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 ran inside to check what was happening... | Ne olduğunu kontrol etmek için içeri koştum... |
How did you know you were knocking on the right door? | Doğru kapıyı çaldığını nasıl anladın? |
Yes, sorry, I was thinking of getting stock powder at the shop. | Evet, pardon, marketten tavuk bulyon almayı düşünüyordum. |
Oh, I see, she was talking about it last night! | Ha, anladım, dün gece bununla ilgili konuşuyordu! |
Thank god you weren't looking for red wine! | Allah'tan kırmızı şarap bakmıyormuşsun! |
Once when Bear was little, we were walking along a dark street... | Bear daha yavruyken karanlık bir sokakta yürüyorduk... |
She was in the kitchen, too, preparing something to cook. | O da mutfaktaydı, pişirmek için bir şeyler hazırlıyordu. |
And the girls were too busy ordering. | Kızlar da sipariş vermekle çok meşguldü. |
Really? What was she saying? | Gerçekten mi? Ne diyordu? |
I think she definitely understood I was lying! | Bence yalan söylediğimi kesinlikle anladı! |
Noone was paying attention to your "precious" bag. | Hiç kimse senin "çok kıymetli" çantanla ilgilenmiyordu. |
I can't believe it, I was planning to sleep till 9 today! | İnanamıyorum, bugün 9'a kadar uyumayı planlıyordum! |
You were saying something about the wardrobe before. | Az önce gardropla ilgili bir şey söylüyordun. |
Alright Nick, what were you saying? | Pekala Nick, sen ne diyordun? |
Yes, I already made myself a coffee while you were sleeping. | Evet, sen uyurken kendime kahve yaptım bile. |
I was planning on cooking some meat, originally. | Ben aslında et pişirmeyi planlıyordum. |
And you pretended you didn't know I was living here. | Ve burada yaşadığımı bilmiyormuş gibi yaptın. |
That's what I was planning. | Öyle planlıyordum. |
First she started to mumble about how long my cooking was taking. | Önce benim yemeğimin ne kadar uzun sürdüğüyle ilgili bir şeyler mırıldanmaya başladı. |
When I came, you were at the bar getting yourself a beer. | Ben geldiğimde sen bardaydın, kendine bira alıyordun. |