Past Tenses Past Continuous

B] Past Continuous 1. Form: We use the past form of be and the -ing form to form the Past Continuous! I was workingwe were working you were working you were working he/she/it was workingthey were working - I wasn’t working. ? Was she working? ?- Weren’t they working?

2. Spelling: See Present Continuous.

3. Use: The Past Continuous is used a) for actions in progress at a certain time in the past, b) for two actions happening at the same time in the past, c) in combination with the Past Simple, often with while or when: a) What were you doing at 6 o’clock yesterday? I was listening to music. b) While I was having breakfast, my mother was reading the paper. c) We were talking when the phone rang. P.C.: describes the ongoing action/situation. P.S.: describes the completed action that interrupts the ongoing action.

Ex.: Translate! Was hast du gestern Abend gemacht. Ich habe ein Buch gelesen (zwischen 19 und 21 Uhr). What were you doing last night? I was reading a book. Während ich las, spielte mein Bruder mit meinem Neffen. While I was reading, my brother was playing with my nephew. Ich war gerade am fernsehen, als das Telephon klingelte. I was watching the television when the phone rang.