FORMING THE PAST CONTINUOUS
Subject
|
was/were
|
base + ing
|
They
|
were
|
watching
|
Affirmative
| ||
She
|
was
|
reading
|
Negative
| ||
She
|
wasn't
|
reading
|
Interrogative
| ||
Was
|
she
|
reading?
|
Interrogative negative
| ||
Wasn't
|
she
|
reading?
|
The past continuous of any verb is composed of two parts : the past tense of the verb "to be" (was/were), and the base of the main verb +ing.
USES OF THE PAST CONTINUOUS
We use the past continuous to talk about the past:
- for something which happened before and after another action:
The children were doing their homework when I got home.
Compare: The children did their homework when (= after) I got home.
This use of the past continuous is very common at the beginning of a story:
The other day I was waiting for a bus when …
Last week, as I was driving to work, …
- for something that happened before and after a specific time:
It was eight o'clock. I was writing a letter.
Compare: At eight o'clock I wrote (= started writing) some letters.
- to show that something continued for some time:
My head was aching.
Everyone was shouting.
- for something that happened again and again:
I was practising every day, three times a day.
They were meeting secretly after school.
They were always quarrelling.
- with verbs which show change or growth:
The children were growing up quickly.
Her English was improving.
My hair was going grey.
The town was changing quickly.
Do the following exercises
