In English we use the past continuous to talk about an action taking place during a period of time in the past. We usually use it with past simple.
The table below shows the different forms of past continuous :
Example verb : study | I / He / She / It | You / We / They |
Positive | ... was studying. | ... were studying. |
Negative | ... wasn't studying. | ... weren't studying. |
Questions | Was ... studying? | Were ... studying? |
Short answers | Yes, ... was. / No, ... wasn't. | Yes, ... were. / No, ... weren't. |
In English we use the past continuous to show that a longer action in the past was interrupted. The interruption is usually a shorter action in the past simple. This can be a real interruption or just an interruption in time.
Past Continuous Examples Sentences :
Positive Examples of Past Continuous :
Negative Examples of Past Continuous :
Question Examples of Past Continuous :
In English we can also use a specific time as an interruption.
Examples Sentences :
When you use the past continuous with two actions in the same sentence, it means that both actions were happening at the same time. The actions are parallel.
Examples Sentences :
Past continuous example sentences | |
---|---|
First she started to mumble about how long my cooking was taking. | Prima ha iniziato a mormorare di quanto ci mettevo a cucinare. |
Hm, why was he begging the fairy to turn him into a real kid then? | Hm, perché implorava la fata di trasformarlo in un bambino vero allora? |
I was planning on cooking some meat, originally. | Stavo pensando di cucinare un po’ di carne all’inizio. |
Noone was paying attention to your "precious" bag. | Nessuno teneva d'occhio la tua "preziosa" borsa. |
Oh, I see, she was talking about it last night! | Oh, capisco, ne parlava ieri sera! |
I think she definitely understood I was lying! | Penso abbia decisamente capito che stavo mentendo! |
I hope you weren't looking for something urgently! | Spero tu non stessi cercando qualcosa urgentemente! |
She was in the kitchen, too, preparing something to cook. | Anche lei era in cucina, che preparava qualcosa da cuocere. |
Yes, I already made myself a coffee while you were sleeping. | Sì, mi sono già fatta un caffè mentre tu dormivi. |
Yeah, it wasn't only Pogo, she was complaining about everything! | Già, non era solo Pogo, si lamentava di tutto quanto! |
Once when Bear was little, we were walking along a dark street... | Una volta quando Bear era piccolo, stavamo passeggiando lungo una strada buia… |
And the girls were too busy ordering. | E le ragazze erano troppo occupate ad ordinare. |
That's what I was planning. | È quello che avevo in programma. |
No, I wasn't interested at all, I was just trying to be nice to her. | No, non ero assolutamente interessata, cercavo soltanto di essere gentile con lei. |
Yeah... What was I saying? | Già… Cosa stavo dicendo? |
I was just trying to be more realistic! | Stavo cercando di sembrare più realistica! |
I was planning on stirfrying some red peppers and mushrooms! | Volevo saltare in padella un po’ di peperoni rossi e funghi! |
I was also training new workers how to make coffee. | Insegnavo anche ai nuovi dipendenti come fare il caffè. |
Thank god you weren't looking for red wine! | Grazie al cielo non stavi guardando il vino rosso! |
But I don't know where he was getting it from. | Ma non so da dove lo prendesse. |