Passado Contínuo ou Progressivo - Past Continuous or Progressive

O Passado Contínuo, basicamente, descreve uma ação que estava ocorrendo em um certo período no
passado.
- FORMAÇÃO:
O Past Continuous é formado pelo passado simples do verbo to be (was/were) + o gerúndio (-ing) do
verbo principal.
PAST CONTINUOUS: SUJEITO + PASSADO SIMPLES DO VERBO TO BE + GERÚNDIO DO VERBO
PRINCIPAL (-ING)
- FORMA AFIRMATIVA:
I was working
You were working
He was working
She was working
It was working
We were working
You were working
They were working
- USOS:
O Past Continuous é usado para:
1. Descrever uma ação em andamento num determinado momento no passado:
Fred was dancing with his girlfriend. (Fred estava dançando com sua namorada.)

I was talking to my boss when you called me yesterday afternoon.

(Eu estava falando com meu chefe quando você me ligou ontem à tarde.)
At 7:00 a.m., I was flying over San Francisco. (Às 7:00 eu estava voando sobre São Francisco.)
My father arrived when my mother was cooking. (Meu pai chegou quando minha mãe estava cozinhando.)
In 2001 he was living in Dublin. (Em 2001 ele estava morando em Dublin.)
They were screaming last night. (Eles estavam gritando ontem à noite.)
We were going to the beach when our car broke down. (Estávamos indo para praia quando nosso carro
estragou.)
When I got up this morning the sun was shining. (Quando acordei hoje de manhã o sol estava brilhando.)
What were you doing at 6:00 p.m.? (O que você estava fazendo às 18:00?)
It was raining this morning. (Estava chovendo hoje de manhã.)
2. Narrar as circunstâncias de uma situação passada:
It was almost midnight and I was getting tired, but I couldn't go to bed because I had lots of things to study.
(Era quase meia-noite e eu estava ficando cansado, mas não podia dormir porque tinha muitas coisas para
estudar.)

It was Sunday morning, the sun was shining in the sky.

(Era domingo de manhã, o sol estava brilhando no céu.)
3. Descrever ações em andamento simultâneo. Nesses casos, geralmente usa-se a
conjunção while:
Susan was playing while Mary was studying for her test. (Susan estava brincando enquanto Mary estava
estudando para sua prova.)
We were preparing our breakfast while he was still sleeping. (Estávamos preparando nosso café da
manhã enquanto ele ainda estava dormindo.)
I was having a shower when the phone rang. (Eu estava tomando banho quando o telefone tocou.)
While my father was reading the newspaper, my brother was washing the car. (Enquanto meu pai estava
lendo o jornal, meu irmão estava lavando o carro.)
4. Falar, indicar uma ação habitual que ocorria no passado. Normalmente usa-se os advérbios de
frequência: constantly, often, always entre o passado simples do verbo to be e o verbo principal:
She was constantly talking to her classmates. Her teacher didn't like that. (Ela estava constantemente
falando com seus colegas. Sua professora não gostava disso.)
They were always asking the same questions. (Eles estavam sempre fazendo as mesmas perguntas.)
Formas negativa e interrogativa do Passado Contínuo
Forma Negativa
A Forma Negativa do Passado Contínuo é feita acrescentado-se not entre o passado simples do verbo to
be + o gerúndio (-ing) do verbo principal. Observe a tabela abaixo.
I was not working
You were not working
He was not working
She was not working
It was not working
We were not working
You were not working
They were not working
* FORMAS ABREVIADAS: was not - wasn't / were not - weren't. Ambas as formas são corretas e
bastante comuns na Língua Inglesa. Observe alguns exemplos com as formas abreviadas:
I wasn't watching TV last night. (Eu não estava assistindo TV ontem à noite.)
They weren't waiting for her at the airport. (Eles não estavam esperando por ela no aeroporto.)
Bob and Jamey weren't sleeping when Jane got home. (Bob e Jamey não estavam dormindo quando
Jane chegou em casa.)
She wasn't reading a book, she was reading a magazine. (Ela não estava lendo um livro, estava lendo
uma revista.)
NEGATIVE FORM: SUJEITO + PASSADO SIMPLES DO VERBO TO BE + NOT + GERÚNDIO DO
VERBO PRINCIPAL (-ING)
Forma Interrogativa
Na Forma Interrogativa do Passado Contínuo, o sujeito posiciona-se entre o passado simples do
verbo to be e o gerúndio (-ing) do verbo principal. Observe a tabela abaixo:
 Was I working?
Were You working?
Was He working?
Was She working?
Was It working?
Were We working?
Were You working?
Were They working?
Veja outros exemplos:
Were you sleeping? (Você estava dormindo?)
Were they studying fot the test? (Eles estavam estudando para a prova?)
What were the children doing in the bedroom? (O que as crianças estavam fazendo no quarto?)
Was it snowing this morning? (Estava nevando esta manhã?)
INTERROGATIVE FORM: PASSADO SIMPLES DO VERBO TO BE + SUJEITO + GERÚNDIO DO
VERBO PRINCIPAL (-ING)

