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Past Continuous - rules and examples. How to distinguish past simple from past progressive with clear examples

Past continuous is the long past tense of English. Used to indicate a process that took place some time in the past, while the exact time when the action took place must be indicated or it must be clear from the context of the sentence. Below are the rules for the formation of the Past Continuous in affirmative, negative and interrogative sentences, auxiliary words and examples of its use.

Education Past Continuous

Past Continuous in an affirmative sentence is formed using the auxiliary verb was / were (this is the verb to be in 2 form) and verbs in the first form with an addition to it endings -ing. The auxiliary verb was is used only with the 1st and 3rd person singular, in other cases were is used. Formula:

Noun + was / were + verb in form 1 with -ing added to it

An example of a declarative sentence:

When you called I was taking a shower. I was taking a shower when you called.

I was watching TV at 5 o'clock yesterday. I was watching TV at five o'clock yesterday.

In the negative sentence, the auxiliary verb was / were is also used, but the share not is added to them at the end. Education rule:

Noun + was / were + not + verb in form 1 with -ing added to it

At the same time, was / were can merge with the not share and form was not / were not. Objection examples:

In the evening I was not watching TV. — I didn’t watch TV in the evening.

I was not walking on the street when you called me. I wasn't walking outside when you called me.

For creating interrogative sentence in Past Continuous auxiliary was verbs and were are placed at the beginning of the sentence. rule:

Was / Were + noun + verb in 1 form with the addition of the ending -ing to it

Examples of interrogative sentences:

Were you sitting here at 8 o'clock in the morning? — Were you sitting here at 8:00 in the morning?

Was he doing his homework when I came? Was he doing his homework when I came?

Auxiliary words Past Continuous

In Past Continuous, unlike Past Simple, there are no pronounced auxiliary words. In fact, there are only three words and phrases that always use the past long.

cases, VwhichusedPast continuous

The following are cases in which the use of the Past Continuous is appropriate. There are five in total in English.

I use case: interrupted action in the past

Interrupted Action in the Past

The Past Continuous is used to indicate long-term actions in the past that were interrupted. To indicate a short duration of action, Past Simple is used. IN this case a lengthy break can be valid or only as a time break. examples:

I was watching TV when she called. I was watching TV when she called.

I was listening to my iPod, so I didn't hear the fire alarm. — I listened to the iPod, and did not hear the fire alarm.

You were not listening to me when I told you to turn the oven off. You didn't listen to me when I told you to turn off the stove.

II use case: action in the past, which is tied to time

Specific Time as an Interruption

In this case, the Past Continuous is used to indicate an action, it is tied to any time in the past. examples:

Last night at 6 PM, I was eating dinner. I had dinner yesterday at 6:00 pm.

At midnight, we were still driving through the desert. At midnight we were still driving through the desert.

Yesterday at this time, I was sitting at my desk at work. Yesterday at the same time I was sitting at my desk at work.

Use Case III: Parallel Actions in the Past

Parallel Actions

The Past Continuous can be used to refer to two continuous actions in the past happening at the same time. Actions are parallel, and while is often used to link them. examples:

I was studying while he was making dinner. I was studying while he was cooking dinner.

Were you listening while he was talking? Did you listen when he spoke?

Thomas was not working, and I was not working either. Thomas didn't work and I didn't work either.

IV use case: atmosphere transfer

In rare cases, Past Continuous is used to convey the atmosphere of what action. Eg:

When I walked into the office, several people were busily typing, some were talking on the phones, the boss was yelling directions, and customers were waiting to be helped. One customer was yelling at a secretary and waving his hands. Others were complaining to each other about the bad service. — When I entered the office, several people were busy typing, some were talking on the phone, the boss was yelling at everyone, and customers were waiting for help. One client yelled at the secretary and waved his arms. Others complained to each other about poor service.

Use Case V: Transferring Repetitive Actions and Annoyance

Repetition and Irritation with Always

Past Continuous can be used with the words always or constantly to convey your irritation with actions that often happened in the past. Similar to used to, but with a very negative connotation. The words always and constantly must always be placed between the auxiliary verb and the -ing verb. examples:

She was always coming to class late. She was always late for lessons.

He was constantly talking. He announced everyone. “He kept talking. It annoyed everyone.

