When getting acquainted with English grammar, there is no way to ignore Past Continuous (Progressive). After all, this is the time that keeps a few small secrets, which will take you to a new level, enrich your speech.
Among all the variety of temporary forms for mastering English, it is simply necessary to master the past long time. Its whole point is in focusing attention on an event that happened and lasted in the past. Where to start and what nuances do you need to remember?
Education Past Continuous (Progressive)
If you carefully study the shapes of the continius pastes, then there will be no difficulties in their use. You need to remember to be , namely its form was / were. The verb in this tense is used in one form, which coincides with participle 1 - Ving. Although there are some exceptions here. The rules for the past continuous about the peculiarities of the spelling of the predicate with this ending can be found in the article "Times of the Continuous group". It is very important to learn how to correctly translate this shade. Each verb emphasizes the duration of the action, its duration in the situation that is indicated in the sentence. For example, he worked, read, swam, wrote, painted.
table Past Continuous
Let's try to schematically depict all the forms of this time in various types of sentences. But, first, remember the general scheme.
was / were + Ving
| Narrative | Negative | Interrogative |
| I was watching | I was not watching | Was I watching? |
| You were watching | You were not watching | Were you watching? |
| She (He, It) was watching | She (He, It) was not watching | Was she (He, It) watching? |
| We were watching | We were not watching | Were we watching? |
| You were watching | You were not watching | Were you watching? |
| They were watching | They were not watching | Were they watching? |
All this is not difficult to remember and understand. In colloquial speech, we often use short forms such as wasn’t, weren’t.
Consuming Past Continuous Tense
Like everything in our life, including the use of tenses in the English language, it obeys the rules. Let's consider the main use cases of past continuous (progressive):
1. The name itself - long, continued - suggests that the action took place and lasted for some specified moment in the past. This moment can be either clear from the context, or indicated by some clues, indicators of time.
- at 6 o'clock yesterday, at that moment, at that time
We were drawing at 7 o’clock yesterday. - Yesterday at seven o'clock we drew.
At that time I was writing a letter to my friend. - At that time I was writing a letter to a friend.
- Past Progressive is used in situations where one action happened, lasted, and suddenly another happened, which is expressed Past Simple. The when words are used to help convey such situations. It can also be parallel actions that have lasted in the past. For expression, the word while is the best helper. Not to be confused with Past Simple, which describes actions that go one after the other, and not simultaneously.
They were reading when the teacher came in. - They were reading when the teacher came in.
I was sleeping while he was watching TV. - I slept while he watched TV.
2. As in the present and in the past tense of this group, phrases can be expressed reproach, disapproval, irritation, too often repeated habit. And again, the adverbs always, constantly, too often serve as pointers.
He was always borrowing money and fogetting to pay it back. - He always borrowed money and forgot to return it.
3. We use the Past Progressive time, if specified. a period of time in the past, not necessarily the exact time, but perhaps some kind of frame. You can recognize him in the sentence by the tips all day long yeaterday, the whole evening (yesterday), from 10 till 11, during.
We were sleeping the whole day yesterday. “We slept all day yesterday.
4. To express actions that gradually developed, changed. All this will be clear from the meaning of the sentence, the context, so look deeper into the text.
The sun was rising. - The sun was rising.
It was getting dark. - It was getting dark.
5. Remember that the British are very polite people, which is why they have so many ways to show their respect. Even the rule for the past continuous has its own flavor. Continius paste is used instead of simple time to express a polite question or answer. Moreover, the meaning in Russian is almost the same, but in English - two different.
What was he doing in our absent? - What did he do in our absence?
But Past Continuous grammar puts another stick in the wheel in language learning. Namely, you still have to memorize verbs that are not used in any of the Continuous tenses. All this can be found in the article "Non Continuous verbs".
So, in order to master this time well, you not only need to get acquainted with education, but also remember the use cases. It is very important that the action lasts, not interrupted in the past. All this is best practiced in exercises and tests.
In our time, it is almost a vital necessity. Children are introduced to its basics from an early age, and a diligent high school student is even able to freely express himself in English. Like any other language, it has its own characteristics, which should be given a lot of attention.
According to those who started learning already in adulthood, one of the most difficult features of this language is. assumes the division of all situations in time, when they occurred, occur or will occur relative to a given moment. It can be difficult for beginners to master this topic right away, but diligence, attention to theory and active practice will help you quickly adapt.
One of the Most Curious Times - Past Continuous Tense
This is the past tense, but it is continued. That is, they use it, not just wanting to present the listener with a fact (for example, “Olya cooked dinner yesterday”), but aiming to describe it, indicate its duration (for example, “Olya cooked dinner yesterday: she baked a turkey and made a cake "). But - how can such sentences be constructed in English?
How Past Continuous is formed
Was and Were in Past Continuous
In order to create a sentence using this tense, it is necessary to use the second form of the verb "to be" (""), that is - (if we are talking about the singular) or - (if there are several subjects of conversation). In addition, the verb used in speech acquires
The proposal itself, depending on its form, will be built as follows:
- Affirmative: singular (I/ he/ she/ it) + was…;
plural (we/ you/ they) + were…
- : (I / he / she / it) + was not (wasn't) ...;
(we / you / they) + were not (weren’t) ...
- : was I / he / she / it…?
were we / you / they ...?
In negative sentences, both the full form was not and were not, and the abbreviated form can be used. The second, by the way, is more common, while the full is used extremely rarely, mainly in official speech.
When to use Past Continuous
There are three main cases when in the process of storytelling it is necessary to refer to this particular time..
- If the described continuous action took place over a certain, unknown period of time, at some point in the past. That is, there is no clear data on how many minutes or hours the action lasted, but the very fact of its duration is important for the further course of the conversation.
I was walking at 18:00 yesterday.
- If it lasted while some other action took place... That is, one of the described events had already lasted for a certain moment, but suddenly another event began, inextricably linked with the first.
When Jenny came home, Kate was sleeping.
- If several actions in the past took place in the same period of time... It is not known whether they started at the same time, or the second connected at some point to the first. The fact is that both are equal and have the same meaning in conversation.
While Tony was cooking, Ann was reading a book.
Remarkably, in the latter case, the words while or when are always used, which will be discussed in more detail later.
But there is another type of situations where you have to resort to. These are reflections about plans for the future that took place in the past.
In order to say, for example, that Amy imagined how she would read a book on the beach, you need to make a construction like: Amy was planning how she would be reading a book on the beach.
The beginning of a sentence is a familiar construction, composed according to the rules of Past Continuous, while its second part begins with the words “” (in negative form - wouldn’t be), followed by the verb without fail with the ending “ing”.
Thus, combining within one sentence, two times are able to recreate the picture in its entirety, taking into account all the nuances.
What is the difference between Past Continuous and Past Simple
In order to operate with proper ease with the forms of verbs, building a competent sentence, you need to have a clear understanding of in which cases this or that tense is used.
- differs primarily in the finality of thought.
- Past Continuous, on the other hand, focuses on the duration of the action.
That is, if you need to notify the fact, inform the listener, Simple is used, and when you need to tell more about the event, then Continuous. For example, here is the sentence: "Mary did her homework yesterday." And - another, similar at first glance: "Mary did her homework yesterday."
But the first should be formalized in Past Simple, and the second - in Past Continuous, due to the specified duration of the action: "Mary was doing her homework yesterday."
While and When in Past Continuous
It happens that you need to talk about two actions that take place in the past in parallel, that is, within one, common for them, period of time. To refer to an event that was unfolding while another event was occurring, use the words "while" or "when". What is the difference between them?
When the form of conversation is official, which does not allow colloquial sentences, use while. When it comes to friendly conversation, colloquial when is more appropriate.
For example: "Kate was singing, when I was eating my breakfast."
The when form is simpler, unobtrusive and ideal for conversations in an informal setting, but absolutely not suitable for formal conversations. When communicating with native speakers, you need to carefully monitor this! Inappropriate use of words that are inappropriate in their form can cause misunderstandings and conflicts, which, by the way, could be easily avoided.
