Grammar notes on the past progressive form of verbs in English for my ESL class.

1. Past Progressive The girl was taking pictures of wildflowers last Saturday.

2. Affirmative and Negative Statements Subject Past Tense of Be Base Verb + -ing (Present Participle) I was (not) You were (not) at ten last night. He She It was (not) sleeping when you called . while you were working . We You They were (not)

4. Short Answers Affirmative Negative Yes, I was. No, I wasn’t you were. you weren’t. he she was. he she wasn’t. it it you we they were. you we they weren’t.

5. Wh- Questions Wh- Word was / were Subject Base Verb + -ing (Present Participle ) Where was I sitting yesterday? Why were you watching that show last night? What was he she it doing when I called? When were we you they studying the past progressive?

6. Grammar Notes: 1. The past progressive is formed with was or were + the base form of the verb + -ing ( present participle ). Non-action verbs with non-action meaning are not usually used in the progressive forms of the verb. Samantha was making a mask at 11:30 yesterday morning. Remember: was + present participle Form negative statements by placing not between was / were and the past participle . They were eating dinner at 7:00 yesterday evening. not

7. Grammar Notes: 2. Use the past progressive to describe an action that was in progress at a specific time in the past. The action began before the specific past time and may or may not have continued after the specific time. Samantha was making a mask at 11:30 yesterday morning. Past Now Future X was making 11:30

8. Grammar Notes: 3. Use the past progressive with the simple past to talk about a continuous action that was interrupted by another action. Use the simple past for the interrupting action Samantha was looking at some flowers when her dad took a picture. Past Now Future X was looking took While Samantha was looking at some flowers , her dad took a picture.

9. Grammar Notes: 4. You can change the order of the two parts of a sentence describing continuous action and an interruption. When you begin with the continuous action, do not use a comma between the two parts. (main clause first and time clause second) Samantha was looking at some flowers when her dad took a picture. Past Now Future X was looking took When her dad took a picture , Samantha was looking at some flowers. continuous action interruption When you begin with the interruption, add a comma between the two parts. (time clause first and main clause second) interruption continuous action comma Main Clause Time Clause

10. Grammar Notes: 5. While means “during the time that.” Use while before a past progressive event (continuous action) When you begin with the while clause, use a comma between the two parts. (time clause first and main clause second) Samantha’s dad took a picture while she was looking at some flowers. Past Now Future X was looking took While Samantha was looking at some flowers , her dad took a picture. When you begin with the interruption and the while clause comes second, do not add comma between the two parts. (main clause first and time clause second) interruption continuous action comma continuous action interruption

11. Grammar Notes: 6. While can also be used in a sentence with two clauses with past progressive to show two actions were in progress at the same time in the past. Past Now Future The man was standing next to the tracks while the train was approaching . While The man was standing next to the tracks , the train was approaching .

12. Grammar Notes: 6. When can be used in a sentence with two clauses with simple past to show one action happened before the other action. Past Now Future Samantha smiled when she saw her friend in the other train car. X X saw smiled The action in the clause that begins with when happened first . The action in the other clause happened second . first action second action

13. Grammar Notes: 7. Wh- questions What was the girl doing on Saturday morning? Why was she standing by the tree?

14. 1. What / hang / in the tree 2. Why / the shoes / hang / in the tree 1. What was hanging in the tree? 2. Why were the shoes hanging in the tree?

15. Past Now Future were walking The elephants / walk / down / the street / yesterday afternoon The elephants were walking down the street yesterday afternoon.

16. Past Now Future X was beginning entered the sun / begin / to rise / when / the surfer / enter / the water The sun was beginning to rise when the surfer entered the water . When the surfer entered the water the sun was beginning to rise . ,

17. Past Now Future the men / take / pictures / the train / pass / through the station / while The men were taking pictures while the train was passing through the station. While the men were taking pictures , the train was passing through the station.

18. Past Now Future X X saw picked up the mother / pick up / her child / she / see / the train / when When the mother saw the train , she picked up her child. The mother picked up her child when she saw the train.