The Past Continuous, as it becomes clear from the name itself, shows an action that not only happened in the past, but also takes place over a period of time, and therefore in Russian it sounds completely like the past long time.
It's important to know
Past continuous tense in English language requires compliance with one important condition: in order to make it clear that the speaker focuses on the process, and not on the fact of the action, in the sentence, in addition to the Past Continuous itself, a certain time interval is also used that lasted for a certain time or occurs at a certain minute . It can be both direct and indirect, that is, understandable from the context.
Here's what it looks like:
· He was reading at 5 p.m. yesterday - He was reading at 5 yesterday(direct indication of time)
· 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 at a certain point in time, albeit without specifying a specific hour or segment.
Education Past Progressive Tense
The formation of Past Continuous in its principle is practically no different from 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 singular) and were (for the same parts of speech in plural). The form of the verb in pasta continius 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 homework yesterday from four to six
Last Saturday we were fishing the whole day - Last Saturday we were fishing all day
Questions and negatives
Using the Past Continuous in Question Sentences
brings no 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 must be followed by the subject, and then the verb in the form of Participle I 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? She was cooking dinner when you came?
This type of question is called General, or general, while there are other options for how to make a question in the Past Continuous. For example, a special question (Special), which, as its name implies, is asked using a special question word (why, how, when, etc.), which is put in first place, and the rest of the structure follows it, with the same observance of the reverse order of words. Interrogative sentences of this type look like this:
Why were you working in the garden the whole evening yesterday? Why were you working 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 Past Continuous Active are also simple in their execution: to form a negation, it is enough to add the particle not to the verb to be. Such use of continius pastes, as a rule, does not cause difficulty. It is worth remembering that the abbreviated 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 in no hurry to our bus stop
Apart from interrogative sentences and phrases with a question, at any time, including the Continuous Past, you can form the so-called negative-interrogative sentences (negative-interrogative). In this case, the particle adjacent to the verb to be is not. Past continuous examples Offers of this type can be the following:
Wasn't she waiting for you then? "Didn't she expect you then?"
Weren't they writing their test at that time? Didn't they write their test at that time?
Cases of using Past Continuous
The past long tense in English is used in the following cases:
1. In order to show the duration of the action,
happening in the past, representing either a specific period of time during which the action took place, or indicating that the situation was happening at some point. Many people call the case where there is no specific time, an interrupted action, that is, an action where one process that took place in the past is interrupted by another that happened 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 of time is not indicated, but it becomes clear from the situation itself.
2. For an action considered as a continuous process
Common markers for this use of Past Simple Continuous- adverbs always, constantly, ever. Very often, such sentences carry a certain emotion, reinforced by these very adverbs. There is often something past negative, annoying:
She was constantly complaining of being lonely - She was always complaining about her loneliness
John was always doing silly things like that - John was always doing some such stupid things
3. In indirect speech
Special attention should be paid to the case of using this continuous tense in when the agreement rule requires the displacement of all tenses in the sentence. If we talk about this time, then when moving from direct speech to that which is called indirect, Past Continuous is a platform for Present Continuous. This is done for the reason that English (unlike Russian) cannot contain tenses of different categories (Present and Past, Past and Future) inside a complex sentence, and therefore, in order to show a long present situation, Reported Speech uses time is Past Continuous.
The following 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 proposals are formed in different times when it is time to go back one step.
4. Multiple actions in a sentence
In a situation where there are 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 using Past Continuous and Past Indefinite. In the event that the speaker focuses on the process, then it would be more logical to use a long time. But if the duration does not play an important role, but only the very 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 thought is based on two parallel long actions)
· While she cooked, I slept - While she was cooking, I slept(the speaker is reporting facts, not the duration of two acts)
Markers of this time
have something in common with other time indicators of the Past category: yesterday, last week, then, etc. A characteristic feature is the frequent use of such words and constructions as at that moment, from ... to (till) ..., during, while, the whole morning, etc .; these auxiliary words emphasize the duration and indicate the process.
