The Past Continuous;
What is it?
Try to identify the past continuous in the following paragraph.
Yesterday I was watching TV when the phone rang. It was Shannon. She was watching Oprah, who was talking to Peter Walsh about cleaning out the clutter from your home. My mother was sitting at the table with me but she was reading a book while I ate my dinner.
Look closely.
was watching...was watching...was talking...was sitting.
Do you see a pattern?
[was/were + present participle]
There are several ways to use this tense but in this paragraph we can see two ways.
The past continuous is also called the past progressive.
1) To describe an action that happens in the past and is interrupted by another action. (I was watching TV when the phone rang).
2) To describe an action that takes place at the same time as another action. (I was eating my dinner while she read a book).
Another way to use this grammar tense is to establish atmosphere. (The sun was shining all day).
Now that you understand the grammar let's see people using it in action. Take a look at all the submissions below from other students like you.
Another Example for You
I was sleeping in bed when I hear Jack crying. He was laying in his bed, holding his teddy bear. My husband was sleeping while I gave our son breakfast.
During breakfast I was sitting at the table. Jack was wearing his pyjamas and eating cereal with a spoon.
While I was changing his diaper the phone rang.
What Other Visitors Have Said
Click below to see what I (Diana)and other visitors had to say about this assignment ...
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Past Continuous: Margarita Vacation
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Past Continuous: Beautiful San Diego
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Past Continuous: New Years Vacation
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Past Continuous: My Trip to South Africa, Cape Town
Two months a ago, I have been travelled went to C ape T own, S.A.
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Past Continuous: Trip to Atlanta
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Past Continuous: 13 Days in Beijing
I was visiting visited B eijing during my last vacation. In B eijing I liked the b eau tiful building s .
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Past Continuous: Vacation in the British Virgin Islands
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Past Continuous: A Week in Paradise - Goa
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Past Continuous: The Irish Trip
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Past Continuous: Around Romania
For my last vacation, we went to Romania. It is a really nice place for with big mountains and natural landscapes.
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Past Continuous: Lost the Golf Competition.
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Past Continuous: Vacation in Malacca
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Past Continuous: The Dead Sea
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Past Continuous: Vacation in Chichiriviche
I spent my week long vacation for a week at the beach with my family. My Family and I traveled in by car drove there by car . We rented a beautiful …
An Exciting Trip to Florida
I have 2 sisters living in F lorida tha t I always want ed to see, since we don't see haven’t seen each other for the past 6 year s . My oldest …
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W ell, last summer I went to S anto D omingo. we got there by plane . We took a plane there . A s soon as we got to santo domingo there , I …
Past Continuous: My Trip to Guadalara
I was on vacation es for about one month in Mexico. Well, my family en and I traveled in by car. We were very hap p y. W hen we ar r ived …
Past Continuous: St. John's hill
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After finishing our exams, we decided, my classmates and me I , to visit the 'Water Temple' as it is the nearest beautiful place to our institute. …
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Using the past conditional to tell us all a story about a trip to Lake George!! Great job!
Can anyone see any mistakes?
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Past Continuous: East Coast Beach
Here is another essay practicing the past continuous! Can you spot any mistakes?
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Past Continuous: Trip to my Motherland
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Past Continuous: A Memorable Trip
Using the past continuous to describe a memorable trip with family Hi Ragini,
Thank you so much for sending in your assignment. Great work! Don't …
Thank you so much to everyone that sent in their assignments. Now you can benefit from the work of many students just like you.
Visit Lesson Two: How to Give Instructions
Use the past continuous to ask me a question!
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