 1
2 3 | I was dream ing
You were dream ing He / She / It was dream ing | Was I dream ing?
Were you dream ing? Was he / she / it dream ing? | I was not (wasn "t) dream ing
You were not (weren "t) dream ing He / She / It was not (wasn "t) dream ing |
| Mn. h. | 1
2 3 | We were dream ing
You were dream ing They were dream ing | Were we dream ing?
Were you dream ing? Were they dream ing? | We were not (weren "t) dream ing
You were not (weren "t) dream ing They were not (weren "t) dream ing |
Do not forget!
Quite a few verbs are not used in the continuous form (Continuous). For a detailed list of these verbs, see the article Present Simple
Past Continuous Tense is used
1. When expressing an action or state that took place during a certain moment in the past tense. The period of this action can be indicated by such adverbial phrases as:
- at 4 o'clock yesterday - yesterday at 4 o'clock
- at that moment / time last Sunday - at that moment / at that time last Sunday
or it can be indicated by another action expressed by a verb in Past Simple Tense. Examples:
- They were watching news at 9 o’clock yesterday. - Yesterday at 9 o'clock they watched the news.
- At that time he was talking with me over the telephone. - At that moment he was talking to me on the phone.
- They were playing when the teacher came in. - When the teacher came in, they were playing.
- You were sleeping when I left. - When I left you were asleep.
2. Past Continuous is often used to indicate that an action has been taking too long. The circumstances of the time are often encountered in such sentences:
- the whole day - the whole day
- all the time - all the time
- all day long - all day long
- from 5 till 8 o'clock - from 5 to 8 o'clock
- I was working the whole day. - I worked all day long.
- He was repairing his car from 4 to 6 p.m. last Saturday. - He was fixing his car from 4 to 6 pm last Saturday.
3. When expressing disapproval or impatience of a past disposition or habit. Such sentences often use adverbs:
- аlways - always
- constantly - constantly
- ever - forever
- My father was always saying not to come late. - My dad always asked me not to come late.
- I was always ringing him up after my work. - I always called him after work.
4. To designate an action that was in the process, in the subordinate clause of the time after the prepositions:
- while - while
- when - when
In the main sentence, the verb is used in Past Simple Tense. Examples:
- She watched a film, while the children were playing in the garden. - She watched the film while the children played in the garden.
- While Nansy was cooking breakfast, her husband read the newspaper. - While Nastya was preparing breakfast, her husband was reading the newspaper.
5. In order to show that the action in the past developed gradually:
- The wind was rising. - The wind was getting stronger.
- It was getting dark. - It was getting dark.
6. When expressing an action that was planned in the past for the immediate future from the point of view of the past:
- Mary was coming next morning. - Mary was supposed to come the next morning.
- John was entering the college that autumn. “John was supposed to go to college that fall.
That's probably all there is to the Past Simple timing. Use it for health and stay with us! After studying the theory, I advise you to practice more so as not to get confused in English temporal forms.
The rules for using Past Continuous (Past Progressive Tense, or the past long time) seem to be rather complicated to many. In fact, this is not the case. Today's lesson will help you understand, once and for all, when we use the past long tense in English.
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 past tense in the form.
Education Past Progressive
The Past Continuous education scheme is as follows:
Let's take the verb to work as an example and conjugate it in Past Continuous:
Conjugation of any verb will look the same. The only difference is in the formation of a gerund (ing-ovoy form). In some cases it will be different.
The past long time 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 activities in the past
Past Continuous Tense is used to indicate that a continuous action in the past has been interrupted. Since an interrupt is a relatively short action, it is communicated through the Past Simple form. Interruption does not always mean actual termination. Sometimes we mean simply the imposition of one event (action) in time on another, when a short action, expressed in Past Simple, seems to burst into a long unfinished action.
When the phone rang, 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 indicate a specific time:
At six o'clock, I was working.- At six o'clock I worked.
Yesterday at 8 PM, we were eating dinner.- Yesterday at 8 pm we had dinner.