Note: with the constructions the whole day and all day long, two times 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 the 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 Past Continuous, the rules and examples in English described above will help you determine how to properly manage this time, remember in which situations this time is not formed, and also allow you to better understand all its subtleties and features of use that Past Continuous has. , like any other time, enough.
I suggest you get acquainted with another tense from the Continuous group, namely, Past Continuous Tense (Past Continuous Tense). Although it is not used very often either in speech or in writing, you will still need to master it when studying English grammar.
What is Past Continuous Tense?
The Past Continuous is one of several English tense forms that describe an action that has already taken place in the past. The peculiarity of this past tense is that it was long. Action in Past Continuous Tense is expressed as continuing (flowing) at a certain point in the past. Education Past Continuous Tense - Past Continuous Tense
Rules for the formation of Past Continuous Tense
Past Continuous Tense is a compound tense formed with the help of the auxiliary verb to be in the Past Simple Tense (was, were) and the present participle of the main verb. Simply put, the present participle (Present Participle) is a verb with the ending -ing.
You can find the rules that must be observed when forming the present participle (Present Participle) in the article Present Continuous
- affirmative form Past Continuous Tense is formed with a verb to be(I/ he/ she/ it was, we/ you/ they were), which is placed after the subject and before the Present Participle of the main verb.
- At education interrogative form Past Continuous Tense auxiliary verb to be(was, were) is placed before the subject, and the Present Participle of the main verb is placed after the subject.
- negative form forms a particle not, which in colloquial speech merges into one with the auxiliary verb to be:
The subject is followed by the verb to be(was, were) combined with negation not, followed by the Present Participle of the main verb.
Conjugation table of the verb to dream in Past Continuous Tense
| Number | Face | affirmative form | Interrogative form | negative form |
| Unit h. | 1
2 3 |
I was dream ing
You were dream ing He/She/It was dream ing |
was I dream ing?
Were you dream ing? was he/she/it dream ing? |
I was not (wasn "t) dream ing
You were not (weren "t) dream ing He/She/It was not (wasn "t) dream ing |
| Mn. h. | 1
2 3 |
We were dream ing
You were dream ing They were dream ing |
Were we dream ing?
Were you dream ing? Were they dream ing? |
We were not (weren "t) dream ing
You were not (weren "t) dream ing They were not (weren "t) dream ing |
Do not forget!
Quite a lot of verbs are not used in a long form (Continuous). A detailed list of these verbs can be found in the article Present Simple
Past Continuous Tense is used
1. When expressing an action or state that took place during a certain moment in the past time. The period of this action can be indicated by adverbial phrases such as:
- at 4 o'clock yesterday - yesterday at 4 o'clock
- at that moment / time last Sunday - at that moment / at that time last Sunday
or it may be indicated by another action expressed by a verb in the Past Simple Tense. Examples:
- They were watching the news at 9 o'clock yesterday. They were watching the news at 9 o'clock yesterday.
- At that time he was talking with me over the telephone. At that moment he was talking to me on the phone.
- They were playing when the teacher came in. When the teacher came in, they were playing.
- You were sleeping when I left. You were asleep when I left.
2. The Past Continuous is often used to show that an action has taken too long. In such sentences, there are often circumstances of time:
- the whole day - the whole day
- all the time - all the time
- all day long - all day long
- from 5 till 8 o'clock - from 5 to 8 o'clock
- I was working the whole day. — I worked all day long.
- He was repairing his car from 4 to 6 p.m. last Saturday. He was repairing his car from 4 to 6 pm last Saturday.
3. When expressing disapproval or impatience for a past inclination or habit. These sentences often use adverbs:
- always - always
- constantly - constantly
- ever - forever
- My father was always saying not to come late. My dad always asked me not to come late.
- I was always ringing him up after my work. I always called him after work.
