Past Continuous Tense

МИНАТО ТРАЈНО ВРЕМЕ

 Compare the following pairs of sentences:

The phone rang. – PAST SIMPLE

The phone was ringing. – PAST CONTINUOUS

I fell from the bike.

Snow was falling.

Adam wrote a letter to his friend.

Adam was writing a letter to his friend.
1. Formation

• The Past simple of the verb BE (was, were)

+
• verb with the –ing ending

was/were + Verb-ing
We use the Past continuous for:

• Actions that are happening at a particular

time in the past:

– Adam was writing a letter in the evening.

– The phone was ringing all the time.

WHAT WERE YOU DOING YESTERDAY AT 3PM?

I WAS DRIVING A CAR AND COMING BACK FROM
WORK.
I was playing with the dog.
You were talking on the phone.
He was talking to me the whole day.
She was crying for her mum.
It was swimming.
We were making a cake.
You were reading a letter.
They were celebrating a friend`s
birthday
Uses:

• The phone was ringing all the time.

• Adam was writing a letter to his friend in the evening.

• While I was driving along the country road a rabbit

jumped in front of my car.
• I was reading the newspaper when I heard the
explosion.

• While my boss was talking to me I was dreaming of

my last holiday.
• With the Past Simple to refer to a long action
that is interrupted by a shorter one.("When"or
"While" are the habitual conjunctions)

– While I was driving along the country road, a rabbit jumped

in front of my car.
– I was reading the newspaper when I heard the explosion.
• Two actions developing at the same time in
the past ("While" is the habitual conjunction)

– While my boss was talking to me I was dreaming of

my last holiday.
– I was setting the table while Gina was choosing the
wine.