past continuous
The past continuous is formed from the past tense of be with the -ing form of the verb:
We use the past continuous to talk about the past:
- for something which continued before and after another action:
The children were doing their homework when I got home.
Compare:
and
The children did their homework when I got home.
This use of the past continuous is very common at the beginning of a story:
The other day I was waiting for a bus when …
Last week as I was driving to work …
- for something that happened before and after a particular time:
It was eight o’clock. I was writing a letter.
Compare:
At eight o’clock I wrote some letters.
In July she was working in McDonald’s.
- .to show that something continued for some time:
My head was aching.
Everyone was shouting.
- for something that was happening again and again:
I was practising every day, three times a day.
They were meeting secretly after school.
They were always quarrelling.
- with verbs which show change or growth:
The children were growing up quickly.
Her English was improving.
My hair was going grey.
The town was changing quickly.
English Grammar
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- -ing forms
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- verbs in time clauses and if clauses
- wishes and hypotheses
- the verb be
- link verbs
- delexical verbs like have, take, make and give
- Modal verbs
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- verbs followed by to + infinitive
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- verbs followed by that clause
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Comments
Hello everyone, I've got a problem with the solutions concerning the past continuous exercise on the following page : http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/english-grammar/verbs/past-tense/past-continuous
I can't figure out the solution 3 and 5 :
( Something that continued before and after another action ) according to this site corresponds to the sentence ( Just as I was falling asleep, I heard a strange noise.) Well, I think that hearing a voice is an action that is much much shorter than an action that someone would potentially be doing at the time of a specific incident. So ( Something that happened before and after a particular time ) would go for the sentence ( Just as I was falling asleep, I heard a strange noise.) because hearing a noise happens and is generally not something that continues and ( Something that continued before and after another action ) would go for the sentence ( What were you doing at the time of the incident ? ) because in general when we do something it continues.
Anyway, could you please help me get the thing ? Thank you
Hello.. I think that "as I was falling asleep" is the action which happened before and after another action, in this case "I heard a noise".
It's like "I heard a noise while I was falling asleep" or not?
Hello Mr Jeremy Bee and thank you so much for your attention to my question. I hope a very happy year for you and your colleagues.
Hello;
Please look at this:
A: Where were you at five-thirty yesterday?
B: I ............................. at the movies.
a.was going to be b.was
on my opinion "b" is true but my instructor says "a" is true. he says time expression "five thirty" (not five or six for example) suggests past continuous.
But I could agree with him if the question was in this form: "what were you doing at five-thirty yesterday?"
Am I wrong?
Thankyou
team
Hello mahjid!
Are you sure you've written the question and answer right? Answer a. looks very odd, and is certainly not right. Answer b is better. As for 'five thirty' - that is a time like any other, and as you say, unless the question was 'What were you doing at five thirty?', there is no reason to use past continuous.
Hope that helps!
Regards
Jeremy Bee
The LearnEnglish Team
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Hi every one, I want to ask about was and/or were usage. In some occasion I've found 'were' used for I and it, such as in; "if I were to pluck..." or "it were made of straw and began to play." etc. I found these in a song lyrics and novels, I wonder whether or not there are another possibilities for using 'were' for I and it.. please explain to me, because as far as I know the form 'was' uses for I, she, he & it. Thank you.