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 | |
---|---|
Yes, I already made myself a coffee while you were sleeping. | 是的,我在你睡觉的时候已经自己泡了杯咖啡。 |
Noone was paying attention to your "precious" bag. | 没有人注意到你的“宝贝”包。 |
She was in the kitchen, too, preparing something to cook. | 她也在厨房,准备做饭。 |
That's what I was planning. | 这是我所计划的。 |
Once when Bear was little, we were walking along a dark street... | 在大熊小的时候,我们有一次在一条漆黑的街道上散布... |
Really? What was she saying? | 真的吗?她说了什么? |
Thank god you weren't looking for red wine! | 谢天谢地,你找得不是红葡萄酒! |
I was planning on stirfrying some red peppers and mushrooms! | 我本来计划炒点红辣椒和蘑菇! |
The only smoke I could see was coming out of her ears. | 唯一我看到的烟是从她的耳朵里冒出来的。 |
I was just trying to be more realistic! | 我只是试着让这更真实些! |
I think she definitely understood I was lying! | 我想她肯定知道我在说谎! |
I was also training new workers how to make coffee. | 那时我还会培训新员工如何调制咖啡。 |
You were saying something about the wardrobe before. | 你之前说衣柜怎么了。 |
I ran inside to check what was happening... | 我跑进去查看发生了什么... |
I was planning on cooking some meat, originally. | 我本来打算做点肉。 |
I hope you weren't looking for something urgently! | 我希望你不是在紧急地找房子! |
And the girls were too busy ordering. | 而且女孩们当时正忙着点单。 |
I thought Diego was taking you somewhere. | 我以为迭戈要带你去其他地方。 |
When I came, you were at the bar getting yourself a beer. | 当我来的时候,你正在吧台拿啤酒。 |
Yeah, it wasn't only Pogo, she was complaining about everything! | 噢,不仅仅是Pogo,她在抱怨一切东西! |