Thus, knowing the rules for using time, as well as the signs of situations that should be described with its use, you can significantly improve your level.
The main thing is not to neglect the study of the most important rules and not be lazy to apply the learned information in practice, because it is it that helps to bring the application of knowledge to automatism, which, in fact, is the essence of free communication.
Past Continuous- quite often used time. Its task is to convey a lasting action that has taken place in the past.
Consuming Past Continuous.
Past Continuous used to denote or express:
- A long-term action taking place at a certain point in the past.
The fire began right at midnight when everybody was sleeping. “The fire started exactly at midnight, when everyone was asleep.
The moment can be indicated directly by time indicators or other actions.
At 6 Brooke was cooking. - At 6, Brooke was cooking.
When I called Lily she was packing up. - When I called Lily, she was packing.
Sometimes the fact that an action lasts at a certain point is clear simply from the context.
I stood motionless - the enormous bull was galloping towards me. I stood motionless - a huge bull rushed towards me.
- A long-term action taking place over a period of time in the past. In such a case, the following time indicators are used from ... to, from ... till, all day long, the whole night, when, as, while or similar.
Kyle and Stephanie were quarrelling all day long yesterday. - Kyle and Stephanie fought all day yesterday.
- Actions planned for the future, if the speaker reasoned about them in the past.
Rebecca said she was leaving for Greece in 5 days. - Rebecca said she is leaving for Greece in 5 days.
Using Past Simple instead of Past Continuous.
- V Past Continuous do not use continuous verbs. Use the Past Simple form instead.
Colin saw that Jocelyn understood him. “Colin saw that Jocelyn understood him.
- Verbs to sit, to lie, to stand, denoting a long-term action, are preferable to put in Past Simple if they are followed by Participle I (present participle).
Ashton and Gabriella stood by the door, talking loudly. Ashton and Gabriella stood at the door talking loudly.
They sat besides Timothy, drinking soda. They sat beside Timothy, sipping soda.
Sean lay in bed, trying to forget everything. - Sean lay in bed, trying to forget about everything.
However, in such cases it is also permissible to use Past Continuous.
Past Continuous Education.
Past Continuous It is formed using the verb to be in the past tense (was / were) and Participle I (present participle) of the semantic verb: The education scheme is as follows:
where S is the subject,
Ving is a verb in the ingo form, aka Participle I.
Negation is formed with the not particle.
To form a question, simply place was \ were in front of the subject:
Past Continuous- the elapsed long time. As the name suggests, it is responsible for events that took place in the past and continued for some time. But on this task Past Continuous do not end, and in this article we will get acquainted with all its features.
How Past Continuous is formed
Statement
Predictable in Past Continuous consists of an auxiliary verb and a main verb. In order to form Past Continuous, we need past tense forms to be – was, were. Was used in the singular, were- in the plural. We remove the particle from the main verb to and add the ending -ing.
Negation
In a negative sentence, a particle is placed between the auxiliary and the main verb not.
Colloquially was and were merge with not, forming an abbreviated form:
- She wasn’t writing.
- You weren’t talking.
Question
In an interrogative sentence in Past Continuous we put the auxiliary verb first was (were), then put the subject and the main verb.
All functions Past Continuous we divided into three groups according to the level of English proficiency. This way you can learn exactly the functions you need in your learning phase. In the green frame you will find the most important and necessary functions for the entry level, in the yellow for the intermediate level, in the red for the high level.
Eating Past Continuous
First level
- Past Continuous shows an action that took place at a specific time in the past. We do not know when it started, how long it took, ended, or is still going on. Typically, such sentences contain words that indicate the time. Two options are possible here:
- The sentence indicates a specific time when the action lasted. For this, the following expressions are used: at 7 a.m.(at 7 o'clock in the morning), at 9 p.m.(at 9 PM), at 3 o'clock(at 3 o'clock), at 5 o'clock yesterday(yesterday at 5 o'clock), this morning at 6.20(this morning at 6:20), at noon(on midday), at midnight(at midnight), etc.
