Past Tense Continuous

1. Past Tense Continuous
TARGET AUDIENCE: ADULT ESL STUDENTS-
INTERMEDIATE LEVEL

2. PAST CONTINUOUS FORM:
WAS/WERE (AUXILIARY VERB --BE ) + PRESENT PARTICIPLE (MAIN VERB)
EX. YESTERDAY, I WAS PLAYING SOCCER.
  Yesterday:  Today:
• It happened in the past.
• The action was
continuous.
• The action is now over.

3. HOW DO WE MAKE THE PAST CONTINUOUS
TENSE?
 Subject + auxiliary verb BE (conjugated in simple past tense) + main verb (present participle)
 Subject + was/were + base + ing
I + was + watching TV.
I was watching TV.
was watching = Past Continuous

4. THERE ARE 6 MAIN USES OF PAST TENSE CONTINUOUS:
 4. Atmosphere
 1. Interrupted Action in the Past
 Example: At the fair, a lady was drinking cola, while
another one was watching the Ferris wheel. A man
was paying for a game and his son was playing
another one. The sun was shining and the flags
were blowing in the wind.
 Example: I was watching TV when she
called me.
 2. Specific Time as an Interruption
5. Repetition and Irritation with “Always”
 Example: Last night at 7pm, I was
watching TV.
Example: She was always coming to school late.
 3. Parallel Time
6. Polite Questions
Example: I was wondering if you could give me
Example: When Tom was reading, I directions?
was watching TV.

5. PAST TENSE CONTINUOUS FORMS
 Positive
 I was singing.
 You were singing.
 We were singing.
 They were singing.
 He was singing. Example: He was singing.
 She was singing.
 It was singing.
 Negative
 I was not singing.
 You were not singing.
 We were not singing.
 They were not singing.
 He was not singing. Example: He was not singing.
 She was not singing.
 It was not singing.
 Question
 Was I singing?
 Were you singing?
 Were we singing?
 Were they singing?
 Was he singing? Example: Was he singing?
 Was she singing?
 Was it singing?

6. WAS VS. WERE
TO FORM THE PAST CONTINUOUS PHRASE, YOU WOULD:
 Use was + present participle for 1 person or thing
 Examples:
 He was dancing all night long!
 She was talking the whole night!
 The dog was not tired. It was running the whole time!
 The car was making noise the entire trip.
Use were + present participle for more than one person or thing.
Examples:
The people were cheering the entire game. (please note: In a sentence like: The crowd
was cheering. You would use was cheering because it is 1 crowd.)
The players were running down the field.
The birds were chirping.
The dogs were barking.

7. TODAY FOR OUR LESSON WE WILL BE FOCUSING ON THE FIRST 3 USES :
 1. Interrupted Action in the Past
 Example: I was watching TV when she called me.
 2. Specific Time as an Interruption
 Example: Last night at 7pm, I was eating dinner.
 3. Parallel Time
Example: When you were reading, Tom was watching TV.

8. INTERRUPTED ACTION IN THE PAST : USE THE PAST CONTINUOUS TO INDICATE THAT A LONGER
ACTION IN THE PAST WAS INTERRUPTED. PLEASE SEE THE DIAGRAM BELOW.
 1. Interrupted Action in the Past:
 Examples:
 I was watching TV when you asked me a question.
 When the doorbell rang, she was cooking dinner.
 While we were playing soccer, it started to rain.
 What were you doing when the car crashed?
 I was listening to the radio, so I didn't hear the phone ring.
 You were not listening to me when I told you to turn the water off.
 While Kate was sleeping last night, her cat ran away.

