Hello my dear readers.
If you doubt your knowledge of such an important tense as the Past Continuous, then today’s lesson is just for you. Past Continuous: rules and examples - the topic of today's lesson.
You will learn how to correctly form a form, all the necessary rules, and see examples of all the possible ways to use time. Also, not for more difficulty, but for your thorough learning, I will give you the rule in both Russian and English.
Icons used in this article:
V+ing (Ving)- English verb of the first form with ending -ing.
Time formation rule
The affirmative form of time is formed as follows:
Subject + was/were + Ving
She was making pizza at that moment.- She was preparing pizza at that time.
Of course, you often have to form negative sentences. In this case, to the auxiliary verbs was/were a particle is added not.
She wasn’t making pizza at that moment.- She wasn't preparing pizza at that time.
The English language is rich at times. Not least among them is Past Continuous Tense, 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 formation, use and time indicators further.
General information
Past Continuous tense is translated into Russian as Past Continuous Tense. 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 tense is a compound tense. Like the Present Continuous, this tense form is formed using two verbs: the auxiliary to be and the main verb, to which the ending -ing is attached. But since the Past Continuous speaks about 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 continuous tense |
|
|
Subjects + was/were +main verb + -ing |
|
|
I was sleeping - I was sleeping You were sleeping - you were sleeping He (she, it) was sleeping - he (she, it) was sleeping |
We were sleeping - we slept 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 did not smile You were not smiling - you did not smile They were not smiling - they did not smile |
|
Was/were + subjects + 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? - Were we crying? Were you crying? - Did you cry? Were they crying? - Did they cry? |
Past Continuous rules and examples of use
As can be seen from the above examples of verb conjugation in the Past Continuous, the grammatical formula for forming the form does not cause any particular difficulties. The main thing is to choose the right form of auxiliary verbs. 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 lasted for some period in the past. As a rule, the question of when exactly it began does not seem important to 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. - Yesterday at 7 o’clock she was drinking hot coffee.
- To emphasize the process itself rather than the action or subsequent result:
My sister was drawing the whole day. - My sister has been drawing all day.
- To describe a short-term, short-lived situation in the past. The speaker clarifies and specifies when exactly this action occurred:
His family was living in Japan for several months. - His family lived in Japan for several months.
- In complex sentences, where in one part the Past Continuous is used to denote a long action, and in the other, the Past Simple is used to describe a short single action. The two parts are connected by the following conjunctions till (until), until (not yet), before (before), as (while), after (after), when (when):
He was reading a newspaper before we entered the room. - He was reading the newspaper before we entered the room.
Not all verbs in English can be used in the Past Continuous. Exceptions include state verbs (to love - to love, to like - to love, like, to hate - to hate).
Time period designation
For each tense form in the English language there are “marker words”. The Past Continuous is no exception. Typically, in sentences where the predicate is expressed by a verb in the past continuous, certain indicator words are used:
TOP 4 articleswho are reading along with this
- Denoting a specific time : at 8 p.m. (at 8 pm), at 4 o'clock yesterday (yesterday at 4 o'clock), this afternoon (at lunch hour), this evening at 9 (in the evening at 9), at midnight (at midnight) and others (My father was smoking at midnight. - My dad smoked at midnight);
- Denoting a period of time : all day (all day), last morning (yesterday morning), during some time (for some time), this time last week (at this time last week), this evening (today evening) and others (This time last month they were swimming in the sea - At this time last month they were swimming in the sea).
Surely you are already familiar with the Present Continuous tense, which helps us describe a long-term action (process) occurring at the moment. But what if you need to talk about a process that lasted in the past?
In Russian, various prefixes come to our aid, helping to distinguish verbs that answer the questions “what did you do?” and “what did you do?” In English, in such cases, a tense called Past Continuous Tense comes to our aid.
What is Past Continuous
Past Continuous(also called Past Progressive) is the past continuous tense. In other words, it is a time that indicates a process that lasted at a certain moment or period in the past.
