Italiano
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 | |
|---|---|
| I was planning on stirfrying some red peppers and mushrooms! | Volevo saltare in padella un po’ di peperoni rossi e funghi! |
| 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. |
| Noone was paying attention to your "precious" bag. | Nessuno teneva d'occhio la tua "preziosa" borsa. |
| I was wondering where that chorizo smell was coming from. | Mi chiedevo da dove venisse quell'odore di chorizo. |
| Yeah, it wasn't only Pogo, she was complaining about everything! | Già, non era solo Pogo, si lamentava di tutto quanto! |
| I was just trying to be more realistic! | Stavo cercando di sembrare più realistica! |
| And you pretended you didn't know I was living here. | Hai fatto finta di non sapere che io vivessi qui. |
| I was also training new workers how to make coffee. | Insegnavo anche ai nuovi dipendenti come fare il caffè. |
| Once when Bear was little, we were walking along a dark street... | Una volta quando Bear era piccolo, stavamo passeggiando lungo una strada buia… |
| I thought Diego was taking you somewhere. | Pensavo che Diego volesse portarti da qualche parte. |
| Really? What was she saying? | Davvero? Cosa diceva? |
| You were saying something about the wardrobe before. | Stavi dicendo qualcosa del guardaroba prima. |
| I ran inside to check what was happening... | Sono corso dentro per controllare cosa succedeva… |
| Oh, I see, she was talking about it last night! | Oh, capisco, ne parlava ieri sera! |
| She was in the kitchen, too, preparing something to cook. | Anche lei era in cucina, che preparava qualcosa da cuocere. |
| Yeah... What was I saying? | Già… Cosa stavo dicendo? |
| Okay, long story short, I was cooking some chips last night. | Ok, per farla breve, stavo cucinando delle patatine ieri sera. |
| But I don't know where he was getting it from. | Ma non so da dove lo prendesse. |
| Alright Nick, what were you saying? | Va bene Nick, cosa stavi dicendo? |
| 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? |
