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PAPER 18 PAST PROGRESSIVE TENSE

LÝ THUYẾT NGỮ PHÁP

A. Hình thái cấu trúc

Thì quá khứ tiếp diễn có cấu trúc gần như giống thì hiện tại tiếp diễn, trừ việc ta đổi trợ động từ “is/am/are”
sang “was/were”. Quy tắc hòa hợp chủ ngữ và động từ giống như với quá khứ đơn.

(+) Subject + was/were + verb-ing + ...


(-) Subject + was/were + not + verb-ing + ... / Subject + wasn’t/weren’t + verb-ing + ...
(?) Was/Were + subject + verb-ing + ...

B. Cách dùng

#1: Diễn tả một hành động đang diễn ra tại một thời điểm cụ thể trong quá khứ, nhấn mạnh rằng vào thời
điểm đó hành động đang diễn ra giữa chừng.

At nine o’clock last night, I was watching TV.


Were you chatting to Matt online at midnight last night?

#2: Diễn tả một hành động hay tình huống chỉ xảy ra tạm thời trong quá khứ, không kéo dài đủ lâu để tạo
thành sự lặp đi lặp lại như thói quen, sở thích, phong tục, và sẽ kết thúc khi có một hành động khác xảy ra.

Greg was staying in London at the time until he finished his business there.
During that summer, I was working for a large software company in California.

#3: Diễn tả một xu hướng hay tình huống thay đổi và tiến triển không ngừng trong quá khứ.

I was getting frustrated with my internet provider, so I decided to change.


In the summer of 2000, every Vietnamese person was going crazy about gold, just like they are now.

#4: Diễn tả một thói quen hoặc hành động từng lặp đi lặp lại gây khó chịu, thường sử dụng cùng “always”.

When we were kids, my brother was always borrowing my toys without my permission.

#5: Diễn tả một hành động xảy ra liên tiếp không đứt đoạn, xuyên suốt một khoảng thời gian trong quá khứ,
thường có dấu hiệu là “all/during + khoảng thời gian” và được dịch là “suốt/cả ...”

Daniel was playing video games all morning yesterday.


Were you writing emails all yesterday morning?
I was sitting on the edge of my seat during the movie.

NGUYỄN THẾ BẢO | A Comprehensive Guide to English Syntax and Grammatical Rules 1
PAPER 18 PAST PROGRESSIVE TENSE

#6: Diễn tả một hành động đang diễn ra trong quá khứ (quá khứ tiếp diễn) thì bị chen vào bởi một hành động
khác (quá khứ đơn).

I was eating dinner when he called me last night. = When he called me last night, I was eating dinner.
He called me last night while I was eating dinner. = While I was eating dinner, he called me last night.

Lưu ý 1: Dấu hiệu nhận biết phổ biến của sự kết hợp này là liên từ “while” và “when”. Trong khi “while”
thường đứng ngay trước thì quá khứ tiếp diễn, “when” thường đứng ngay trước thì quá khứ đơn.

Lưu ý 2: Hai mệnh đề quá khứ tiếp diễn và quá khứ đơn có thể hoán đổi vị trí cho nhau như trong các ví dụ
trên. Tuy nhiên, khi mệnh đề chứa quá khứ tiếp diễn đứng trước thì cần dùng dấu phẩy ngăn cách với mệnh
đề chứa quá khứ đơn theo sau. Khi mệnh đề quá khứ đơn đứng trước thì không cần dấu phẩy.

#7: Diễn tả hai hành động đang cùng diễn ra (quá khứ tiếp diễn) tại một thời điểm cụ thể trong quá khứ.

I was daydreaming while you were talking. = You were talking while I was daydreaming.
They were listening to music when they were driving. They were driving when they were listening to music.

NGUYỄN THