WHEN SHOULD WE
USE
THE PAST CONTINUOUS (ALSO CALLED THE PAST PROGRESSIVE)?
1: An action in the past which
overlaps another action or a time. The action in the past continuous starts
before and often continues after the other shorter action or time.
- I was walking to the station when I met John. (I started walking before I met John, and
maybe I continued afterwards.)
- At three o'clock, I was working. (I started before three o’clock and finished after three o’clock.)
2: In the same way, we can use the past
continuous for the background of a story. (We often use the past simple for the
actions.) This is really a specific example of
Use 1.
The birds were singing, the sun was
shining and in the cafés people were laughing and chatting. Amy sat down and
took out her phone.
3: Temporary habits or habits that happen more
often than we expect in the past. We often use ‘always, constantly’ or
‘forever’ here. This is the same as the way we use the present continuous for
habits, but the habit started and finished in the past. This thing doesn’t
happen now.
-
He was always leaving the tap running.
-
She was constantly singing.
4: To emphasise that something lasted for a
while. This use is often optional and we usually use it with time expressions
like ‘all day’ or ‘all evening’ or ‘for hours’.
- I was
working in the garden all day.
- He was
reading all evening.
- Remember
you can't use this tense or any continuous tense with stative verbs.
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➤➤Exercise 19. Past Simple or the Past Continuous?
Choose the past simple or past
continuous:
1. What
(you / do) when I (call) you
last night?
2.
I (sit)
in a café when you (call).
3. When you (arrive)
at the party, who (be) there?
4. Susie
(watch) a film when she (hear) the noise.
5.
Yesterday
I
(go) to the
library, next I
(have) a swim, later I
(meet) Julie for a coffee.
6.
We
(play) tennis
when John
(hurt) his ankle.
7.
What (they
/ do) at 10pm last night? It (be)
really noisy.
8. He (take) a shower when the telephone (ring).
9. He _ (be) in
the shower when the telephone _ (ring). 10.When I (walk)
into the room, everyone (work).
11. It
(be) a day last September. The sun
(shine), the birds
(sing). I (walk)
along the street when I _
(meet) an old friend.
12. He (live) in Russia when the Revolution
(start).
13. When
her train (get) to the station, we (wait)
on the platform.
14. He (be) so annoying! He (always
/ leave) his things
everywhere.
15. On holiday we (visit) Rome,
(see) the Vatican, and (spend)
a few days at the beach.
16.
Why (you
/ stand) on a chair when I (come) into the room? 17.They (live)
in Germany when they (be) young.
18.
At 7pm yesterday, we (listen)
to music. 19.When I (leave) the house, it _ (snow).
20. He
(work) in a bank when he
(meet) his wife.
➤➤Exercise 20. Past Simple or Past Continuous
Choose the past simple or past
continuous:
1. He _
(sleep) when the doorbell (ring).
2. We (eat) dinner at 8pm last night (we started
eating at 7:30).
3. Yesterday I _ (go) to the post office, (buy) some fruit at the supermarket and (read)
a book in the park in the afternoon.
4. We (watch) TV
when we (hear) a loud noise.
5. Julie
(be) in the garden when Laurence
(arrive).
6. A: What (you
/ do) at 3pm yesterday? B: I (clean)
my house.
7. Last year I
(visit) Paris and Rome.
8. They
(have) dinner when the police
(come) to the door.
9. He (work) in the garden when he (find) the
money.
10. Laura
(study) at 11pm last night.
11. I (walk) along the road when I
(meet) an old friend.
12. It (be) a day in December. Snow (fall), children
(sing) carols and
people (do) their Christmas shopping.
13. My ex-boyfriend
(arrive) late.
(be) so annoying! He (always
/ miss) the bus and
14. When I (call) Julie,
she (work).
15. Why (you / cry) when I (arrive)?
16. When he (get)
home, we started to eat dinner.
17. At 10am yesterday
I (sit) on a bus.
18. I (enjoy) my book so much that I
(not / notice) the train had stopped.
19. David
(not / sleep) when I (arrive), he (study)!
20. Mr Black (not
/ work) in the garden at 10pm last night.