For understanding: For example, if yesterday you ran into the store for five minutes to buy the essentials, then you would simply say: “I went to the store.” If you are involved in a long and tedious shopping process in order to find a gift for your beloved granny, then the wording “I walked around the shopping center for 4 hours, during which time spring gave way to summer, a year next year, I have grown old” will come to your aid , the children grew up, and humanity conquered Mars, but I still haven’t found anything, perhaps I’ll make a postcard with my own hands.”
This example clearly demonstrates the difference between Past Simple and Past Continuous.
How is the Past Continuous formed?
The formation scheme for Past Continuous is simple, logical and similar to the formation of Present Continuous. This subject+ auxiliary verb was/were + semantic verb with the ending "- ing" For clarity, let's take a closer look at how statements, denials and questions are formed in this tense.
Spoiler: the formation of negatives and questions is no different in structure from other English tenses.
Don't forget that in colloquial speech negatives are usually shortened, so was not and were not take the forms weren't and weren't respectively.
Past Continuous marker words
The following marker words will help you determine that the Past Continuous should be used in a given sentence:
- at 7 a.m.- at 7 am (instead of 7 a.m. you can substitute any other time, what is important is the indication of a specific period of time);
- all day/night(long) - all day/all night (all day long);
- all the time- all the time;
- at that moment- at that moment;
- while- while;
- when- When.
| Marker | Example | Translation |
| at 5 o'clock | Yesterday at 5 o’clock I was having a date with my boss’ wife. | Yesterday at 5 o'clock I was on a date with my boss's wife. |
| all night long | I was partying all night long, dudes. It was savage! | I partied the night away, dudes. It was amazing! |
| all the time | Rick was crafting something in his lab all the time, but nobody knew what it was. | Rick was making something in his laboratory all the time, but no one knew what it was. |
| at that moment | I was teaching my pigeon to fly at that moment the day before yesterday. | I taught my pigeon to fly at the same time the day before yesterday. |
| while | Clyde was drinking whiskey at the bar, while Bonnie was stealing a car. | Clyde was drinking whiskey at the bar while Bonnie was stealing the car. |
| when | I was trying to sell my little brother in the Internet when my parents came back. | I tried to sell my little brother online when my parents returned. |
Cases of using the Past Continuous
So, actually, what was all this started for: in what cases exactly do we use the Past Continuous?
- The simplest and most common is to describe actions, which lasted at a certain period or a specific point in time in the past.
Last night at 6 p.m., I was eating dinner. - Yesterday at 6 pm I had dinner.
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 this same time, I was sitting at my desk.
She was walking her dog in the afternoon. - She was walking the dog during the day.
It is important to remember that if a period is indicated, it must be completed. Those. if we say that she walked the dog during the day, then this means that the day has already ended.
- One of the most typical cases of use is interrupted action in the past. This is where the union comes to our aid." when».
I was watching TV when she called. - I was watching TV when she called.
When the phone rank,she was writing a letter. - When the phone rang, she was writing a letter.
While we were having the picnic, it started to rain. - While we were on a picnic, it started to rain.
What were you doing when the earthquake started? - What were you doing when the earthquake started?
I was listening to my iPod, so I didn't hear the fire alarm. - I was listening to my iPod, so I didn't 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 asked you to turn off the oven.
Sammy was waiting for us when we got off the plane. - Sammy was waiting for us when we got off the plane.
A: What were you doing when you broke your leg? - What were you doing when you broke your leg?
B:I was snowboarding. - I went snowboarding.
- Another typical case is long-term actions, which happened simultaneously in the past. In this case, the union helps us " while" and sometimes just " and».
I was studying while he was making dinner. - I studied while he was preparing dinner.
While Ellen was reading Tim was watching television - While Helen was reading, Tim was watching TV.
Were you listening while was he talking? - Did you listen while he spoke?
I wasn't paying attention while I was writing the letter, so I made several mistakes. - I wrote the letter inattentively, so I made several mistakes.
What were you doing while you were waiting? - What did you do while you were waiting?
Thomas wasn't working, and I wasn't working either. - Thomas didn’t work, and I didn’t work either.
