Past continuous
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The document discusses the past continuous tense, which is used to describe actions or situations that were ongoing or in progress at a specific time in the past. It can be used to talk about what someone was doing at a certain time in the past or to describe what was happening over a period of time in the past. Examples are given to illustrate using the past continuous to discuss actions that were interrupted or ongoing, versus the past simple tense which refers to completed single actions.
Past continuous
- 1. Past continuous I was doing
- 2. We use the past continuous tense to describe a past action over a period of time Q) "What were they doing yesterday?" A) "They were working all day.
- 3. At 10:15 they were playing tennis. We use the past continuous to say that somebody was in the middle of doing something at a certain time. The action or situation had already started before this time but had not finished. This time last year I was living in Brasil.
- 4. Compare the past continuous (I was doing) and past simple (I did): Past continuous (in the middle of an action) • I was walking home when I met Dave. (in the middle of walking home) • Ann was watching televisono when the phone rang. Past simple (complete action) • I walked home after the party last night. • Ann watched televison a lot when she was ill last year