9. LET’S PRACTICE!
SEE IF YOU CAN FIND THE PAST CONTINUOUS PHRASES IN THIS STORY. HIGHLIGHT
CIRCLE OR WRITE THE ANSWERS DOWN ON A PIECE OF PAPER.
Remember to look for: was/were + present participle (-ing)
Yesterday, I was playing soccer. While Julia was kicking the soccer ball, it started to
rain. I was running to my car and I tripped. I looked at my knee and I saw that I
was bleeding. I was looking for my phone and I heard thunder. When I looked
up, a baby was crying. I jumped into my car and I looked up. I saw that the rain
was coming down hard. We were hoping it would stop. We really wanted to play
soccer again!
Answers: was/were + present participle
was playing was + playing
was kicking was + kicking
was running was + running
was bleeding was + bleeding
was looking was + looking
was crying was + crying
was coming was + coming
were hoping were + hoping

10. SPECIFIC TIME AS AN INTERRUPTION: THE PAST CONTINUOUS IS INTERRUPTED AT A SPECIFIC
TIME
 Please note: the only difference between this use and use #1 is the specific time
stated.
Examples:
 Last night at 10 PM, I was brushing my teeth.
 At midnight, we were still dancing.
 Yesterday at this time, I was sitting at my desk at work.
 Two days ago, at 9 AM, she was flying to California.
 Yesterday at lunchtime, he was sleeping.
 At 8 PM last night, the movie theater was starting to get crowded.

11. LET’S PRACTICE!
 Remember to use: was/were + present participle (-ing)
 At 10 pm last night, I ___________. (sleep)
 Yesterday, he ___________ outside all day. (play)
 Yesterday morning, my dog __________ a lot! (bark)
 This past Tuesday, my throat ___________ me. (hurt)
 The other day at school, she __________ a lot. (talk)
 This past winter it _________for two days straight. (snow)

12. LET’S CHECK OUR ANSWERS:
 At 10 pm last night, I was sleeping. (sleep)
 Yesterday, he was playing outside all day. (play)
 Yesterday morning, my dog was barking a lot! (bark)
 This past Tuesday, my throat was hurting me. (hurt)
 The other day at school, she was talking a lot. (talk)
 This past winter it was snowing for two days straight.
(snow)

13. PARALLEL TIME: THIS IS THE IDEA THAT BOTH ACTIONS WERE HAPPENING AT
THE SAME TIME. THE ACTIONS ARE PARALLEL.
 3. Parallel Time
Example:
 She was studying while he was washing his car.
 While I was reading, Andrew was watching television.
 Were you listening while I was talking?
 What were you doing while you were waiting?
 The children were talking while the teacher was reading.
 He was honking the horn as the children were crossing the street.
 The water was boiling as I was sleeping.

14. LET’S PRACTICE! OPTIONS FOR ANSWERS:
 1. She ______ while he _____his
teeth  was cooking
 was watching
 2. While I_______,
Andrew _________ television.  were, listening
 was talking
 3. ____ you ______ while I
 was whistling
______?  was sleeping
4. The children ______while the
teacher__________.  were playing
 was teaching

 5. The tea pot _______as I  was singing
________.  was brushing
YOU WILL HAVE 5 MINUTES.

15. LET’S CHECK OUR ANSWERS!
 1. She was singing while he was brushing his teeth
 2. While I was cooking, Andrew was watching
television.
 3. Were you listening while I was talking?
4. The children were playing while the teacher was
teaching.
 5. The tea pot was whistling as I was sleeping.

16. While I was teaching, were
you listening???
(joke)

17. LET’S REVIEW!
 Past Continuous Form:
 was/were + present participle
 Today, we learned 3 types of uses:
 Interrupted Action in the Past : Use the Past Continuous to indicate that a
longer action in the past was interrupted.
 Specific Time as an Interruption: the past continuous is interrupted at a
specific time
 Parallel Time: This is the idea that both actions were happening at the same
time. The actions are parallel.


18. GET READY FOR TOMORROW’S LESSON:
 USE 4: Polite questions
 USE 5: Irritation

19. SOURCES:
 http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/pastc
ontinuous.html
 http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/verb-
tenses_past-continuous_s.htm
 http://www.englishtenses.com/tenses/past_c
ontinuous