They were eating dinner, discussing their plans and having a good time. - They had dinner, discussed plans and just had a good time.
- A slightly rarer and more specific case is the use of the Past Continuous to describe the atmosphere and settings in stories and stories.
When I walked into the office, several people were busy typing, some were talking on the phones, the boss was giving orders, and customers were waiting to be served. 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 busily typing something, someone was talking on the phone, the boss was giving instructions, and customers were waiting to be served. One client shouted at the secretary and waved his arms. Others complained to each other about the poor service.
- And finally - a case for the advanced: we use the Past Continuous to describe repetitive actions or habits, that have annoyed us in the past. Similar to using " used to", but with a negative connotation. Here the words “ always" And " constantly».
She was always coming to class late. - She was always late for classes.
He was constantly talking. It annoyed everyone. - He chatted constantly. This irritated everyone.
I didn't like them because they were always complaining. - I didn’t like them because they constantly complained.
Nota Bene: do not forget that the so-called " state verbs"(state verbs) we are in the times of the Continuous group we don't use.
Education Past Continuous Passive
Like most other tenses, the Past Continuous can be used in passive pledge .
Statement: subject + was/were + being + V3
The customer was being helped by the salesman when the thief came into the store. - The seller was helping the buyer when the thief entered the store.
Negation: subject + was/were + not + being + V3
The TV was not being watched when electricity went off. - No one was watching TV when the electricity was turned off.
Question: was/were + subject + being + V3?
Was he being listened by anyone when Linda arrived? - Was anyone listening to him at all when Linda arrived?
Differences from Past Simple
We hope that having read up to this point, you have already understood how Past Continuous differs from Past Simple, but just in case, let’s clarify.
Past Simple is a short, completed action in the past, while Past Continuous is a process, a long-term action that occurred over some time in the past.
That's basically all you need to know to distinguish between these times. Easy peasy.
He came home at 7 p.m. - He back home at 7 pm.
He was coming home at 7 p.m. - He was returning home at 7 pm.
She said said when I saw her.
She was saying something when I saw her. - She's doing something spoke when I saw her.
Working with the Past Continuous is simple and pleasant (compared to the Present Perfect, for example), and in order to thoroughly understand it and master everything down to the smallest detail, we recommend you exercises on our online simulator.
Conclusion
So, today we have carefully and in detail analyzed the Past Continuous Tense. We hope you found this article helpful and you will handle this time as smartly as any native and be able to tell everyone long stories about your fun time this past weekend.
We invite you to familiarize yourself with other tenses of the English language
The word Past is translated as “past” and shows us that the action took place sometime in the past. If you read the last article, you already know that Continuous is translated as “long/continued”. In the past tense, this tells us that the action began some time ago, lasted for some time and ended by now.
We use the Past Continuous to emphasize the duration of the action that happened in the past. Unlike the Past Simple, which we use when we simply talk about something as a fact that happened in the past.
Let's look at two examples:
1.Past Simple:
I talked to her.
I talked to her.
2. Past Continuous:
I was talking to her for 2 hours.
I talked to her for two hours.
The first example simply talks about fact. We can use it, for example, when we describe a series of actions: woke up, took a shower, ate, called, talked to her.
The second example says that it was process and it lasted for some time (2 hours). That is, we focus specifically on the duration of this action. The sentence also puts emotion into it, rather than just listing a set of facts: I talked to her for 2 hours and didn’t manage to do anything.
Now let's look at the cases of using the past continuous tense.
Use of Past Continuous Tense
This tense is used in the following cases:
1. When we talk about an action in the past that occurred over a period of time.
Example: yesterday I spent the whole day cleaning the apartment.
2.When we want to emphasize the duration of the process and add emotional overtones.
Example: I I baked this cake for two hours.
Affirmative sentences Past Continuous Tense
An affirmative sentence is formed using the auxiliary verb to be in the past tense form (was, were) and the ending “-ing”, which is added to the verb denoting action. The education scheme will be as follows:
the one 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 driv ing a car.
He was driving the car.
Rules for adding endings -ing we looked at in this article. In it we also talked about verbs that are never used in continuous tenses, since they cannot last. Be sure to check it out.
