The Past Continuous Tense

The Past continuous tense

The past progressive represents actions in progress at a specific moment in the past.

The Past Continuous Tense

Affirmative

YouWe They

IHe She It

were

was

playing singing drinking

I was painting red flowers with my paint brushes.

• An action in progress in the past.

The Past Continuous Tense

negative

YouWe They

were

playing singing drinking

not

IHe She It

was

They were not drawing a chicken with their pencil.

NOT

The Past Continuous Tense

interrogative: YES / NO QUESTIONS

YouWe They

IHe She It

Were

Was

playing ? singing ? drinking ?

VS

Affirmative answers

Negative Answers

• Short answer:

No, I was not / wasn'tNo, he was not / wasn't No, they were not / weren't

• Long answer:

No, I was not / wasn't running... No, he was not / wasn't listening... No, they were not / weren't swimming...

• Short answer:

Yes, I wasYes, she wasYes, we were

• Long answer:

Yes, I was playing... Yes, she was dancing... Yes, we were singing...

The Past Continuous Tense

interrogative: INFORMATION QUESTIONS

When

YouWe They

IHe She It

were

playing singing drinking

What

(complement) ?

was

Why

What was she doing? She was sketching some dog photographies.

ING Spelling

General rule

In general, we just add -ING to the base form of a verb

eating

eat

going

go

reading

read

Verbs ending in consonant + silent E

Remove the silent E from the base form of the verb and add -ING

dancing

dance

riding

ride

writing

write

Be careful!

Do not remove the E in this cases; just add -ING

being

be

agreeing

agree

seeing

see

Verb ending in IE

Remove the IE from the base form of the verb and add -YING

dying

die

lie

lying

tie

tying

Consonant + vowel + consonant

When a verb with one syllable ends in a C + V + C we double the final consonant before adding -ING .

cut

cutting

run

running

stop

stopping

EXCEPTIONS!

Do not double the final letter at the end of the verb when it is W, X, or Y.

snowing

snow

fix

fixing

play

playing

Last syllable IS stressed

If the verb has two or more syllables and the last one IS stressed, double the final letter.

Begin

Beginning

Forget

Forgetting

Submit

Submitting

Last syllable is NOT stressed

If the verb has two or more syllables and the last one is NOT stressed, do not double the final letter.

Happen

happening

Open

opening

Visit

visiting

Consonant + Vowel + Letter L

Double the final L (British E.)Do not double the final L unless is stressed (American E.).

equal

equalling

equaling

travel

traveling

travelling

control

controlling

controlling

Time expressions

Last week

Last year

This morning

4 Months ago

Yesterday

Team

Language Planetoid

Lizeth

Stefanne

Jonathan

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B.A in EnglishDiploma Course Teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language

B.A in EnglishDiploma Course Teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language