A traditional introduction to the past progressive

1. CTE Grammar for ESL Teachers
Past Progressive
Leo Schmitt
New School

2. Did you find any especially helpful
texts or websites?
• Remember that the internet has a wide range of
information. Some of it is more reliable than
others. Evaluate it using your own language
knowledge and critical thinking skills. Look for
pages that support your preferred methodology.
• http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/pastconti
nuous.html Introduces tense and has exercises.
• http://www.englisch-
hilfen.de/en/grammar/past_prog.htm Introduces
tense.

3. NAME:
• What is the name of the grammatical
structure? Does it have any others? If so,
which is the most helpful name for students?
• Past Progressive/Past Continuous/Past
Imperfect

4. FORM:
• How is the structure formed? What is a pattern
students can follow to make it themselves?
Include patterns for questions and negatives.
• Declarative/Statement
• Subject + past be form (was/were) + Verbing.
• Subject + was/were + verbing.
– I was living. They were eating.
• Agreement for verb to be:
– I was, He was, She was, It was vs. You were, We were,
They were.

5. FORM:
• Negative:
– Subject + Past Auxiliary verb ‘be’ + not + ing form.
– Subject + was/were not + Verbing
– I was not sleeping.

6. FORM
• Y/N Question:
– Past Auxiliary ‘be’ + Subject + ing form of Verb?
– Was/were + Subject + Verbing?
– Were you sleeping?

7. FORM
• Wh Question:
– Wh word + Past auxiliary ‘be’ + Subject + ing form
of Verb?
– Wh + was/were + Subject + Verbing?
– Where were you working?

8. FORM
• Spelling of the –ing form.
• Double consonant after CVC in base (but not w, x, or y)
– Hop – hopping, spit – spitting, etc.
• Except if the stress is not on the last syllable
– Happen – happening, suffer – suffering, etc.
• Drop final –e in VCe in base:
– Like – liking, hate – hating, etc.
• End in –ie changes to y
– Lie – lying, tie – tying, etc
• A few other spelling issues. Consider the value of the
time spent teaching these rules.

9. PRONUNCIATION:
• What are the pronunciationpoints related to
the structure and how do you plan to teach
them?
• English is a stress-timed language so stress
falls on the content words (verbs, adjectives,
and nouns).

10. PRONUNCIATION
• Past progressive
• -ing is usually pronounced /ıŋ/ in formal
situations.
• Some speakers may pronounce it /ın/ or /ən/,
especially in informal situations.

11. USAGE:
• Why do we have this form? When do we use
it? What meaning does it imply?
• This is the remote progressive use of English.
It is used for multiple meanings, but generally
indicates a remoteness in time and continuity
in aspect.

12. USAGE
• Interrupted action in the past (often with the
interrupting element):
– I was drinking coffee when the phone rang.
• Incomplete actions (to show that they were
ongoing):
– I was watching TV at 6 p.m.
• Parallel continuing actions:
– I was walking while she was running.

13. USAGE
• To create an atmosphere:
– People were rushing home and the lights were
flashing as I stepped onto the streets.
• To express a sense of politeness:
– I was wondering if I could ask you a question.
• To introduce a topic/start a conversation:
– I was thinking of going sailing this weekend.
• Annoying habits of the past:
– She was always slamming the door.

14. CONTEXT:
• What would be an appropriate and interesting context
you could use to present this structure? (Hint: go back
to usage and think of typical examples).
• One challenge here is that in many context, the past
progressive occurs together with the simple past.
• Telling a story with ongoing elements (e.g. atmospheric
settings)
• Starting a conversation.
• What were you doing when important event in the
world (9/11) or in life (when you met your significant
other) happened.

15. RELATED STRUCTURES:
• Are there any structures that are usually
taught together with this one? Or essential
vocabulary for the new usage?
• It can often be useful to contrast this tense
with the simple past.
• While can be useful to reinforce the ongoing
element for students.

16. EXCEPTIONS:
• Are there uses of this structure that vary?
• The verb ‘to be’ is irregular. It takes a different
form for the first and third person singular: I
was, he was, etc.
• Some stative verbs are not generally put in the
progressive aspect.
– Know, love, want, etc.

17. UNTEACHABLE CHUNKS:
• Are there any aspects of the usage that seem
too advanced or confusingfor your class? Any
aspects you might want to save for a higher
level or omit altogether?
• While this is useful at the beginning level,
various meanings may be unnecessary early
on. For example:
• Politeness issues, creating an atmosphere,
annoying habits.

18. FREE ACTIVITY:
• How can you get your students to practice this structure in an
uncontrolled (i.e. not teacher-centered) activity?
• This is a particular challenge, because while we use the past
progressive, it is often together with the simple past. Indeed much
of the speech/writing may be simple past.
• Describe what you were doing on various occasions.
– When you heard some bad news (death, job loss, etc.)
– When you saw your first love
– When you heard some good news (college acceptance, baby birth,
etc.)
• Think of ways to open a conversation with a stranger.
• Alibi game
• Past continuous this morning in common game.
• Guess the mime.

20. STUDENT ERRORS:
• What are the errors that students learning this
structure typically make? What would be
some concept questions that would clarify
these errors?
• Not using the auxiliary verb.
– *I going to school, when I saw the bus.
• Can we use the subject and ing form without
the auxiliary ‘to be’?

21. STUDENT ERRORS:
• Negatives:
• Not using the auxiliary verb.
– *I not going. *I no going.
• Can we use the subject and ing form without the
auxiliary ‘to be’?
• This issue is clouded because we have participial
phrases.
– Going to school, I saw the bus.
• Emphasizing the presence of the subject in full clauses
can help clarify the difference:
– I was going to school, when I saw the bus.