Past Continuous

Past Continuous

Past Continuous

FORM

]was/were + present participle]
Examples:
• You were studying when she called.نادت
• Were you studying when she called?
• You were not studying when she called.
USE 1
Interrupted قطع Action in the Past
   
Use the Past Continuous to indicate that a longer action in the past was interrupted. The interruption is usually a shorter action in the Simple Past. Remember this can be a real interruption or just an interruption in time.
Examples:
• I was watching TV when she called.
• When the phone rang, she was writing a letter.
• While we were having the picnic, it started to rain.
• I was listening to my iPod, so I didn't hear the fire alarm.
• While John was sleeping last night, someone stole his car.
• Sammy was waiting for us when we got off the plane.
• While I was writing the email, the computer suddenly went off.
• A: What were you doing when you broke your leg?                                                 B: I was snowboarding. التزحلق

USE 2

Specific معين Time as an Interruption مقاطعة/اعاقة
 
In USE 1, described above, the Past Continuous is interrupted قطع by a shorter action in the Simple Past. However, you can also use a specific time as an interruption.
Examples:

• Last night at 6 PM, I was eating dinner.
• At midnight, we were still driving through the desert.
• Yesterday at this time, I was sitting at my desk at work.
IMPORTANT
• Last night at 6 PM, I ate dinner.
I STARTED EATING AT 6 PM.
• Last night at 6 PM, I was eating dinner.
I STARTED EARLIER; AND AT 6 PM, I WAS IN THE PROCESS OF EATING DINNER.
USE 3
Parallel Actions أحداث متوازية    
When you use the Past Continuous with two actions in the same sentence, it expresses the idea that both actions were happening at the same time. The actions are parallel.

Examples:
• I was studying while he was making dinner.
• While Ellen was reading, Tim was watching television.
• Were you listening while he was talking?
• I wasn't paying attention while I was writing the letter, so I made several mistakes.
• What were you doing while you were waiting?
• Thomas wasn't working, and I wasn't working either.
• They were eating dinner, discussing their plans, and having a good time.

USE 4
Atmosphere
In English, we often use a series of parallel actions to describe the atmosphere at a particular time in the past.
Example:•
When I walked into the office, several people were busily typing, some were talking on the phones, the boss was yelling directions, and customers were waiting to be helped. One customer was yelling at a secretary and waving his hands. Others were complaining to each other about the bad service.

USE 5
Repetition and Irritation with "Always"

The Past Continuous with words such as "always" or "constantly" expresses the idea that something irritating or shocking often happened in the past. The concept is very similar to the expression "used to" but with negative emotion. Remember to put the words "always" or "constantly" between "be" and "verb+ing."
Examples:

• She was always coming to class late.
• He was constantly talking. He annoyed everyone.
• I didn't like them because they were always complaining.
While vs. When
               clauses begin with "when she called" or "when it bit me."
Other clauses begin with "while" such as "while she was sleeping" and "while he was surfing        
    Examples: