Past Continuous
He was watching TV.
form
was / were + ING
I
  he
        was
 she
   it          watching TV.
  we
 you    were
they
+ive




       He was watching TV.
-ive




       He was not watching TV.
-ive




       He wasn’t watching TV.
?ive




       Was he watching TV?
s.a.




       Yes, he was.
       No, he wasn’t.
The Past Continuous is used
 to indicate a verb in course
     at a point in the past.
The Past Continuous is used
 to indicate a verb in course
     at a point in the past.
I was reading a book…
I was reading a book…
     at 11.00 pm.
at 11.00 pm




                              now



I was reading
The point in the past can be
     a time expression:
         at 11.00 pm
         at midnight
           in 1995
 at the start of the lesson
I was reading a book…
I was reading a book…
 when the phone rang.
when the
                phone rang




                             now



I was reading
The point in the past can be also
   a verb in the past simple:
     when the phone rang
        when sun rose
         when I arrived
    when the lesson started
don’t forget
don’t forget
state verbs are not used
in the continuous tenses
I was wanting an ice-cream.

  I wanted an ice-cream.
when and while
She was studying when he called.
                =
When he called, she was studying.
subordinate
                       introduced by
                           ‘when’



She was studying when he called.
                =
When he called, she was studying.
She was studying when he called.

When she was studying, he called.
main clause can be
past continuous or
      simple



She was studying when he called.

When she was studying, he called.
He called while she was studying.

While she was studying, he called.
‘while’ only before
                         continuous
                         subordinate



He called while she was studying.

While she was studying, he called.
pronunciation
He was talking.
He was talking.
ə

He was talking.
ə

hiː wəz talkɪŋ.
We were talking.
wiː wə talkɪŋ.
ə

wiː wə talkɪŋ.
exercise
compose 3 unusual questions
      for each type
What were you doing at… ?

What were you doing when… ?

  Were you … at/when … ?
ask and answer
with your neighbour
homework
module 4, part 3

take your ‘Biggest Diamond’
stories and add 4 sentences
  with the Past Continuous

Past Continuous