Past Continuous
Jun 23, 2015
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