Past Continuous

Past Continuous

He was watching TV.

form

was / were + ING

Ihe

sheit

was

watching TV.we

youthey

were

He was watching TV.

+ive

He was not watching TV.

-ive

He wasn’t watching TV.

-ive

Was he watching TV?

?ive

Yes, he was.No, he wasn’t.

s.a.

The Past Continuous is usedto indicate a verb in course

at a point in the past.

The Past Continuous is usedto indicate a verb in course

at a point in the past.

I was reading a book…

I was reading a book…at 11.00 pm.

I was reading

at 11.00 pm

now

The point in the past can bea time expression:

at 11.00 pmat midnight

in 1995at the start of the lesson

I was reading a book…

I was reading a book…when the phone rang.

I was reading

when the phone rang

now

The point in the past can be alsoa verb in the past simple:

when the phone rangwhen sun rosewhen I arrived

when the lesson started

don’t forget

don’t forgetstate verbs are not usedin the continuous tenses

I was wanting an ice-cream.

I wanted an ice-cream.

when and while

She was studying when he called.=

When he called, she was studying.

She was studying when he called.=

When he called, she was studying.

subordinate introduced by

‘when’

She was studying when he called.

When she was studying, he called.

She was studying when he called.

When she was studying, he called.

main clause can be past continuous or

simple

He called while she was studying.

While she was studying, he called.

He called while she was studying.

While she was studying, he called.

‘while’ only before continuous subordinate

pronunciation

He was talking.

He was talking.

He was talking.

ə

hiː wəz talkɪŋ.

ə

We were talking.

wiː wə talkɪŋ.

wiː wə talkɪŋ.

ə

exercise

compose 3 unusual questionsfor each type

What were you doing at… ?

What were you doing when… ?

Were you … at/when … ?

ask and answerwith your neighbour

homework

module 4, part 3

take your ‘Biggest Diamond’ stories and add 4 sentences

with the Past Continuous