4. To indicate an action that was in progress, in a subordinate clause of time after prepositions:
- while - while
- when - when
In the main clause, the verb is used in the Past Simple Tense. Examples:
- She watched a film while the children were playing in the garden. She was watching a movie while the children were playing in the garden.
- While Nansy was cooking breakfast, her husband read the newspaper. While Nastya was preparing breakfast, her husband was reading a newspaper.
5. In order to show that the action in the past developed gradually:
- The wind was rising. - The wind was picking up.
- It was getting dark. - It was getting dark.
6. When expressing an action that was planned in the past for the near future in terms of the past.
When meeting with English grammar you can’t ignore Past Continuous (Progressive). Cause this is the time that holds a few little secrets that will take you to new level will enrich your speech.
Among the variety of temporary forms for mastering English, it is simply necessary to learn the past for a long time. Its whole essence is to focus on an event that happened and lasted in the past. Where to start and what nuances need to be remembered?
Education Past Continuous (Progressive)
If you carefully study the forms of pastes continius, then there will be no difficulties in their use. You need to remember to be , namely its form was/were. The verb in this tense is used in one form, which is the same as participle 1 - Ving. Even here, however, there are exceptions. The rules for the past continuous about the features of writing a predicate with this ending can be found in the article “Continuous tenses”. It is very important to learn how to translate this shade correctly. Each verb emphasizes the duration of the action, its duration in the situation indicated in the sentence. For example, he worked, read, swam, wrote, drew.
table Past continuous
Let's try to schematically depict all the forms of this time in various types offers. But, first, remember the general scheme.
was/were + Ving
| narrative | negative | interrogative |
| I was watching | I was not watching | Was I watching? |
| You were watching | You weren't watching | Were you watching? |
| She (He, It) was watching | She (He, It) was not watching | Was she (He, It) watching? |
| We were watching | We were not watching | Were we watching? |
| You were watching | You weren't watching | Were you watching? |
| They were watching | They were not watching | Were they watching? |
All this is quite easy to remember and understand. In colloquial speech, we often use short forms such as wasn't, weren't.
Using Past Continuous Tense
Like everything in our life, including the use of tenses in English, it obeys the rules. Consider the main cases of using the past continuous (progressive):
1. The name itself - long, continued - indicates that the action took place and lasted in some specified moment in the past. This moment can be either clear from the context, or indicated by some clues, indicators of time.
- at 6 o'clock yesterday, at that moment, at that time
We were drawing at 7 o'clock yesterday. We were painting at seven o'clock yesterday.
At that time I was writing a letter to my friend. At that time I was writing a letter to a friend.
- Past Progressive is used in situations where one action happened, lasted, and suddenly another happened, which is expressed by Past Simple. The words when are used to help convey such situations. It can also be parallel actions that lasted in the past. For an expression, the word while is the best helper. Do not confuse with Past Simple, which describes actions going one after another, and not simultaneously.
They were reading when the teacher came in. They were reading when the teacher came in.
I was sleeping while he was watching TV. I was sleeping while he was watching TV.
2. Both in the present and in the past tense of this group, phrases can be expressed reproach, disapproval, irritation, too often repeated habit. And again, the adverbs always, constantly, too often serve as pointers.
He was always borrowing money and fogetting to pay it back. He was always borrowing money and forgetting to pay it back.
3. Use the Past Progressive time if the exact time is specified time period in the past not necessarily the exact time, but perhaps some kind of framework. You can recognize it in a sentence by the clues all day long yeaterday, the whole evening (yesterday), from 10 till 11, during.
We were sleeping the whole day yesterday. We slept all day yesterday.
4. To express actions that gradually developed and changed. All this will be clear from the meaning of the sentence, the context, so look deep into the text.
The sun was rising. — The sun was rising.
It was getting dark. - It was getting dark.