At midnight I was reading a book. - At midnight I am was reading book. (I started reading before midnight, perhaps continued after, and at that particular time I was in the process of reading)
- What were you doing at 8 a.m.? - What you did at 8 in the morning?
- I was drinking coffee. - I AM drank coffee. - The offer indicates the period of time when the action lasted. The following expressions are used here: all day(all day), in the morning/afternoon/evening(morning / afternoon / evening), yesterday morning(yesterday morning), this afternoon(Today), last night(last night), this time last month/year(at this time last month / year), during some time(for some time), etc.
- What were you doing during your vacation? - What do you did on vacation?
- We were traveling... - We traveled. (during the period when we had a vacation)This time last year they were living in Argentina. - This time last year they lived in Argentina.
It is important to remember that in Past Continuous we can use expressions like all day, this morning/afternoon/evening, in the morning/afternoon/evening only if they refer to a completed time period.
She was watching TV in the afternoon... - She watched television in the afternoon. (that is, the day is already over, evening has come)
- The sentence indicates a specific time when the action lasted. For this, the following expressions are used: at 7 a.m.(at 7 o'clock in the morning), at 9 p.m.(at 9 PM), at 3 o'clock(at 3 o'clock), at 5 o'clock yesterday(yesterday at 5 o'clock), this morning at 6.20(this morning at 6:20), at noon(on midday), at midnight(at midnight), etc.
- Past Continuous is used when we are talking about a temporary situation in the past, that is, about an action that lasted a short period of time. This interval is specified in the proposal.
Kate was studying history in summer. – Summer Kate studied history.
When is Past Continuous still used?
Average level
- We use Past Continuous when we talk about two actions that happened simultaneously in the past. These actions can be linked by unions and(u, a), while(for now, while).
My girlfriend and I were watching a film and my baby sister was playing with her new doll. - My girlfriend and I watched movie, a my little sister played with his new doll.
I was writing a letter to my friend in Brazil while my wife was cooking dinner. - I AM wrote a letter to a friend in Brazil, while my wife cooked dinner.
- Past Continuous and Past simple are often used together. In this combination Past Continuous denotes long-term action, and Past simple- short single action. In such sentences, a single action interrupts a long one. Usually two actions are connected by unions. when(when), as / just as(when, while), before(before as), after(after), while(while), until(not yet).
We were laying the table before her parents arrived... - We covered on the table, before you came her parents. (they came, thereby interrupting our action)
I was reading a book when my friend knocked at the door. - I AM was reading book, when a friend of mine knocked in the door. (reading is long acting, my friend knocked and interrupted)
- Past Continuous often found in stories and stories. We use this time to describe the atmosphere, the situation, to give general information about what will happen.
I was driving to my granny's house to the suburbs. It was raining... The road was slippery... I was looking carefully not to miss the turn to my granny’s house. - I AM was driving to my grandmother in the suburbs. Walked rain. Road was slippery. I carefully looked so as not to miss the turn to my grandmother's house.
She came to her friend on Thanksgiving. The guests were sitting on the sofa. They were laughing and chatting... The smell of the roasted turkey was filling the room. Everyone was waiting for the dinner. “She came to see a friend for Thanksgiving. Guests sat on the couch. They talked and laughed... Roasted turkey flavor filled room. Everything were waiting dinner.
Don't forget that state verbs ( state verbs) are not used in group tenses Continuous... You can read about this in the article "".
Difficult use cases for Past Continuous
High level
- We use Past Continuous when we talk about the habits that a person had in the past. These habits are unpleasant, unpleasant, or even annoying to us. In such sentences, you often come across adverbs always(always, constantly) often(often), constantly(constantly).
She was always leaving teabags on the table! - She always left tea bags on the table!
We were often being late because of you! - Because of you, we were often late!
- Past Continuous occurs in conditional sentences of the second type, but much less often than Past simple. Past Continuous is used if we want to emphasize that the action in a condition is long lasting. The situation in such a sentence refers to the present or future tense.