I didn't like them because they were always complaining. I didn't like them because they always complained

The English language is rich at times. Among them are not last place occupies Past Continuous Tense (Past Continuous), which is responsible for actions that lasted for some period in the past. But this is not its only function: we will talk about the formula of education, use and time indicators further.

General information

The Past Continuous is translated into Russian as the Past Continuous. The name speaks for itself. Past indicates that the action took place in the past, and Continuous is an aspect that describes the duration, the duration of the action.

There is no such time in Russian. Therefore, for Russian-speaking people, it is not very clear and causes difficulties. As a rule, Past Continuous is translated using imperfective verbs in the past tense.

Design

The Past Continuous is a compound time. Like Present Continuous(Present Continuous), this tense form is formed with the help of two verbs: the auxiliary to be and the main verb, to which the ending -ing is attached. But since the Past Continuous speaks of the duration of the action in the past, and not in the present, the auxiliary verb to be will also be in the past tense - was / were. All features of the formation of affirmative, negative and interrogative forms are presented in the following table:

Past continuous

Past long time

Subjects + was/were + main verb + -ing

I was sleeping - I slept

You were sleeping - you were sleeping

He (she, it) was sleeping - he (she, it) slept

We were sleeping - we were sleeping

You were sleeping - you were sleeping

They were sleeping - they were sleeping

Subjects + was/were + not + main verb + -ing

I was not smiling - I didn't smile

You were smiling - you didn't smile

He (she, it) was not smiling - he (she, it) did not smile

We were not smiling - we were not smiling

You were not smiling - you were not smiling

They were not smiling - they did not smile

Was/were + subject + main verb + -ing?

Was I crying? - I cried?

Were you crying? - Did you cry?

Was he (she, it) crying? Did he (she, it) cry?

Were we crying? - Did we cry?

Were you crying? - Did you cry?

Were they crying? - Did they cry?

Past Continuous rules and usage examples

As can be seen from the above examples of conjugation of the verb in the Past Continuous, the grammatical formula for the formation of the form does not cause any particular difficulties. The main thing is to choose one of the forms of auxiliary verbs correctly. Difficulties arise in practice and relate to cases when the Past Continuous is used. To avoid problems in the future, the following rules of use are suggested:

To show an action that took place some time in the past. As a rule, the question of when exactly it began is not important for the speaker. The main thing is to highlight its presence in a given period of time:

At 7 o'clock yesterday she was drinking a cup of hot coffee. She was drinking hot coffee at 7 o'clock yesterday.

To emphasize the process itself rather than the action or subsequent result:

My sister was drawing the whole day. My sister has been painting all day.

To describe a short-term, short-lived situation in the past. The speaker clarifies, specifies when exactly this action took place:

His family was living in Japan for several months. – His family lived in Japan for several months.

In complex sentences, where in one part Past Continuous (Past Continuous) is used to indicate a long action, and in the other - Past Simple (Simple Past) to describe a short single action. The following unions connect the two parts till (until), until (until), before (before), as (while), after (after), when (when):

He was reading a newspaper before we entered the room. He was reading a newspaper before we entered the room.

Not all verbs in English can be used in the Past Continuous. Exceptions include state verbs (to love - love, to like - love, like, to hate - hate).

Time period notation

There are "marker words" for each tense form in English. The Past Continuous is no exception. Usually in sentences where the predicate is expressed by the verb in the past continuous, certain pointer words are used:

Using the Past Continuous Tense

This time is used in the following cases:

1. When we talk about an action in the past that took place over a period of time.
Example: I was cleaning my apartment all day yesterday.

2.When we want to emphasize the duration of the process and give an emotional coloring.
Example: me I baked this cake for two hours.

Affirmative sentences Past Continuous Tense

An affirmative sentence is formed with the past tense auxiliary verb to be (was, were) and the ending "-ing" added to the action verb. The educational scheme will be as follows:

the one about whom in question+ was/were + verb + -ing

I	was
You
We	were	playing
They		swimming
She		cooking
He	was
It

For example:

They were watch ing TV for 2 hours.
They watched TV for two hours.

I was sleep ing whole day.
I slept all day.

He was drive ing a car.
He was driving.

Rules for adding an ending -ing we have considered in this article. In it, we also talked about verbs that are never used in continuous tenses, since they do not know how to last. Be sure to look.

