Past Continuous Tense | English Grammar & Examples

Esercizi

Affermative, Negative e Domande

Affermativa

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

Negativa

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.

Domande

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

Forma grammaticale

Affermativa:

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

You/We/They - were + verbo-ing

Negativa:

was/were + not + verbo-ing

was not = wasn’t, were not = weren’t

Domande:

Was/Were + soggetto + verbo-ing?

Aggiungi una parola interrogativa (QW) come what, when, where all’inizio:

What was she doing?
Where were they going?

Ortografia delle forme in –ing

enter - entering

lie - lying

take - taking

run - running

travel - travelling / traveling

Quando usare il Past Continuous

Azioni in corso in un momento specifico del passato

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.

Azioni interrotte da un’altra azione (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.

Usiamo while + Past Continuous o when + Past Simple:

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

Due o più azioni che avvengono nello stesso momento

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.

Esprimere irritazione o disapprovazione (con 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.

Azioni pianificate che non sono avvenute

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.

Espressioni di tempo con il 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: regole ed esercizi