The Past Continuous Tense The Past Progressive Tense

Basic structure: 1. Positive statement: S. + was / were + Ving… She

2. Negative statement: S. + was not / were not wasn’t + Ving…

3. Yes/No Question: Was / Were + S. + Ving… ? Were you

Usages: I. To talk about an action in progress during a whole period

II. To talk about an action in progress at a specific time in

Practice 1: were playing 1. They (play)football at 9 o’clock last Sunday. was waiting

short action happened 4. When the accident (happen), was doing I (do) my homework.

III. To talk about a long action that was in progress when a short

1. We were having dinner when the light went out. 當燈滅的時候我們正在吃飯。 unfinished 2. We

Practice 2: 1. When the man was typing (type), a banana hit 1 (hit)

IV. To talk about two actions that were in progress at the same

Practice 3: 1. While my mother was doing (do) some washing, I was playing

V. The past continuous , with words such as “always” or “constantly”, expresses

※※Some verbs can’t be used in any continuous tenses, such as like, have(有),

Summary　 I. The structure. 　 II. The usages. 　 1. A whole period of

Slides: 16

Download presentation

The Past Continuous Tense (The Past Progressive Tense)

Basic structure: 1. Positive statement: S. + was / were + Ving… She was playing at that time. They were waiting.

2. Negative statement: S. + was not / were not wasn’t + Ving… weren’t He was not paying attention in class. We weren’t chatting.

3. Yes/No Question: Was / Were + S. + Ving… ? Were you sleeping when I called you? 4. Wh- Question: Question Word + Yes/No Question? Where were you sleeping? What was he eating? Who was talking?

Usages: I. To talk about an action in progress during a whole period of time in the past. 1. They were watching TV from 8 to 10 last night. 2. It was raining all this morning. 3. I was waiting for you the whole day last Sunday. 4. He wrote a composition last night. 昨晚他寫了一篇作文。 5. He was writing a composition last night. 昨晚他一直在寫作文。

II. To talk about an action in progress at a specific time in the past. was watching 1. I (watch)TV at 9 o’clock last night. were reading 2. They (read)at that time yesterday. was dying died 3. It (die) at 5 o’clock yesterday. Non-continuing Verb continuing past action Specific Time Future Past Present

Practice 1: were playing 1. They (play)football at 9 o’clock last Sunday. was waiting 2. I first met Lisa three years ago. She 1 (wait) for a bus at that time. was wrapping 3. Last Christmas Eve, May (wrap) up gifts all night. was barking 4. I couldn’t sleep last night because the dog 1 (bark) the whole night. 5. He (arrive) at the cinema at 2 o’clock arrived last Sunday. Non-continuing finished 6. I (finish)my homework at 7: 00 yesterday evening. Non-continuing

short action happened 4. When the accident (happen), was doing I (do) my homework. ※ long action later earlier 5. 當他跳過牆的時候，他的鞋子掉了。 When he was jumping over the wall, his shoes dropped. Tip 1: We used Past Continuous for the long action, Simple Past for the short action. Tip 2: We used Past Continuous for the earlier action, Simple Past for the later action.

III. To talk about a long action that was in progress when a short action happened suddenly. 1. When/While/As the man was sleeping, the phone rang. The phone rang when/while/as the man was sleeping. 當那個男人睡覺時，電話鈴響了起來。 When/As the phone rang, the man was sleeping. 當電話鈴響的时候，那個男人正在睡覺。 The man was sleeping when/as the phone rang. 那個男人正在睡覺 , 這時電話鈴響了起來。 while: 當。。。時候，is used with continuous tense.

1. We were having dinner when the light went out. 當燈滅的時候我們正在吃飯。 unfinished 2. We had dinner when the light went out. 當燈滅的時候我們已经吃完飯。 finished

Practice 2: 1. When the man was typing (type), a banana hit 1 (hit) him. 2. When I was watching (watch) TV, the door bell rang (ring). 3. They were picking(pick) apples in his garden when I arrived (arrive). was Jim _____(write) writing 4. What _____ when the teacher came (come) in ? 5. He was cleaning his room when (when/while) I called him. 6. When I arrived he had done (do) his homework, so he could play with me.

IV. To talk about two actions that were in progress at the same time in the past. reading doing past now future While Jim was reading Susan was doing her homework. Jim was reading while Susan was doing her homework.

Practice 3: 1. While my mother was doing (do) some washing, I was playing (play) games last night. 2. I was listening (listen) to music while I was doing (do) my homework just now. 3. 他們一邊等車一邊聊天。 They were chatting while they were waiting for the bus. 4. 昨晚媽媽在看電視，我在畫畫。 I was drawing while mum was watching TV last night.

V. The past continuous , with words such as “always” or “constantly”, expresses something annoying or shocking that often happened in the past. The woman is always complaining. 1. In the past he was always smoking. 過去他老是抽煙。 2. I remembered the girl was constantly changing her mind. 我記得這女孩總是改變主意。

※※Some verbs can’t be used in any continuous tenses, such as like, have(有), see, hear, think(認為)… （Refer to the Present Continuous Tense） waved He (wave) to me when he was seeing saw (see) me.

Summary　 I. The structure. 　 II. The usages. 　 1. A whole period of time. 　 2. At a specific past time. 　 3. With an interrupted action in the past. 　 4. Two actions at the same time. 　 5. With “ always, constantly, forever”, to express a strong feeling. 　 III. The words without continuous tenses. 16