The past continuous is made from the past tense of the verb be and the -ing form of a verb: 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. Matt Ellis Updated on November 17, 2022 The past continuous tense, also known as the past progressive tense, describes ongoing actions in the past, such as I was writing my research paper all night. It uses the same construction as the present continuous tense except with the past tense of the verb to be.
Past continuous structure
5. As an English teacher, I believe it's more correct to say 'While she was waiting' if we're talking about school grammar. According to Oxford Practical English Usage, the simple past tense can refer to an extended/longer action in 'simultaneous long actions'. i.e. one long + one long action e.g. John cooked supper while I watched TV. (or. The past continuous (also called past progressive) is a verb tense which is used to show that an ongoing past action was happening at a specific moment of interruption, or that two ongoing actions were happening at the same time. Read on for detailed descriptions, examples, and past continuous exercises. Past Continuous Forms We often use them with the past continuous to refer to background events: When the men were out working in the field, I helped with milking the cows, feeding the calves and the pigs. While he was working, he often listened to music. We can put clauses with as, when and while before or after the main clause. The Past Continuous tense expresses action at a particular moment in the past. The action started before that moment but has not finished at that moment. For example, yesterday I watched a film on TV. The film started at 7pm and finished at 9pm.
when while past continuous Teaching english grammar, English
Grammar Form Was/were + present participle You were reading when I walked in. Were you studying when I called you? You were not working when I called you. The Past Continuous has 4 main uses/functions: Use 1 - an interrupted action in the past Here the Past Continuous is used to indicate a long action that was interrupted. Grammar explanation The past continuous and the past simple help us to show how two past actions or situations are connected. Past simple The past simple shows us that an action was in the past, not in the present. Regular past simple verbs have - ed at the end (e.g. called, played, arrived ). Past continuous ( I was working ) - English Grammar Today - a reference to written and spoken English grammar and usage - Cambridge Dictionary While is usually used with past continuous tense. When is usually used with past simple tense. ⬤ Usage 3- Parallel actions in the past. You can use past continuous tense with two actions happening at the same time without interrupting each other. These are called parallel actions in the past. While I was waiting for her, she was sleeping in.
when/while (past continuous) ESL worksheet by kalakala2
Now, let's learn how to use past continuous to explain an action that happened during a longer event. To do that, use the words while or when, plus past continuous to describe the longer event. Then use simple past to describe the action that happened during the long event. See the example below: While Jon was working as a housekeeper, he. Here, the first action is in the past continuous tense. That means the action, making lunch, took place over a period of time. The main clause, "the phone rang" is in the simple past tense,.
1 Answer Sorted by: 2 The second verb, to look should be in past progressive. It's about an action that was (or in this case was not) going on during another action. The first could go either way, depending on context. Is there some other activity going to be mentioned that is also located in time during the apple theft? You use Past Continuous to emphasize the length of action in the past . They were arguing the whole evening. /emphasis on the length — the whole day/. She was relaxing from 6 pm to 9 pm yesterday. /emphasis on the length — from 6 pm to 9 pm/. You use Past Continuous for background description in a story .
All about the past continuous (or past progressive) tense
The past continuous tense is used to describe actions that began in the past and often continued for a short period of time after the action started. This tense describes actions or events that happened at a specific time in the past. These actions are usually no longer happening at the time the sentence is being said or written. It refers to an action that was being performed by someone or an event that was still happening at a certain time in the past. The Collins dictionary explains it as a verb form with the following construct. The past tense of the auxiliary "be" is combined with the present participle of a verb.