Words are indicators of time

Very often, the following words are used with the Past Continuous:

all day long - all day
all the time - all the time
all day yesterday - all day yesterday
the whole morning - the whole morning
from 5 to 7 p.m. - from 5 to 7

They will help you understand that this is the continuous past tense. Let's look at examples:

He was working the whole morning.
He worked all morning.

They were reading from 6 till 8 p. m.
They read from six to eight in the evening.

I was painting all day yesterday.
I painted all day yesterday.

Negative Past Continuous Tense

The negative sentence in this tense is formed in the same way as the affirmative sentence, but the negative particle not is added to our verb to be.

the one in question + was/were+ not + verb + -ing

I	was
You
We	were		playing
They		not	cooking
She			swimming
He	was
It

They were not play ing all day long.
They didn't play all day.

I was not study ing.
I didn't study.

She was not clear ing her room.
She didn't clean the room.

Interrogative form Past continuous tense

If you want to ask if someone did a long action in the past, then we move the verb to be to the first place in the sentence. The question structure looks like this:

was/were + the one in question + verb + -ing

was	I
	you
Were	we	playing?
	they	cooking?
	she	swimming?
was	he
	it

Statement:

I was doing my homework.
I did my homework.

They were swimming in a sea.
They swam in the sea.

She was playing a piano.
She played the piano.

A question and a positive answer (our "yes") would look like this:

Question	Short answer (contains the verb to be)	Full answer (built as an affirmative sentence)
was I do ing my homework? Did I do my homework?	Yes, I was. Yes, I did.	Yes, I was do ing my homework. Yes I did homework.
Were they swim ing in a sea? Did they swim in the sea?	Yes, they were. Yes, they were swimming.	Yes, they were swimm ing in a sea. Yes, they swam in the sea.
was she play ing a piano? Did she play the piano?	Yes, she was. Yes, she played.	Yes, she was play ing a piano. Yes she played the piano.

Negative answers (our "no") would look like this:

Question	Short answer (contains the verb to be + not)	Full answer (formed as a negative sentence)
was I do ing my homework? Did I do my homework?	no, I wasnot. No, I didn't.	no, I was not do ing my homework. No I didn't do my homework
Were they swim ing in a sea? Did they swim in the sea?	No, you werenot. No, they didn't swim.	No, they were not swimm ing in a sea. No, they did not swim in the sea.
was she play ing a piano? Did she play the piano?	No, she wasnot. No, she didn't play.	No, she was not play ing a piano. No, she didn't play the piano

Were they talking to her?
Did they talk to her?

Yes, they were.
Yes, they talked.

Were they talking to her?
Did they talk to her?

No, they were not.
No, they didn't talk.

was he washing his car?
Did he wash his car?

Yes, he was washing his car.
Yes, he washed his car

was he washing his car?
Did he wash his car?

No, he was not washing his car.
No, he didn't wash his car.

Special questions

When, we ask a question with the following question words:

What - what
Where - where
Who - who
Which - which
Why - why

question word + was/were + person in question + verb + -ing

What were they reading?
What did they read?

Today you met with another extended tense. In the next article we will talk about the continuous future tense. Be sure to ask them in the comments.

Useful related articles:

Reinforcement task

Now let's move on to practice, translate the following sentences into English. Be careful!

1. It rained all day yesterday.
2. I played cards all evening.
3. He was working on his diploma.
4. He went to school yesterday.
5. His sister swam for three hours.
6. My friend woke up early.
7. From two to six she sang on stage.
8. As a child, he cried all the time.
9. I knocked on the door for an hour.

Leave your answers in the comments below the article.

	was	I
		you
What	were	they	reading?
Where		we

Rules past usage Continuous (Past Progressive Tense, or the past long tense) seem to many to be quite complicated. Actually it is not. Today's lesson will help you understand once and for all when we use the past long tense in English.

The Past Continuous form is formed in almost the same way as the Present Continuous, with the only difference being that the verb to be has the form of the past tense.

Education Past Progressive

Scheme Education Past Continuous looks like this:

Let's take the verb to work as an example and conjugate it into the Past Continuous:

The conjugation of any verb will look the same. The difference lies only in the formation of the gerund (ing form). In some cases it will be different.

The past continuous tense describes unfinished (unfinished) actions or events in the past. It's not entirely clear yet, so let's take a closer look.

