The past continuous is formed from the past tense of be with the -ing form of the verb:
We use the past continuous to talk about the past:
- for something which continued before and after another action:
The children were doing their homework when I got home.
Compare:
I got home. The children did their homework.
and
The children did their homework when I got home.
As I was watching television the telephone rang.
This use of the past continuous is very common at the beginning of a story:
The other day I was waiting for a bus when …
Last week as I was driving to work …
- for something that happened before and after a particular time:
It was eight o’clock. I was writing a letter.
Compare:
At eight o’clock I wrote some letters.
In July she was working in McDonald’s.
- .to show that something continued for some time:
My head was aching.
Everyone was shouting.
- for something that was happening again and again:
I was practising every day, three times a day.
They were meeting secretly after school.
They were always quarrelling.
- with verbs which show change or growth:
The children were growing up quickly.
Her English was improving.
My hair was going grey.
The town was changing quickly.
Comments
hi kirk
The other day I was waiting for a bus when …
why you use the end of the sentence wh form. how is possible. kindly clarify me
hi
would you please help me correct my student composition and explain them for corrected version. bear in mind my student level is intermediate.
One day my two sons decided playing (1) football in our garden. At that time out next–door neighbour was watering those (2) flowers in his greenhouse. My younger son was kicking (3) the ball very hardly(4). The ball went on top of the greenhouse and the glass got broken. The neighbour has got (5) very angry with them and said, “You’re very naughty boys.
Hello memol95,
I'm afraid we don't offer the service of correcting users' texts. We're simply too small a team with too much work to be able to do it fairly. If you have a specific question about a specific part of a sentence, however, please don't hesitate to ask us about it.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Sir explain to me if this sentence is wrong or correct?
"As I was walking through the main building, I saw the director entering into his car and drove away."
Hello azeezabideen,
I would change the sentence slightly:
As I was walking through the main building, I saw the director get into his car and drive away.
Best wishes,
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Peter,
From the sentence above: "As I walking through the main building, I saw the director get into his car and drive away."
I am confused, why not "gets" and "drives" in the above sentence instead of "get" and "drive". Please help to clarify.
Hello Raman,
The structure here is: see (someone) do something
The form of the verb is the base form, not the present simple. It is possible to use a present participle too:
I saw him sing a song. [I saw the whole song]
I saw him singing a song. [I saw him sing part of a song, but I stopped watching before the end]
Note in the first example we use 'sing' (the base form) even though the sentence is describing a past event.
Best wishes,
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi,
Past simple and past continuous both can use to describe something that happened again and again, so what's the exactly difference between them?
Hello Cesar98,
A continuous form indicates not only the time of an action but also the perspective of the speaker, i.e. how they see the action. A past simple form shows that the speaker sees the action as finished in some way, whereas a continuous form shows that the speaker sees it as unfinished or temporary in some way. I'd suggest you read our continuous aspect page for more on this, but please know this is a subtle distinction that usually takes some time and practice to master.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
hi sir
it has been a long time since i wrote something, so i would like to inform you about my absence that i was attending your online English coaching class[futurelearn] . This course could help me to improve a lots of usage that how to use in different situations in general purpose of communication and also improved some knowledge about British country side . even though i am not able to handle English in speaking because , i don't know how to improve oneself , i don't have who some one they know English as well and no one ever teach me as long as my mistakes so that i wanted to know that mistakes on writing , In that sense i suppose i can improve English so i expect that you can.
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