Words are indicators of time
Very often the following words are used with the Past Continuous tense:
- 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 till 7 p.m. - from 5 to 7
They will help you understand that this is the past continuous 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 drew all day yesterday.
Negative Past Continuous Tense
A negative sentence at this time is formed in the same way as an 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 haven't played 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 whether someone did some continuous action in the past, then move the verb to be to the first place in the sentence. The question flow diagram 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.
The question and a positive answer (our “yes”) will look like this:
| Question | Short answer (contains the verb to be) | Full answer (constructed as an affirmative sentence) |
| Was
I do ing my homework? Did I do my homework? |
Yes, I was. |
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 swimm ing in a sea. |
| Was
she play ing a piano? Did she play the piano? |
Yes, she was. |
Yes, she was play ing a piano. Yes she played the piano. |
Negative answers (our “no”) will look like this:
| Question | Short answer (contains the verb to be + not) | Full answer (constructed as a negative sentence) |
| Was
I do ing my homework? Did I do my homework? |
No, I wasnot. |
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 were not swimm ing in a sea. No, they didn't swim in the sea. |
| Was
she play ing a piano? Did she play the piano? |
No, she wasnot. |
No, she was not play ing a piano. No, she didn't play the piano |
Were are they talking to her?
Did they talk to her?
Yes, they were.
Yes, they were talking.
Were are 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
| was | I | ||
| you | |||
| What | were | they | reading? |
| Where | we |
The Past Continuous tense, as is clear from the name itself, shows an action that not only happened in the past, but also occurs over a certain period of time, and therefore in Russian it completely sounds like the past continuous tense.
It is important to know
The past continuous tense in English requires compliance with one important condition: in order to make it clear that the speaker is focusing on the process, and not on the fact of the action, in the sentence, in addition to the Past Continuous itself, a certain time period is also used, which lasted for a certain time or happening at a specific minute. It can be either direct or indirect, that is, understandable from the context.
This is what it looks like:
· He was reading at 5 p.m. yesterday – He was reading at 5 yesterday(direct time indication)
· He was reading when we came – He was reading when we came(indirect indication of time)
In the second example, the exact time frame is not indicated, but from the situation itself it becomes clear why the Past Continuous form is used here: the action was long-lasting at a certain point in time, albeit without indicating a specific hour or segment.
Education Past Progressive Tense
The formation of the Past Continuous in its principle is practically no different from the Present Continuous, with the only difference being that this tense uses the past form of the auxiliary verb to be. It looks like this: was (for nouns and pronouns in the singular) and were (for the same parts of speech in the plural). The form of the verb in past continuus is the Present Participle, that is, the first participle ending in –ing. The general formula for this time is as follows:
Was
Were + V-ing
· She was doing homework from 4 to 6 p.m. yesterday – She did her homework yesterday from four to six
· Last Saturday we were fishing the whole day – Last Saturday we fished all day
Questions and denials
Using the Past Continuous in sentences with a question
does not pose any difficulty. Questions in the Past Continuous are formed as follows: the initial position is occupied by the auxiliary verb to be in the form that is required. It should be followed by the subject, and then the Participle I verb and the rest of the sentence:
· Were you swimming in the pool? – Did you swim in the pool?
· Was she cooking dinner when you came? – Was she preparing dinner when you arrived?
This type of question is called General, while there are other options for how to make a question in the Past Continuous. For example, a special question (Special), which, as is clear from its name, is asked using a special question word (why, how, when, etc.), which is placed in first place, and the rest of the structure follows it by observing the reverse word order. Interrogative sentences of this type look like this:
· Why were you working in the garden the whole evening yesterday? – Why did you work in the garden all evening yesterday?
· How was she preparing for her exam yesterday in the morning? It was so noisy! How did she prepare for the exam yesterday morning? It was so noisy!