Complete as interrogações abaixo usando o “Past Continuous”:

a) _______Rachel _____________ a new book? (read)
b)________they___________together yesterday? (work)
c)________he___________ to music? (listen)
d)________you _________street dance? (do)
e)________she __________her sister with her homework? (help)

a) Was / reading
b) Were / working
c) Was / listening
d) Were/ doing
e) Were/ helping

1. Complete as sentenças usando o Past Continuous. (Passado contínuo)

1. When I phoned my friends, they ____________ monopoly. (play)

2. Yesterday at six I ___________________ dinner. (prepare)
3. The kids ___________________ in the garden when it suddenly began to rain. (run)
4. I _____________________ the guitar when he came home. (practise)
5. We _______________________ all day. ( not - Cycle)
6. While Aaron ________________ in his room, his friends _________________ in the pool.
(work/swim)
7. I tried to tell them the truth but they ____________________. (not - listen)
8. What ________ you ________ yesterday? (do)
9. Most of the time we ________________________ in the park. (sit)

10 . __________Lucy _________ on the computer? (work)

11 .__________ they ________________ the car ? (repair)
12 . _________ Melissa __________ out a book? (take)
13 . _________ you ______________ to music? (listen)
 14 . _______ Nicolas _________ at a picture? (look)
15 ._________ Emma and Bertha __________her friend? (phone)
16 ._______ the girl _________the window? (open)
17 .________ he _______ judo? (do)
18. _________ the friends ________ home from school? (come)
19 ._______ Tyler ____________with the cooking? (help)
20. She _____________________________. (not-work)

Reading Comprenhension

Bill´s day

It was Saturday. The sun was shining and many people were going to the park. Bill was there. He was riding his bike
when he met his math teacher, Mrs. Bells. She was running around the lake. There were some boys playing soccer.
He also met his neighbor, Mr. Ford. He was doing some exercises. There were some kids eating popcorn and drinking
soda. It was great!

Now answer the questions:

1. What day was it?

2. What was the weather like?
3. Where were the people going?
4. What was he doing when he met his math teacher?
5. What was Mrs. Bells doing?
6. What about Mr. Ford? What was he doing?
7. Were there kids in the park too?
8. What were the boys playing?

It was Saturday. The sun was shining and many people were going to the park. Bill was there. He
was riding his bike when he met his math teacher, Mrs. Bells. She was running around the lake.
There were some boys playing soccer. He also met his neighbor, Mr. Ford. He was doing some
exercises. There were some kids eating popcorn and drinking soda. It was great!

Now answer the questions:

1. What day was it?

2. What was the weather like?
3. Where were the people going?
4. What was he doing when he met his math teacher?
5. What was Mrs. Bells doing?
6. What about Mr. Ford? What was he doing?
7. Were there kids in the park too?
8. What were the boys playing?