PAST CONTINUOUS TENSE

[WAS / WERE] + [VERB+ing]

Auxiliary verbs: was - were
 
ÖRNEK TABLO

(+) (-) (?)

I was playing I wasn't playing Was I playing?
You were play You weren't playing Were you playing?
He was playing He wasn't playing Was he playing?
She was playing She wasn't playing Was she playing?
It was playing It wasn't playing Was it playing?
We were playing We weren't playing Were we playing?
They were playing They weren't playing Were they playing?

EXAMPLES (ÖRNEKLER):

I was studying lesson. (Ders çalışıyordum.)

She was smoking when I saw her. (Onu gördüğümde sigara içiyordu.)

They were drinking tea when I arrived. (Ben vardığımda çay içiyorlardı.)

USE 1 Interrupted Action in the Past

        (Geçmişte yarıda kesilen eylemler)

Use the Past Continuous to indicate that a longer action in the past was interrupted. The interruption is
usually an action in the Simple Past.

Past Continuous Tense geçmişte yarıda kesilen uzun olayları anlatmak için kullanılır. Daha uzun olan
eylemi yarıda kesen eylem genelde Simple Past tense ile ifade edilir.

EXAMPLES:

I was watching TV when she called. (O aradığında televizyon seyrediyordum.)

When the phone rang, she was writing a letter. (Telefon çaldığında mektup yazıyordu.)

While we were having a picnic, it started to rain. (Piknik yaparken yağmur yağmaya başladı.)

Sally was working when Joe had the car accident. (Joe araba kazası geçirdiğinde Sally çalışıyordu.)

While John was sleeping last night, someone stole his car. (Dün gece John uyurken birisi arabasını
çaldı.)

USE 2 Specific Time as an Interruption

(Geçmişte belirli bir zamanda yapılan eylem)

In USE 1, described above, the Past Continuous is interrupted by an action in the Simple Past.
However, you can also use a specific time as an interruption.
Birinci kullanımda geçmişte başka bir olayla kesilen eylemlerde Past Continuous Tense kullandığımızı
söylemiştik. Bunun yanında geçmişte belirli bir anda yapılan eylemden bahsederken de Past
Continuous Tense kullanılabilir.

EXAMPLES:

Last night at 6 p.m., I was eating dinner. (Dün gece saat 6'da yemek yiyordum.)

At midnight, we were still driving through the desert. (Geceyarısı hala çölde araç kullanıyorduk)

DİKKAT!

Simple Past Tense'de kullanılan zaman ifadeleri eylemin tam olarak başlama veya bitiş zamanını
belirtir. Past Continuous Tense'de ise, belirtilen zaman eylemin başlangıcı veya bitişini değil, yalnızca o
anda eylemin yapılmakta olduğunu belirtir.

EXAMPLES:

Last night at 6 p.m., I ate dinner. (Saat 6'da yemeye başladım.)

Last night at 6 p.m., I was eating dinner. (Yemek yemeye daha önce başladım ve saat 6'da yemek
süreci devam ediyordu.)

USE 3 Parallel Actions

        (Paralel eylemler)

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.

İki eylemi aynı anda Past Continuous Tense ile kullandığımızda, belirtilen iki eylemin aynı anda
yapıldığı fikri ortaya çıkar.  Yani eylemler paraleldir.

EXAMPLES:

I was studying while he was making dinner.

(O yemeği hazırlarken ben ders çalışıyordum)

While Ellen was reading, Tim was watching television.

(Ellen kitap okurken Tim televizyon seyrediyordu.)

They were eating dinner, discussing their plans and having a good time.
(Yemek yiyor, planları hakkında tartışıyor ve iyi vakit geçiriyorlardı.)

USE 4 Atmosphere
         (Atmosfer)

In English we often use a series of Parallel Actions to describe atmosphere in the past.

(İngilizce'de genelde geçmişteki bir havayı (atmosferi) tasvir etmek için bir dizi eylemi arka arkaya
kullanırız.