Negative sentences
in the Past Continuous Active are also simple in their implementation: to form a negation, it is enough to add the particle not to the verb to be. Such use of continuus pastes, as a rule, does not cause difficulties. It is worth remembering that the shortened form of negation looks like wasn’t (= was not) or weren’t (= were not) and looks like this:
· He wasn’t dining there that evening - He didn’t have dinner there that evening
· We weren’t hurrying to our bus stop – We were not in a hurry to our bus stop
In addition to interrogative sentences and phrases with a question, any tense, including the Continuous Past, can form so-called negative-interrogative sentences. In this case, the particle adjacent to the verb to be is not. In the Past Continuous, examples of sentences of this type could be as follows:
· Wasn’t she waiting for you then? “Wasn’t she waiting for you then?”
· Weren’t they writing their test at that time? – Didn’t they write their test at that time?
Cases of using the Past Continuous
The past continuous tense in English is used in the following cases:
1. To show the duration of action,
happening in the past, representing either a specific period of time during which an action took place, or indicating that a situation occurred at some point. Many call a case where there is no specific time, an interrupted action, that is, an action where one process that occurred in the past is interrupted by another, committed once:
· When I returned, she was peeling potatoes – When I returned, she was peeling potatoes
· When he called me, I was preparing for my exam – When he called, I was preparing for the exam
Note: In this case, the exact moment in time is not indicated, but it becomes clear from the situation itself.
2. For action considered as a continuous process
Frequently occurring markers of such use of the Past Simple Continuous are the adverbs always, constantly, ever. Very often, such sentences carry a certain emotion, reinforced by these same adverbs. Something negative and irritating from the past often takes place here:
· She was constantly complaining of being lonely – She always complained about her loneliness
· John was always doing silly things like that - John always did some stupid things like that
3. In indirect speech
The case of using this continuous tense in , when the agreement rule requires the displacement of all tenses available in the sentence, deserves special attention. If we talk about this time, then when moving from direct speech to what is called indirect, the Past Continuous is the platform for the Present Continuous. This is done for the reason that the English language (unlike Russian) cannot contain tenses of different categories (Present and Past, Past and Future) within a complex sentence, and therefore, in order to show a continuous situation of the present tense, Reported Speech is used Past Continuous tense.
Below are examples of sentences in the Past Continuous in indirect speech:
Compare: “I am preparing for the exam,” said John – John said that he was preparing for the exam
“I am going there, mother,” said my sister – My sister said to mother that she was going there
By the same principle, other sentences are formed in different tenses, when it is time to move one step back.
4. Several actions in a sentence
In a situation where there is not one, but two actions in a sentence, and both of them occur at the same moment, that is, in parallel, then you can find an explanation for the use of Past Continuous and Past Indefinite. If the speaker is emphasizing the process, then a more logical option would be to use a long tense. But if duration does not play an important role, and only the fact of the action itself is emphasized, then such a sentence is formed using Past Indefinite:
· While she was cooking, I was sleeping – While she was cooking, I was sleeping(the speaker’s thoughts are based on two parallel long-term actions)
· While she cooked, I slept – While she was cooking, I was sleeping(the speaker reports facts, not the duration of two actions)
Markers of this time
overlap with other indicators of time in the Past category: yesterday, last week, then, etc. A characteristic feature is the frequent use of words and constructions such as at that moment, from ... to (till) ..., during, while, the whole morning, etc.; these auxiliary words emphasize duration and indicate process.
Note: with the constructions the whole day and all day long, two tenses are used at once: Past Continuous and Past Indefinite, i.e. These time indicators are not unambiguous and can be used in two cases.
They were writing invitations all day long = They wrote invitations all day long – They wrote invitations all day
Exceptions
As with any continuous tense, the Past Continuous Tense requires a careful approach to those verbs that do not form a Continuous form. There are several groups of verbs, the most common of which are those that describe sensory perception (hear, see, taste, etc.), mental activity (suppose, think, believe, etc.), emotions and feelings (like, hate, love , etc.) and some others.*
When working with the Past Continuous, the rules and examples in English described above will help you determine how to properly manage this time, remember in what situations this tense is not formed, and will also allow you to better understand all its subtleties and features of use that the Past Continuous has , like any other time, is enough.