EVOLVE/grammarpastcontinuous

Past Continuous

I/he/she/it + was + doing (walking, running, eating)
you/we/they/you were

This tense focuses on the duration of a past action.

I was looking away

You were driving home

He was meeting his manager

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ßPast---------------------------------------Now-------------------------------------Futureà

The past continuous is very often used together with the past simple to demonstrate a longer past activity which was interrupted by a shorter past action:

I was looking away when the boy fell down

You were driving home when I saw you

He was meeting his manager when I spoke to him

past action
*****************|
ßPast---------------------------------------Now-------------------------------------Futureà

Task 1
Decide which is the longer action and write a sentence using both verbs, the longer in the past continuous and the shorter in the past simple.

1. see you driving

2. read hear a noise

3. talk to my mother hear the news

4. fall over ice skating

5. eat dinner ring the telephone

6. watch a sad film start to cry

Questions
Questions in the past continuous are similar to questions in the present continuous but we use the past forms of ‘be’ – ‘was’ and ‘were’

I am reading a good book.
becomes
I was reading a good book.

She is watching TV.
becomes
She was watching TV.

We are eating.
becomes
We were eating.

I am visiting friends this month.
becomes
I was visiting friends last month.

We are taking a course this year.
becomes
We were taking a course last year.

Task 2
Change these sentences into questions

You were helping Katrina.
We were losing the match.
I was thinking.
You were feeling warm.
We were listening to Donovan.
He was celebrating his birthday.
My girlfriend was meeting her friends tonight.
You were reading that book quickly.
That dog was looking at you.
He was smoking less.

Negatives
Forming negative sentences is as simple as placing ‘not’ or the contraction ‘-n’t’ after the verb ‘be’

I was reading a good book.
becomes
I was not reading a good book.

She was watching TV.
becomes
She wasn’t watching TV.

We were eating.
becomes
We were not eating.

I was visiting friends last month.
becomes
I was not visiting friends last month.

Task 3
Write sentences in the present continuous using negative forms.

Answers

Task1

Answers may vary.

Task2

Were you helping Katrina?
Were we losing the match?
Was I thinking?
Were you feeling warm?
Were we listening to Donovan?
Was he celebrating his birthday?
Was my girlfriend meeting her friends tonight?
Were you reading that book quickly?
Was that dog looking at you?
Was he smoking less?

Task3

Answers may vary.

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Adjectives - Adverbs I - Adverbs II - Articles - Auxilliary Verbs - Conditionals - Furture Forms - Gerunds - Modal Auxiliary Verbs - Narrative Tenses - Nouns - Passive Voice - Past Continuous - Past Perfect - Past Simple - Phrasal Verbs - Prepositions - Prepositions II - Prepositions III - Present Continuous - Present Perfect - Present Simple - Pronouns - Question Tags - Relative Clauses - Reported Speech - Tenses Overview - Transitive and Intransitive Verbs - Verb + Preposition Collocations - Verb + Verb Collocations

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Past Continuous

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