GRAMMAR: PAST CONTINUOUS

PAST CONTINUOUS

Uses of the past progressive tense: "Iwas working"

There are five basic uses of the past progrissive tense. We use it for:

 1/ Temporary action in progress in the past : i was living abroad in 1989.

         We often use all to emphasize continuity ( all day , all summer ) : it was raining all night.

2/ Action which were in progress when something else happened:

          just as / when i was leaving, the phone rang.

  these are often introduced by conjunctions like when , as, just as and while , but the shorter action can be introduced by when : We were having a supper when the phone rang.

3/ Actions in progress at the same time : While i was reading, Joan was playing the piano.

4/ Rpeated action with e.g. always: When i worked here , i was always making mistakes

5/ Polite inquiries: Iwas wondering if you could give ma a lift.

EXAMPLES

Affirmative	Negative		Interrogative
	Contracted Form
I was playing	I was not playing	I wasn't playing	Was I playing?
You were playing	You were not playing	You weren't playing	Were you playing?
He/she/was playing	He/she/it was not playing	He/she/it wasn't playing	Was he/she/it playing?
We were playing	We were not playing	We weren't playing	Were we playiing?
You were playing	You were not playing	You weren't playing	Were you playing?
They were playing	They were not playing	They weren't playing	Were they playing?