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 | |
---|---|
Hm, why was he begging the fairy to turn him into a real kid then? | Hum, então por que é que ele pediu à fada para o transformar em um garoto verdadeiro? |
She was in the kitchen, too, preparing something to cook. | Ela também estava na cozinha, preparando algo para comer. |
I was planning on cooking some meat, originally. | Inicialmente, estava planejando cozinhar carne. |
Once when Bear was little, we were walking along a dark street... | Uma vez, quando o Bear era bebê, nós estavamos andando por um rua escura... |
Okay, long story short, I was cooking some chips last night. | Muito bem, em suma, eu estava fritando umas batatas a noite passada. |
But I don't know where he was getting it from. | Mas eu não sei onde ele o comprava. |
And the girls were too busy ordering. | E as raparigas estavam muito ocupadas pedindo. |
First she started to mumble about how long my cooking was taking. | Primeiro, ela começou resmungando sobre o tempo que eu estava demorando a cozinhar. |
No, I wasn't interested at all, I was just trying to be nice to her. | Não, não estava de todo interessada, só estava a tentar ser simpática para ela. |
It sounds like she was having a mental breakdown. | Parece que ela estava sofrendo de um colapso nervoso. |
I thought Diego was taking you somewhere. | Eu pensei que Diego ia levar você para algum lugar. |
I was wondering where that chorizo smell was coming from. | Eu me estava perguntando de onde vinha esse cheiro a chouriço. |
Yeah... What was I saying? | Sim... O que estava eu dizendo? |
I was also training new workers how to make coffee. | Também ensinava os novos funcionários a fazer café. |
Noone was paying attention to your "precious" bag. | Ninguém estava prestando atenção a seu "precioso" saco. |
I think she definitely understood I was lying! | Acho que ela percebeu que eu estava mentindo! |
The other day, you complained about how loud I was snoring. | No outro dia, você se queixou de como eu roncava alto. |
Thank god you weren't looking for red wine! | Ainda bem que você não estava comprando vinho tinto! |
Yeah, it wasn't only Pogo, she was complaining about everything! | Sim, não era só o Pogo, ela estava se queixando de tudo! |
That's what I was planning. | Era o que estava planeando fazer. |