Ingles

GRUPO COLEGIO MEXIQUENSE

INGLES A1

• Jose Maria Garcia Sanchez
• Luisa Fernanda Tapia Garcia
• Fernanda Guadalupe Uzcanga Arteaga
• Jesus Ivan Wittman Garduño

Past continuous

Past continuous

How and when is past continuous used?

1. Express actions or states that were taking place in the past when another action or state interrupts or reinforces it. For example:

• I was walking when I saw an eagle.

2. Providing context, i.e. giving information about events or situations in a specific time.

• Last year, I was studying for the exams (El año pasado, I was studying for the exams).

3. Mentioning two or more past actions that happened at the same time.

• While my son was playing videogames, I was sleeping in his bedroom.

Tip

We often use the past continuous to describe the situacion at the beginning of a story. In 2015, we were travelling across mexico John was driving too fast down the motorway

More examples

Structure

How is the past continuous formed?

Important

Pronunciation

Nick was cutting vegetables when he cut his finger. The old woman was carrying a heavy bag. The children were swimming and we were sunbathing. Last night the rescue team was still searching for survivors. They were having a meeting when I called

The sun was shining. El sol estaba brillando. The baby was coughing all night long. El bebé estuvo tosiendo durante toda la noche. I was having a shower when the phone rang. Estaba tomando una ducha cuando sonó el teléfono. My friends were studying in Chicago for a month last year. Mis amigas estuvieron estudiando en Chicago durante un mes el año pasado. The boys were climbing a tree. Los niños estaban trepando a un árbol.