Past Continuous

FORM

[was/were + present participle]

Examples:

You were studying when she called.

Were you studying when she called?
You were not studying when she called.

USE 1 Interrupted Action in the Past

Use the Past Continuous to indicate that a longer action in the past was
interrupted. The interruption is usually a shorter action in the Simple Past.
Remember this can be a real interruption or just an interruption in time.

Examples:

I was watching TV when she called.

When the phone rang, she was writing a letter.
While we were having the picnic, it started to rain.
What were you doing when the earthquake started?
I was listening to my iPod, so I didn't hear the fire alarm.
You were not listening to me when I told you to turn the oven off.
While John was sleeping last night, someone stole his car.
Sammy was waiting for us when we got off the plane.
While I was writing the email, the computer suddenly went off.
A: What were you doing when you broke your leg?
B: I was snowboarding.
USE 2 Specific Time as an Interruption

In USE 1, described above, the Past Continuous is interrupted by a shorter

action in the Simple Past. However, you can also use a specific time as an
interruption.

Examples:

Last night at 6 PM, I was eating dinner.

At midnight, we were still driving through the desert.
Yesterday at this time, I was sitting at my desk at work.

IMPORTANT

In the Simple Past, a specific time is used to show when an action began or
finished. In the Past Continuous, a specific time only interrupts the action.

Examples:

Last night at 6 PM, I ate dinner.

I STARTED EATING AT 6 PM.
Last night at 6 PM, I was eating dinner.
I STARTED EARLIER; AND AT 6 PM, I WAS IN THE PROCESS OF EATING DINNER.

USE 3 Parallel Actions

When you use the Past Continuous with two actions in the same sentence, it
expresses the idea that both actions were happening at the same time. The
actions are parallel.

Examples:

I was studying while he was making dinner.

While Ellen was reading, Tim was watching television.
Were you listening while he was talking?
I wasn't paying attention while I was writing the letter, so I made
several mistakes.
What were you doing while you were waiting?
Thomas wasn't working, and I wasn't working either.
They were eating dinner, discussing their plans, and having a good
time.
USE 5 Repetition and Irritation with "Always"

The Past Continuous with words such as "always" or "constantly" expresses the
idea that something irritating or shocking often happened in the past. The
concept is very similar to the expression "used to" but with negative emotion.
Remember to put the words "always" or "constantly" between "be" and
"verb+ing."

Examples:

She was always coming to class late.

He was constantly talking. He annoyed everyone.
I didn't like them because they were always complaining.

While vs. When

Clauses are groups of words which have meaning, but are often not complete
sentences. Some clauses begin with the word "when" such as "when she
called" or "when it bit me." Other clauses begin with "while" such as "while she
was sleeping" and "while he was surfing." When you talk about things in the
past, "when" is most often followed by the verb tense Simple Past, whereas
"while" is usually followed by Past Continuous. "While" expresses the idea of
"during that time." Study the examples below. They have similar meanings, but
they emphasize different parts of the sentence.

Examples:

I was studying when she called.

While I was studying, she called.

ADVERB PLACEMENT

The examples below show the placement for grammar adverbs such as:
always, only, never, ever, still, just, etc.

Examples:

You were just studying when she called.

Were you just studying when she called?

ACTIVE / PASSIVE

Examples:

The salesman was helping the customer when the thief came into the
store. ACTIVE
The customer was being helped by the salesman when the thief came
into the store. PASSIVE
Pasado perfecto

Structure (Estructura)

1. Affirmative Sentences (Frases afirmativas)

Estructura Sujeto + "had" + participio pasado.

o Ejemplos:
o I had [I'd] visited the Louvre before so I knew where the Mona Lisa was.
(Haba visit el Museo del Louvre antes, as que saba donde estaba la
Mona Lisa.)
o They had [They'd] studied English before they went to London. (Haban
estudiado ingls antes de irse a Londres.)
o Henry changed careers because he had [he'd] worked as an accountant
for many years and was bored. (Henry cambi de profesin porque haba
trabajado como contable durante muchos aos y estaba aburrido.)
o
2. Negative Sentences (Frases negativas)

Estructura Sujeto + "had" + "not" + participio pasado.

o Ejemplos:
o I had not [hadn't] visited the Louvre before so I didn't know where the
Mona Lisa was. (No haba visitado el Museo del Louvre antes, as que no
saba donde estaba la Mona Lisa.)
o They had not [hadn't] studied English before they went to London. (No
haban estudiado ingls antes de irse a Londres.)
o Henry changed careers even though he had not [hadn't] worked as an
accountant for long. (Henry cambi de profesin a pesar de que no haba
trabajado como contable durante mucho tiempo.)
o
3. Interrogative Sentences (Frases interrogativas)

Estructura"Had" + sujeto + participio pasado?

o Ejemplos:
o How did you know where the Mona Lisa was? Had you visited the
Louvre before? (Cmo sabas dnde estaba la Mona Lisa? Haba visit
el Museo del Louvre antes?)
o Had they studied English before they went to London? (Haban
estudiado ingls antes de irse a Londres?)
o Had Henry worked as an accountant for long before he changed careers?
(Henry haba trabajado como contable durante mucho tiempo antes de
cambiar de profesin?)
Uses (Usos)
1. Usamos el pasado perfecto para referirnos a una accin o evento que
comenz en el pasado y que es anterior a otra accin tambin en el pasado
(el pasado simple).
o Ejemplos:
o I'd read the book before I saw the movie. (Haba ledo el libro antes de
ver la pelcula.)
o Donna had just left when you called. (Donna haba salido justo cuando
llamaste.)
o Had you ever flown before the trip to France? (Alguna vez habas
volado antes del viaje a Francia?)
2. Se usa para acciones que pasasaron antes de un tiempo espesfico en el
pasado.
o Ejemplos:
o I had already woken up when the alarm clock rang at 7am. (Ya me haba
despertado cuando son el despertador a las 7.)
o He hadn't been to France before the trip in 2008. (No haba estado en
Francia antes del viaje del 2008.)
3. Tambin, como el presente perfecto, con algunos verbos usamos el pasado
perfecto para situaciones que han empezado en el pasado y que siguieron
hasta un punto especfico en el pasado.
o Ejemplos:
o She had only owned one car before she bought her new BMW. (Haba
tenido un coche antes de que le compr a su nuevo BMW.)
o I'd been depressed for a long time before I changed jobs. (Haba estado
deprimido durante mucho tiempo antes de que cambiara de trabajo.)

Past Perfect

Affirmative Interrogative Negative

I'd eaten. Had I eaten? I hadn't eaten.
You'd eaten. Had you eaten? You hadn't eaten.
He/She/It'd eaten.Had he/she/it eaten?He/She/It hadn't eaten.
We'd eaten. Had we eaten? We hadn't eaten.
You'd eaten. Had you eaten? You hadn't eaten.
They'd eaten. Had they eaten? They hadn't eaten.