At midnight, we were still watching TV.“We were still watching TV at midnight.
IMPORTANT:
Simple Past is used when specifying a specific time to indicate when an action began or ended, but with Past Continuous the situation is somewhat different. Let's see an example:
Last night at 6 PM, I ate dinner. (I started eating dinner at 6 o'clock.)
Last night at 6 PM, I was eating dinner. (I started to eat dinner earlier, and at 6 o'clock I was in the process.)
2. Parallel events
She was reading while he was making dinner... “She read while I was preparing dinner.
What were you doing while you were waiting?- What did you do while you waited?
When two actions or events in Past Continuous are specified in one sentence, this means that these actions (events) occur simultaneously (in parallel).
3. Storytelling 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 Past Continuous is used. As you can see, these are events that have a certain duration (extent): 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. However, 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 a certain place at a certain time is described.
4 past habits
Past Progressive is also used to describe any (most often annoying) habits in the past. Indicators of such sentences can be the words always, constantly, forever, at that time, in those days. In Present Continuous there is also such a rule, but for the present tense.
He was constantly talking.- He was constantly talking.
She was always coming to class late... - She was late for lessons all the time.
I didn’t like his friend because he was always complaining.- I didn’t like his friend because he was constantly complaining.
5. Finally, we use the past long time when we want to emphasize that an event or action lasted for a long time. This is often indicated by expressions such as all day, all night, for hours etc.
We were working all day.- We worked all day.
I was preparing for the exam all evening.- I spent the whole evening preparing for the exam.
A few more specific uses of 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 all day at the beach, but 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 adress.
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 form Past Continuos, because while is translated as "during the time like", "bye", that is, it implies lengthy process. The following two examples have exactly the same translation, however, pay attention to the use of the past tense forms - 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 long form. That is, instead of Past Continuous, such verbs are used in Past Simple:
I was being at my house when she came. Not right!
I was at my house when she came. Right
Active and passive form:
Assets: The salesman was helping the customer when the thief came into the store.- The seller was helping the buyer when a thief entered the store.
Passive: The customer was being helped by the salesman when the thief came into the store.
A short diagram of the use of Past Progressive:
These were all the rules of using the past long time. Remember to practice your English tenses and come up with your own examples to reinforce the material.
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In this article, we will take a look at the past long time in English. We call all the past tenses in English Past Tenses, the difference between which is only in their duration or quality: whether it will be a simple past - Past Simple, a long past - Past Continuous or past perfect - Past Perfect. In this article, we will stop and consider Past Continuous Tense.
Past Continuous is the tense that is used to describe lasting action in the past. Basically, this is a process that lasted at a certain point or period in the past. The moment of action must be clearly defined, or be understood in the context of the proposal.
Formation of affirmative sentences in the Past Long Time
When I came to London, it was raining. It was raining when I arrived in London. 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 long tense
He wasn’t sleeping all the night. He did not sleep all night. They weren’t having a class at this time yesterday. Yesterday we had no class at this time. Last year she wasn "t eating fat food as she was on diet. Last year she didn’t eat fatty foods because she was dieting.
Examples of affirmative sentences in the past long 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 in Russia? What kind of music was George playing when I entered the room? What kind of 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? I was surfing the Internet.
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Consuming Past Long Time
Time Indicators
All the time all day long all day at seven o'clock yesterday at seven o'clock the whole Friday the whole Friday during the film during the film from three till eight o'clock from three to eight o'clock
Examples of the use of sentences in the Past Long Time
I was reading an interesting article at 6 pm yesterday evening. I was reading an 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 word Past is translated as "past" and shows us that the action took place sometime in the past. If you've read the last article, you already know that Continuous is translated as "long / continued". In the past tense, this tells us that the action began sometime, lasted for some time and ended by the present moment.
We use Past Continuous to emphasize the duration of the action in the vulgar. Unlike the Past Simple tense, which we use when we just talk about something as a fact that happened in the past.
Let's take a look at two examples:
1.Past Simple:
I talked to her.
