Past Continuous
by Angel Tamara Calero
1. [was/were + present participle] Examples: * You were studying when she called. *Were you studying when she called?
2. IMPORTANT In the Simple Past, a specific time is used to show when an action began or finished. In the Past Continuous, a specific time only interrupts the action. Examples: *Last night at 6 PM, I ate dinner.
3. When you use the Past Continuous with two actions in the same sentence, it expresses the idea that both actions were happening at the same time.
3.1. Examples: *I was studying while he was making dinner. *While Ellen was reading, Tim was watching television. *Were you listening while he was talking?
4. The Past Continuous with words such as "always" or "constantly" expresses the idea that something irritating or shocking often happened in the past.
4.1. Examples: *She was always coming to class late. *He was constantly talking. He annoyed everyone.
5. When you use the Past Continuous with two actions in the same sentence, it expresses the idea that both actions were happening at the same time.
5.1. Examples: *I was studying while he was making dinner. *While Ellen was reading, Tim was watching television. *Were you listening while he was talking?
6. The interruption is usually a shorter action in the Simple Past.
6.1. Examples: * I was watching TV when she called. *When the phone rang, she was writing a letter. *While we were having the picnic, it started to rain.
7. IMPORTANT *In the Simple Past, a specific time is used to show when an action began or finished. In the Past Continuous, a specific time only interrupts the action. Examples: 1.-Last night at 6 PM, I ate dinner.