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.

Ofise geldiğimde birkaç insan meşgul bir şekilde daktilo kullanıyor, bazıları telefonda konuşuyor, patron
emirler yağdırıyor ve müşteriler yardım için bekliyorlardı. Müşterinin biri sekretere bağırıyor ve ellerini
sallıyordu. Diğerleri birbirlerine kötü hizmetten yakınıyorlardı.
 TIME EXPRESSIONS PAST CONTINUOUS TENSE
Time expressions zaman belirten ifadelerdir ve İngilizce'de her zaman için farklı ifadeler kullanılır.
Özellikle sınavlarda cümlenin hangi tense olduğunu anlamak için time expression'ların bilinmesi çok
önemlidir.

while - as

I saw him while he was driving. (Onu araba sürerken gördüm.)

They helped me as I was carrying some heavy bags. (Bazı ağır çantaları taşırken bana yardım ettiler.)

EXERCİSES

Verb Tense Tutorial

Simple Past / Past Continuous

1. A: What (you, do) when the accident occurred?

B: I (try) to change a light bulb that had burnt out.

2. After I (find) the wallet full of money, I (go, immediately) to the police and
(turn) it in.

3. The doctor (say) that Tom (be) too sick to go to work and that he (need)
to stay at home for a couple of days.

4. Sebastian (arrive) at Susan's house a little before 9:00 pm, but she (be, not)
there. She (study, at the library) for her final examination in French.

5. Sandy is in the living room watching television. At this time yesterday, she (watch, also)
television. That's all she ever does!

6. A: I (call) you last night after dinner, but you (be, not) there. Where were you?

B: I (work) out at the fitness center.

7. When I (walk) into the busy office, the secretary (talk) on the phone with a
customer, several clerks (work, busily) at their desks, and two managers (discuss, quietly)
methods to improve customer service.
8. I (watch) a mystery movie on T.V. when the electricity went out. Now I am never going
to find out how the movie ends.

9. Sharon (be) in the room when John told me what happened, but she didn't hear
anything because she (listen, not) .

10. It's strange that you (call) because I (think, just) about you.

11. The Titanic (cross) the Atlantic when it (strike) an iceberg.

12. When I entered the bazaar, a couple of merchants (bargain, busily) and (try)
to sell their goods to naive tourists who (hunt) for souvenirs. Some young
boys (lead) their donkeys through the narrow streets on their way home. A couple of men
(argue) over the price of a leather belt. I (walk) over to a man who (sell)
fruit and (buy) a banana.

13. The firemen (rescue) the old woman who (be) trapped on the third floor of
the burning building.

14. She was so annoying! She (leave, always) her dirty dishes in the sink. I think she
(expect, actually) me to do them for her.

15. Samantha (live) in Berlin for more than two years. In fact, she (live) there
when the Berlin wall came down.

PAST CONTINUOUS TENSE

Asagidaki bosluklari parantez içinde verilen fiillerle Past Continuous Tense'e göre doldurunuz.
Kontrol et ipucu

1- A: What you (do) at 7 o'clock yesterday evening.

B: Well, I think I . (sleep)

2- When I saw John, he (talk) to a girl in a cafe.

3- What you (do) when I called you last night.

4- I am in a real trouble. Because my father saw me while I (smoke) last night in the
street.

5- A: How was the party?

B: It was cool! Everybody (dance), and some people (drink) wine and the kids

were (play).

6- There was a really good programme on TV last night at 9 o'clock. But I couldn't see it because I

(study) for the exam.

7- Last night the phone rang but I couldn't answer it because I (take) a shower.

8- I met John while I (go) to school yesterday morning. He looked quite upset.

9- you (sleep) at 9 o'clock this morning? I rang the bell but noone opened the
door.

10- I think she (read) a very interesting book when I saw her. Because I said hello but she
didn't hear.