Download Past Continuous - Ms. Keehu

Past Continuous Verbs
Form of Past Continuous
Subject + was / were + verb+ing
Subject + was / were + not + verb+ing
Yes/ No Question:
Was / Were + subject + + verb+ing ?
Information Question:
(WH) + Was / Were + subject + verb+ing ?
Simple Past Tense

Actions, events, states that started and
finished in the past (…ago, last …,
yesterday… )

Yesterday, I went to Walmart.

Ask: Is it finished?
 Yes = Simple past
Simple Past Examples
 What did you do yesterday?
I
went to the store.
 Where were you last Sunday morning?
 I was at church.
 When did you get to school?
 I got to school at 7:30.
Past Continuous: Three Uses
Past actions that were in progress at a
particular time in the past; actions that were not yet
finished at a past time
 Use 1:
Reo’s Schedule
8 – 9: had breakfast
9 – 10: did his homework
10 – 11: read the
newspaper
11 – 12: ate lunch
12 – 2: watched TV
2 – 5: took a nap
At 8:30, Reo was
having breakfast.
What was Reo doing
at 9:30?
Stand and ask – use past continuous
verbs: I was _______ing
 Where were you last Thursday at 8 p.m.? What
were you doing?

I was at home. I was watching TV.
 What were you doing Friday at 5 p.m.? Where
were you? Who were you with?

I was watching TV at home with my dogs.
 What were you doing Sunday morning at 7 a.m.?
 I was sleeping
 What were you doing last year at this time?
 I was teaching in Korea.
Past Continuous, continued
Two (or more) actions that
were in progress in the past at the same
time
 Use while
 Use 2:
Sorry, I wasn’t listening to you while you were
talking.
While I was reading, he was writing.
Let’s play charades!
Past Continuous, continued
 Use 3:
Describe and set the scene; tell what
was happening or in progress when
something else happened or
interrupted a past in-progress action
 Use
when
Form: Using past and past continuous
together
 Use past continuous to say what was in
progress
 Use simple past for the interrupting action
I was crossing the street when the driver ran the
red light.
Other examples:
I was sleeping when the telephone rang and woke
me up.
He was driving too fast when he crashed the car.
More Examples:
We were watching the news when the
announcer made a special live report.
I was trying to study when you called.
Student examples:
A little practice
1. I (make) ____________________ a deposit at
my bank when a man in a mask (pull)
____________________ out a gun and started
to rob the bank.
2. I (drive) ____________________ to work
when I (see) ____________________ my
neighbor’s door open and someone in the house.
3. They (walk) on the sidewalk when a car (hit)
____________________ the person closest to
the road.
Watch the video and tell me what’s happening.
What tense?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Alexsandr (sleep) well last night.
Rain (sleep) when the fight started.
When Nattaruja got up this morning, it (rain).
It (rain) hard last night.
Kazu fell when he (play) in the park.
We (have) dinner when Zizu called.
Joris (write) an email when Kim called him.
Hokunani (paint) the walls yesterday.
Reo (drive) to Los Angeles in his new car.
Review
 Simple past = action or state finished in the
past (yesterday, last…, … ago, etc.)
 Past continuous = was/were + verb+ing, an
action that was in progress/not finished
when another action happened (interrupted)
Remember –ing spelling rules?
Verb ending in...
(Most verbs)
1 vowel + 1 consonant
1 vowel + 1 consonant + E
Final –ie
How to make the -ING form
Add -ING
Double the consonant, then add -ING
Examples
say - saying
go - going
walk - walking
swim - swimming
hit - hitting
get - getting
Remove E, then add –ING
come - coming
lose - losing
live – living
Change –ie to y, then add -ING
die – dying
tie -- tying
When do you use While?
 Use while for two actions in progress at the
same time in the past:
She was talking while he was driving.
While he was sleeping, someone stole his car.
(10pm - 6am)
(1am-1:10am)
If action 1 started and finished during action 2, use
simple past for action 1.
When do you use when?
 Use when when talking about sequence of events
(one action that was in progress that was
interrupted by another event in the past):
I was just leaving when you called.
(first action in progress)
(interrupting event)
Punctuation
with When and While
 When and while at the front of a sentence, use a
comma:
When you called, I was watching TV.
While he was washing the clothes, I was doing the
dishes.
 When and while in the middle of a sentence, no
comma
I was watching TV when you called.
I was doing the dishes while he was washing the
clothes.
When do we use Past Continuous?
 Past actions that were not yet finished at a past time.
 2 or more actions happening at the same time.
(While)
 Tell what was happening when something else
happened or interrupted it. (When)