I talked to her.
2. Past Continuous:
I was talking to her for 2 hours.
I spoke to her for two hours.
The first example just talks about fact... We can use it, for example, when we describe a series of actions: woke up, took a shower, ate, called, talked to her.
The second example says it was process and it lasted for some time (2 hours). That is, we focus on the duration of this action. Emotion is also embedded in the proposal, and not just a set of facts is listed: I talked to her for 2 hours and did not have time to do anything.
Now let's look at the cases of the use of the past continuous tense.
Consuming Past Continuous Tense
This time is used in the following cases:
1. When we talk about an action in the past that took place over a period of time.
Example: I cleaned my apartment all day yesterday.
2.When we want to emphasize the duration of the process and give an emotional coloring.
Example: I baked this cake for two whole hours.
Affirmative Past Continuous Tense Suggestions
An affirmative sentence is formed using the past tense auxiliary verb to be (was, were) and the ending "-ing", which is added to the verb denoting the action. The education scheme will be as follows:
the one in question + was / were + verb + -ing
| I | was | |
| You | ||
| We | were | playing |
| They | swimming | |
| She | cooking | |
| He | was | |
| It |
For example:
They were watch ing TV for 2 hours.
They watched TV for two hours.
I was sleep ing whole day.
I slept all day.
He was driv ing a car.
He was driving.
Rules for adding endings -ing we covered in this article. In it, we also talked about verbs that are never used in extended tenses, since they do not know how to last. Be sure to take a look.
Words are indicators of time
Very often the following words are used over time Past Continuous:
- all day long - all day
- all the time - all the time
- all day yesterday - all day yesterday
- the whole morning - the whole morning
- from 5 till 7 p.m. - from 5 to 7
They will help you understand that you have an extended past tense in front of you. Let's take a look at examples:
He was working the whole morning.
He worked all morning.
They were reading from 6
till 8
p.
m.
They read from six to eight in the evening.
I was painting all day yesterday.
I painted all day yesterday.
Negative Past Continuous Tense
A negative sentence in this tense is formed in the same way as an affirmative sentence, but the negative particle not is added to our verb to be.
the one in question + was / were + not + verb + -ing
| I | was | ||
| You | |||
| We | were | playing | |
| They | not | cooking | |
| She | swimming | ||
| He | was | ||
| It |
They were not play ing all day long.
They haven't played all day.
I was not study ing.
I didn't study.
She was not clear ing her room.
She didn't clean the room.
Interrogative form Past Continuous Tense
If you want to ask if someone has done any lasting action in the past, then move the verb to be to the first place in the sentence. The question's education scheme looks like this:
was / were + in question + verb + -ing
| Was | I | |
| you | ||
| Were | we | playing? |
| they | cooking? | |
| she | swimming? | |
| Was | he | |
| it |
Statement:
I was doing my homework.
I did my homework.
They were swimming in a sea.
They swam in the sea.
She was playing a piano.
She played the piano.
The question and the affirmative answer (our "yes") will look like this:
| Question | Short answer (contains the verb to be) | Complete answer (built as an affirmative sentence) |
| Was
I do ing my homework? Did I do my homework? |
Yes, I was. |
Yes, I was do ing my homework. Yes I did homework. |
| Were they swimm ing in a sea? Did they swim in the sea? |
Yes, they were. |
Yes, they were swimm ing in a sea. |
| Was
she play ing a piano? Did she play the piano? |
Yes, she was. |
Yes, she was play ing a piano. Yes she played the piano. |
Negative answers (our "no") would look like this:
| Question | Short answer (contains the verb to be + not) | Complete answer (built as a negative sentence) |
| Was
I do ing my homework? Did I do my homework? |
No, I wasnot. |
No, I was not do ing my homework. No i didn't do my homework |
| Were
they swimm ing
in a sea? Did they swim in the sea? |
No, you werenot. |
No, they were not swimm ing in a sea. No, they didn't swim in the sea. |
| Was
she play ing a piano? Did she play the piano? |
No, she wasnot. |
No, she was not play ing a piano. No, she didn't play the piano |
Were they talking to her?
