Le Past Continuous | Grammaire anglaise & exemples

Exercices

Affirmative, négative et interrogative

Affirmative

I was working at six o’clock.
You were studying yesterday evening.
They were watching a movie.

Négative

I wasn’t working at six o’clock.
She wasn’t drinking tea at 3 p.m.
They weren’t watching the movie when you called.

Questions

Was I working at six o’clock?
Was she drinking tea?
Were they watching the movie?

Forme grammaticale

Affirmative :

I/He/She/It - was + verb-ing

You/We/They - were + verb-ing

Négative :

was/were + not + verb-ing

was not = wasn’t, were not = weren’t

Questions :

Was/Were + subject + verb-ing?

Ajoutez un mot interrogatif (QW) comme what, when, where au début :

What was she doing?
Where were they going?

Orthographe des formes en –ing

enter - entering

lie - lying

take - taking

run - running

travel - travelling / traveling

Quand utiliser le Past Continuous

Actions en cours à un moment précis du passé

Yesterday at 10 p.m., I was climbing a tree.
At 5 o’clock yesterday, my sister was flying from Sydney.
She was still dancing at midnight.

Actions interrompues par une autre action (Past Simple + Past Continuous)

She was cleaning the house when the phone rang.
John was cooking when he cut his finger.
Helen was using the blender, so she didn’t hear you come in.

Utilisation de while + Past Continuous ou when + Past Simple :

While I was typing, everyone left.
I was eating soup when he came home.

Deux ou plusieurs actions se produisant en même temps

She was doing her makeup while she was talking on the phone.
We were eating pasta while we were watching a cartoon.
The children were playing, eating sweets, and drinking cola.

Exprimer l’agacement ou la désapprobation (avec always, often, constantly)

He was always interrupting me when I was talking.
She was constantly losing our keys on vacation.
We were often waiting for his friend.

Actions prévues qui ne se sont pas produites

I was hoping to meet her, but she didn’t come.
My mother was thinking of cooking a pie, but we wanted pizza.
Tom was planning to buy tickets, but he forgot his wallet.

Expressions de temps avec le Past Continuous

at that moment

at the same time

while

when

all morning / all night / all day / all evening

last Monday / last week / last year

Past Continuous: règles et exercices