Past Continuous Grammar Guide mgr Anna Waligórska – Kotfas PWSZ Konin

Verb Form – Affirmatives  We form the PAST CONTINUOUS with the past of the verb be (auxiliary) the past of the verb be (auxiliary) and the present participle of the main verb: and the present participle of the main verb: was / were + v-ing I was riding my bike all day yesterday. They were studying when she called.

Verb Form – Negatives  We form the negatives with the auxiliary was + not + v-ing were  We usually use the contracted forms wasn’t and weren’t in speech and informal writing: I wasn’t working all day yesterday. They weren’t driving.

Verb Form – Questions  We form the questions with was (question word)+ subject + v-ing were were What were you doing at eight o’clock yesterday evening? Was she running?

Verb Form – Practice  Jennifer was playing tennis at 4.30 yesterday. y/n?wh-?

Verb Form – Practice  Jennifer was playing tennis at 4.30 yesterday.  Jennifer wasn’t playing tennis at 4.30 yesterday. y/n? Was Jennifer playing tennis at 4.30 yesterday?  Yes, she was.  No, she wasn’t. wh-?What was she playing at 4.30 yesterday? What time was she playing tennis yesterday?

Verb Form – Practice  They were painting the room all day yesterday. y/n?wh-?

Verb Form – Practice  They were painting the room all day yesterday.  They weren’t painting the room all day yesterday. y/n? Were they painting the room all day yesterday?  Yes, they were.  No, they weren’t. wh-?What were they doing all day yesterday? What were they painting all day yesterday?

Use: Action in progress  The past continuous describes an action in progress at a point of time in the past, i.e. the action began before this point of time and continued after it: We didn’t hear the intruder because we were sleeping on the top floor that night. At the time of our arrival the city was going through a period of rapid expansion.

Use: Action in progress  We can use the past continuous for two actions in progress at the same time: Ron was making dinner while his roommates were cleaning the apartment. What were you doing while you were waiting?

Use: Temporary action  We often use the past continuous to show that a past action was temporary, or was changing or developing: During my training I was earning a lot less than my wife. It happened while I was living in Eastbourne last year.

Use: Background information in narrative  In a story, the actual events are in the past simple, whereas the description and background are often in the past continuous. This provides a dramatic effect. Little Red Riding Hood went out of the house to visit grandma. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the wind was whispering in the trees. She entered the forest and suddenly saw something which was moving in the trees…

Use: Interrupted action in the past  We use the past continuous to contrast an ongoing action with a single event which interrupts it. We use the past simple for the single event: PASTPAST I was watching TV when she called.

Use: while vs. when  We can join these two actions with when or while: when + short action (simple past tense) while + long action (past continuous tense)  There are four basic combinations: I was walking past the car when it exploded. When the car exploded I was walking past it. When the car exploded I was walking past it. The car exploded while I was walking past it. While I was walking past the car it exploded.

Examples 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.

Examples You weren’t listening to me when I told you to turn the oven off. A: What were you doing when you broke your leg? B: I was snowboarding. When the phone rang, she was writing a letter.

Examples 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 , the computer suddenly went off.

Were you listening while I was talking?

It was just after midnight on November 8th last year. Ian Sharpe was driving home from work. The road was clear and he was driving carefully. Suddenly, a young girl stepped out in front of him. She was wearing a light coloured raincoat and a red scarf. Ian tried to stop but it was too late. He got out and looked under the car but, to his surprise there was nothing there. While he was looking under the car, he felt a cold wind on his face and he shivered. Everything felt strange. He was still looking under the car when a police car pulled up. The police officers weren’t surprised when Ian told them his story. ‘A girl was killed in a car crash on this road in November Since then several people have seen her ghost here.’

 At seven o’clock John was sleeping.  At quarter past eight John was jogging.  At nine o’clock John was having breakfast.  At half past eleven John was working.  At four o’clock John was watching TV.  At quarter past ten John was playing the saxophone.

 What was John doing at … yesterday?  What were you doing at … yesterday?

Bibliography 1. Bourke K.: Verbs and Tenses: Intermediate. Test it, Fix it. Oxford: Oxford University Press, Leech G., Cruickshank B., Ivanic R.: An A-Z of English Grammar & Usage. Harlow: Longman, Murphy R.: English Grammar in Use. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, Swan M.: Practical English Usage. Oxford: Oxford University Press, Thomas A. J., Martinet A. V.: A practical English Grammar. Oxford: Oxford University Press, Vince M.: Intermediate Language Practice (New Edition). Oxford: Macmillan Education 2010.