If it were not raining, we would have a picnic. - If did not go rain, we'd have a picnic. (but it's raining now, so we can't have a picnic)
If the wind were not blowing hard, we would go yachting. - If the wind did not blow strongly, we would go sailing on a yacht.
- We use Past Continuous to describe events that were scheduled but did not occur. This function uses verbs to mean to(gather, intend), to intend to(mean), to hope to(hope), to expect to(expect), to think(think), to plan(to plan).
She was hoping to have a luxurious wedding, but it turned out that her fiancé was greedy. - She hoped for a luxurious wedding, but her fiancé was stingy.
They were thinking of buying a house, but then he lost his job and they had to put off their plans. - They thought buy a house, but he lost his job and they had to put their plans on hold.
Past Continuous Is the time you will often hear native speakers speak. With its help, we can indicate long-term actions in the past. This time is found in many other situations, so those who want to speak English at a high level cannot do without it.
If you got your time well Past Continuous, we recommend taking the test and checking your knowledge. Also, do not forget to download the sign with the forms of education. Past Continuous:
(* .pdf, 187 Kb)
Test
Past Continuous Time: The past longest time in English
Past simple- grammatical tense, which is used to indicate a completed action in the past. This is usually indicated by clue words. For example He finished school in 2002. He graduated from high school in 2002. Therefore, the 2002 hint is a hint word that requires the use of Past Simple.
Past Continuous- in a given grammatical tense, we are primarily interested in the continuous nature of a specific action in the past. Often this time is accompanied by clues in your own words. For example, He was drinking tea with his friends yesterday at 5. That is, we are interested in a specific moment in the past, and special words indicate this.
Clue words
Let us dwell in a little more detail on the clue words of these two times.
Past simple- yesterday, ago, last, the day before yesterday, in… (date), on… (day). As a rule, all of the above clue words are used at the end of a sentence. However, it is possible for speech to use these words at the beginning of a sentence.
Past Continuous- at… (indication of the time), all day long (all day), from… till… (from… to…). Just like in Past Simple, hint words are placed at the end of a sentence, but their use is also possible at the beginning of a sentence.
How Past Simple and Past Continuous are formed
Past simple
Affirmative sentences- I started to work at shool in 2001. The subject is put in the first place, then the predicate in the second form (the ending ed is added to the regular verbs, the second form is learned from the irregular ones).
Interrogative sentences - Did you start to work at school in 2001? The auxiliary verb Did is put in the first place, which is not translated in any way, then the subject and predicate in the FIRST (initial) form.
Negative sentences- I did not (didn’t) start to work at school in 2001. (Did not + verb in the initial form after the subject)
Past Continuous
Affirmative sentences- We were having breakfast yesterday at 5. The subject is put in the first place, then to be in the past form (was / were - depending on the number of the subject. In the singular - was, in the plural - were.) + The verb ending ... ing ...
Interrogative sentences- Were you having breakfast yesterday at 5? The verb to be and the subject are swapped.
Negative sentences- We were not (weren’t) having breakfast at 5. The particle not (not) is placed after the verb to be.
Sharing two tenses in one sentence
Often Past simple and Past Continuous used side by side in one sentence. The most important thing in this case is to correctly determine what time to use in which case. Consider an example: Sally came when I was having breakfast. Sally came while I was having breakfast. Let's compare the two actions. One of them has a long-term character - to have breakfast, the other is a one-time, quick character - to come. Thus, when two past actions collide in one sentence, you need to choose, reasoning about which action lasted longer and which happened quickly. In such cases, the two sentences are usually connected using conjunctions. when(when and while(while)
Examples from fiction
A chill wind was blowing that nipped him sharply and bit with especial venom into his wounded shoulder. // Jack London "The Call Of the Wild"
She was trying to see it in a mirror behind the counter without letting the truck driver know, and so she pretended to push a bit of hair to neatness. // John Steinbeck "The Grapes Of Wrath"
The man was limping on towards this latter, as if he were the pirate come to life, and come down, and going back to hook himself up again. // Charles Dickens "Great Expectations"