Use Past Continuous (Past Progressive)

1. Interrupted actions in the past

The Past Continuous Tense is used to show that a continuous action in the past has been interrupted. Since interruption is a relatively short action, it is conveyed through the Past Simple form. The word "interruption" does not always mean the actual termination of the action. Sometimes it means simply the imposition of one event (action) in time on another, when a short action, expressed in Past Simple, breaks into a long, unfinished action, as it were.

When the phone rank, I was writing a letter.- When the phone rang, I was writing a letter.

While Kate was sleeping, someone stole her car. While Kate was sleeping, someone stole her car.

I was waiting for her when she got off the plane.- I was waiting for her (met) when she got off the plane.

When the fire started I was watching television. When the fire started, I was watching TV.

In such cases, it is also possible to specify a specific time:

At six o'clock, I was working. I worked at six o'clock.

Yesterday at 8 PM, we were eating dinner. We had dinner at 8 o'clock yesterday evening.

At midnight, we were still watching TV. We were still watching TV at midnight.

IMPORTANT:

The Simple Past is used when specifying a specific time to show when the action started or ended, but with the Past Continuous the situation is somewhat different. Let's see an example:

Last night at 6 PM, I ate dinner. (I started supper at 6 o'clock.)
Last night at 6 PM, I was eating dinner. (I started dinner earlier, and at 6 o'clock I was in the process.)

2. Parallel events

She was reading while he was making dinner. She was reading while I was preparing dinner.

What were you doing while you were waiting? What were you doing while you were waiting?

When two actions or events in the Past Continuous are indicated in one sentence, this means that these actions (events) occur simultaneously (in parallel).

3. Story in the past tense

Past Continuous can be found in narratives written in the past tense. In this case, any background events are described using this time. Let's see an example:

In the example, you will notice several situations where the Past Continuous is used. As you can see, these are events that have a certain duration (length): the sun was shining, the birds were singing, she was looking for her child, and so on. If you decide to write your own story in English, then this lesson will help you a lot. At the same time, note that in such cases, Past Continuous is used in conjunction with Past Simple.

It can also be said that with the help of the past long time, the so-called atmosphere that reigned in a certain place at a certain time is described.

4. Past habits

Past Progressive is also used when describing any habits (most often annoying) in the past. Words can be indicators of such sentences. always, constantly, forever, at that time, in those days. In Present Continuous there is also such a rule, but for the present time.

He was constantly talking.“He talked all the time.

She was always coming to class late. She was always late for lessons.

I didn't like his friend because he was always complaining. I didn't like his friend because he complained all the time.

5. Finally, we use the past continuous tense when we want to emphasize that some event or action lasted for some long time. This is often indicated by expressions such as all day, all night, for hours and so on.

We were working all day.— We worked all day.

I was preparing for the exam all evening. I have been preparing for the exam all evening.

A few more specific cases of using Past Progressive Tense

1. When a person changed his mind and changed plans (in the construction was / were going to):

I was going to spend the day at the beach but I've decided to get my homework done instead. I wanted to spend the whole day at the beach, but I decided to do my homework instead.

2. With a verb to wonder to form polite requests:

I was wondering if you could give me your e-mail address.

while and when

When we talk about the past using when and while, then when is usually followed by Past Simple, while while is followed by the Past Continuos form, because while is translated as “during the time as”, “while”, that is, it implies lengthy process. The following two examples have exactly the same translation, but pay attention to the use of the past tense - they are different from each other.

He was studying when his mother called.
While he was studying, his mother called.

Remember that some verbs are not used in the continuous form. That is, instead of Past Continuous, such verbs are used in Past Simple:

I was being at my house when she came. Wrong!
I was at my house when she came. Right

Active and passive form:

Assets: The salesman was helping the customer when the thief came into the store. The shop assistant was helping the customer when a thief entered the store.

Passive: The customer was being helped by the salesman when the thief came into the store.

Brief scheme of using Past Progressive:

These were all the rules for using the past long tense. Don't forget to practice using English tenses and come up with your own examples to reinforce the material.

Hello my dear readers.

If you doubt your knowledge of such an important tense as the Past Continuous, then today's lesson is for you. Past Continuous: Rules and Examples is the topic of today's lesson.

You will learn how to form a form correctly, all the necessary rules, you will see everything in examples. possible ways use of time. Also, not for greater difficulty, but for your careful study, I will give you the rule in both Russian and English.