Did they talk to her?
Yes, they were.
Yes, they talked.
Were they talking to her?
Did they talk to her?
No, they were not.
No, they didn't talk.
Was he washing his car?
Did he wash his car?
Yes, he was washing his car.
Yes, he washed his car
Was he washing his car?
Did he wash his car?
No, he was not washing his car.
No, he didn't wash his car.
Special Issues
When, we ask a question with the following question words:
- What - what
- Where - where
- Who - who
- Which - which
- Why - why
question word + was / were + in question + verb + -ing
| was | I | ||
| you | |||
| What | were | they | reading? |
| Where | we |
Past continuous time - in English indicates that the action took place, lasted for a period of time in the past. First, let's figure it out how this time is formed ... We are already familiar with the present continuous tense - therefore we can notice that the formula of education for the tenses of the Continuous group is one - to be + participle I, in other words, to be + a verb with the ending -ing.
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In this case, WAS is used if the subject is singular, and WERE is used if it is plural, and these forms will act as an auxiliary verb.
AffirmativePast Continuous Tense form
Let's see how it will change by faces in the past continuous tense in the affirmative form, for example, the sentence “I was eating at 5 o’clock yesterday”:
- I was eating at 5 o'clock yesterday
- We were eating at 5 o'clock yesterday
- You were eating at 5 o'clock yesterday
- He, she, it was eating at 5 o'clock yesterday
- They were eating at 5 o'clock yesterday
From this example, it is clearly seen that only the auxiliary verb to be changes according to persons.
NegativePast Continuous Tense form
The negative form is formed with the negative particle not, which immediately follows the auxiliary verb:
He was not (wasn't) doing his home work when I came home
They were not (weren’t) sleeping at 8 o’clock yesterday
InterrogativePast Continuous Tense form
When forming an interrogative form, we put an auxiliary verb at the beginning of a sentence before the subject, and if there is an interrogative word, immediately after it. Thus, the word order of the interrogative sentence will be as follows: 1 - interrogative word, 2 - auxiliary verb (either was or were), 3 - subject, 4 - predicate, expressed by a participle, 5 - minor terms.
What were you buying when I met you? - what were you buying when I met you?
Was she cooking dinner at 3 yesterday? - did she cook dinner yesterday at 3 o'clock?
What were they discussing when I called you? - what were they discussing when I called you?
When is Past Continuous Tense Time Used?
Now let's discuss when it is necessary to use the past continuous tense. As mentioned earlier, the verb in the past continuous tense expresses an action that took place, lasted at a certain moment or a period of time in the past.
There are two points to remember when using this time:
1. If the offer specifies the exact time of the action, for example, at 5 o'clock yesterday(at 5 o'clock yesterday), from 5 till 7 p.m.(from 5 to 7 pm), at this time yesterday(yesterday at the same time), the whole morning(all morning, all evening), etc.
I was having breakfast at 10 yesterday - yesterday at 10 I had breakfast
He was watching TV the whole evening yesterday - he was watching TV the whole evening yesterday.
2. If the moment is expressed by the past tense verb. For example, "when I got home, my wife was asleep." Here both actions took place in the past, but one of them happened at the same time (returned), and the second lasted (slept). Therefore, the verb expressing a one-time action (returned) will stand in, and a continuous action (slept) will be translated, respectively, into Past Continuous tense: When I returned home, my wife was sleeping.
When I entered the room the guests were dancing
When he saw me I was crossing the street - when he saw me I was crossing the street.
When we were having lesson somebody called me - when we were having a lesson, someone called me.
- Sometimes in one sentence you need to express actions that happened in the past at the same time, for example: "While I was doing my homework, my younger brother was drawing a picture." Here both actions will be expressed by Past Continuous Tense and the WHILE union - "bye, while" will help us:
- While I was doing my homework, my little brother was drawing a picture. - While I was doing my homework, my younger brother drew a picture.
