Past Continuous

Hi guys!

When we studied the Past Continuous we saw that it was formed with the verb 'to be' in the past simple followed by a verb ending in '-ing'. I also told you that it is very common to use the past continuous in contrast with the past simple. Typically, the clause containing when has a past simple, and the other one a past continuous. Also, the clause containing while has a past continuous, and the other clause has a past simple; but there are some exceptions, because if the actions are simultaneous, the verbs in both clauses take past continuous, and they refer to consecutive actions they go in the past simple tense . Have a look at these examples:


You were studying when she called.
While you were studying, she called.
While you were studying, I was watching a TV series.
I screamed in fear when I saw you in the dark.



The main use of the past continuous is for uncomplete actions that happened at a defined moment in the past. The similarity with the past simple lies on the fact that we know when it happened exactly. The difference between simple and continuous past is that the action is complete in the past simple, but is not finished in the continuous.



Hola chicos!
Cuando estudiamos el pasado continuo vimos que se formaba con el verbo 'to be' en el pasado simple seguida de un verbo que terminaba en "-ing". También os dije que es muy común el uso del pasado continuo en contraste con el pasado simple. Por lo general, la proposición que contiene when tiene un pasado simple y la otra un pasado continuo. Además, la proposición que contiene while tiene un pasado continuo, y la principal un pasado simple; pero hay excepciones, porque si las acciones son simultáneas ambas proposiciones llevan un pasado continuo, y si se refiere a acciones consecutivas las dos van en pasado simple. Echad un vistazo a estos ejemplos:

You were studying when she called.
While you were studying, she called.
While you were studying, I was watching a TV series.
I screamed in fear when I saw you in the dark.

El uso principal del pasado continuo es para acciones incompletas que ocurrieron en un momento definido en el pasado. La similitud con el pasado simple se encuentra en el hecho de que sabemos cuándo ocurrió exactamente. La diferencia entre el pasado simple y continuo es que la acción se ha completado en el pasado simple, pero no se terminó en el continuo.

For practice:
Exercise 1, Exercise 2, Exercise 3, Exercise 4.



Do you want to listen to it in Spanish?