5. Remember that the British are very polite people, which is why they have so many ways to express their respect. Even the rule for the past continuous has its own notes. Paste continius is used instead of simple tense to express a polite question or answer. Moreover, the meaning in Russian is almost the same, but in English - two different ones.
What was he doing in our absent? What did he do in our absence?
But the grammar of the Past Continuous puts another stick in the wheel in language learning. Namely, you still have to memorize verbs that are not used in any of the Continuous tenses. All this can be found in the article "Non Continuous Verbs".
So, in order to learn this time well, you not only need to get acquainted with the education, but also remember the use cases. It is very important that the action lasts, not interrupted in the past. All this is best worked out in exercises and tests.
past simple- grammatical tense, which is used to indicate a completed action in the past. This is usually indicated by hint words. for instance He finished school in 2002. He finished school in 2002. Thus, the indication 2002 is a hint word requiring the use of Past Simple.
Past continuous- in this grammatical tense, we are primarily interested in the continuous nature of a specific action in the past. Often this time is accompanied by hints in their own words. For example, He was drinking tea with his friends yesterday at 5. That is, we are interested in a specific moment in the past, and special words indicate this.
Clues
Let us dwell a little more on the clue words of these two tenses.
past simple- yesterday, ago, last, the day before yesterday, in ... (date), on ... (day). As a rule, all of the above clue words are used at the end of a sentence. However, speeches may use these words at the beginning of a sentence.
Past continuous- at ... (indication of time), all day long (all day), from ... till ... (from ... to ...). As in the Past Simple, hint words are placed at the end of the sentence, but they can also be used at the beginning of the sentence.
How Past Simple and Past Continuous are Formed
past simple
affirmative sentences- I started to work at shool in 2001. The subject is put in the first place, then the predicate in the second form (in regular verbs the ending ed is added, the second form is learned from the wrong ones).
Interrogative sentences - Did you start to work at school in 2001? The auxiliary verb Did, which is not translated in any way, is put in the first place, then the subject and predicate in the FIRST (initial) form.
Negative sentences- I did not (didn't) start to work at school in 2001. (The subject is followed by did not + the verb in the initial form)
Past continuous
affirmative sentences- We were having breakfast yesterday at 5. The subject is put in the first place, then to be in the past form (was / were - depending on the number of the subject. In the singular - was, in the plural - were.) + verb with the ending ...ing .
Interrogative sentences— Were you having breakfast yesterday at 5? The verb to be and the subject change places.
Negative sentences- We were not (weren't) having breakfast at 5. The particle not (not) is placed after the verb to be.
Sharing two tenses in one sentence
Often past simple and Past continuous are used side by side in the same sentence. The most important thing in this case is to correctly determine which time to use in which case. Consider an example: Sally came when I was having breakfast. Sally came in while I was having breakfast. Let's compare two actions. One of them has a long character - to have breakfast, the other one-time, quick character - to come. Thus, when two past actions collide in one sentence, you need to choose, arguing about which action lasted longer and which happened quickly. In such cases, two sentences are usually connected using conjunctions. when(when and while(while)
Examples from fiction
A chill wind was blowing that nipped him sharply and bit with especial venom into his wounded shoulder. // Jack London "The Call Of The Wild"
She was trying to see it in a mirror behind the counter without letting the truck driver know, and so she pretended to push a bit of hair to neatness. // John Steinbeck "The Grapes Of Wrath"
The man was limping on towards this latter, as if he were the pirate come to life, and come down, and going back to hook himself up again. // Charles Dickens "Great Expectations"
Exercises for Past Simple / Past Continuous (test)
The rules for using Past Continuous (Past Progressive Tense, or the past long time) seem quite complicated to many. 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 that the verb to be has the form of the past tense.
Education Past Progressive
The Past Continuous education scheme is as follows:
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:
Simple Past is used when specifying a specific time to show when the action began or ended, but with 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 prevailed 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 etc.
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. Not properly!
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.
