Level: beginner
The past continuous is made from the past tense of the verb be and the –ing form of a verb:
I was |
working etc. |
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.
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 specific time:
It was eight o'clock. I was writing a letter.
Compare: At eight o'clock I wrote (= started writing) some letters.
- to show that something continued for some time:
My head was aching.
Everyone was shouting.
- for something that happened 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.
We do not normally use the past continuous with stative verbs. We use the past simple instead:
When I got home, I really needed (NOT
was needing) a shower.
- Past continuous
- Past continuous and past simple
Level: intermediate
Past continuous and hypotheses
We can also use the past continuous to refer to the present or future in hypotheses (when we imagine something). See these pages:
Hello Ahmed Imam
Yes, you can, though the past simple is also possible here. Which form is better depends on how you see the action or the reason you are mentioning it.
For example, if you were explaining the things you used to do in your free time when you lived in Sharm El-Sheikh (and you now live somewhere else), it would make more sense to say 'sunbathed', since that's a period of time that is now over.
On the other hand, if you a friend observed that you are now very pale, whereas before you used to be quite tan, the correct choice would be the past continuous form because in this case you are explaining the background to another statement.
I hope this helps you make sense of it.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Anubhav
Yes, that sentence is grammatically correct, though please note the correct spelling is 'haven't' instead of 'have'nt'.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Aladin710,
This page deals with the meaning of the past continuous. You can find information about forming negatives of all verb forms on this page:
https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/english-grammar-reference/questions-and-negatives
As it says on that page, we make negatives by adding 'not' after the first part of the verb:
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team