PAST CONTINUOUS

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PAST CONTINUOUS TENSE

FORM:

The past continuous tense is formed with the past tense of the auxiliary verb be + the present participle (or gerund) of the verb we are using.

Affirmative Negative Interrogative

I was working I was not working Was I working?

you were working you were not working Were you working?

he/she/it was working he/she/it was not working Was he/she/it working?

we were working we were not working Were we working?

you were working you were not working Were you working?

they were working they were not working Were they working?

When a verb ends in a single e, this e is dropped before ing

argue arguing

hate hating

love loving

except after age, dye, singe and those verbs ending in ee:

age ageing

agree agreeing

When a verb of one syllable has one vowel and ends in a single consonant, this consonant is doubled before ing.

hit hitting

run running

stop stopping

Verbs of more than one syllable whose last syllable contains only one vowel and ends in a single consonant double this consonant if the stress falls on the last syllable:

ad´mit ad´mitting

but

´enter ´entering

however a final l is always doubled

travel travelling

except in American English.

The adding of ing does not affect the spelling of verbs ending in y.

USES:

The past continuous tense is used to express:

1. A continuous past action.

It was snowing heavily all day yesterday.

2. For frequently repeated actions in the past with "always".

My old car was always breaking down.

3. For two actions in the past occurring simultaneously.

The lorry driver was braking hard while the traffic lights were changing.

4. For interrupted past actions (the past simple interrupted the past continuous).

He was having a bath when the telephone rang.

5. To express intention in the past.

I was going to buy a car but I didn't have enough money.

VERBS NOT NORMALLY USED IN THE CONTINUOUS TENSES.

-Verbs of the senses: feel, hear, see, smell. etc.

-Verbs of emotion: admire, adore, care for, hate, like, love, want, wish, etc.

-Verbs of mental activity: assume, believe, forget, know, remember, etc.

-Verbs of possession: belong, owe, own, possess.

-The auxiliaries, except be and have in certain uses.

The past continuous tense.

Put the verbs in brackets into the past continuous tense.

1. Detective: I'm afraid I must ask you both what you (do) yesterday at 10.20 p.m. -Mr X: I (play) chess with my wife. -Mr Y: I (listen) to a play on the radio.
2. The children were frightened because it (get) dark.
3. It was a fine day and the roads were crowded because a lot of people (rush) to the seaside.
4. The aeroplane in which the football team (travel) crashed soon after taking off.
5. He usually wears sandals but when I last saw him he (wear) boots.
6. The house was in great disorder because he (redecorate)it.
7. The director didn't allow the actors to travel by air while they (work) in the film.
8. The car had nobody in it but the engine (run).
9. Two children (play) on the sand and two fishermen (lean) against an upturned boat.
10. I was alone in the house at that time because Mr Jones (work) in the garage and Mrs Jones (shop).
11. He said that he was a captain of a ship which (sail) that night for Marseilles.
12. Are you going to Rome? I thought that you (go) to Milan.
13. My wife and I (talk) about you the other day.
14. When I first met him he (study) painting.
15. There was a strong smell and the sound of frying. Obviously Mrs Jones (cook) fish.
16. Tom ate nothing for lunch because he (diet). He said that he (try) to lose 10 kilos.
17. Who you (talk) to on the telephone as I came in?
18. As she (climb) the ladder it slipped sideways and she fell off it.
19. When I first met him he (work) in a restaurant.
20. He watched the children for a moment. Some of them (bathe) in the sea, others (look) for shells, others (play) in the sand.
21. Where he (live) when you saw him last?
22. She (stand) at the bus stop. I asked her what bus she (wait) for.
23. From the sounds it was clear that Mary (practise) the piano.
24. There had been an accident and men (carry) the injured people to an ambulance.
25. Two men (fight) at a street corner and a policeman (try) to stop them. -What they (fight) about? -Nobody seemed to know.
26. Tom (sit) in a corner with a book. I told him that he (read) in very bad light.
27. I went into the garden to see what the boys (do). James (weed) and Alexander (cut) the grass.
28. They had taken off the wheel of the car and (mend) the puncture. I asked when it would be ready.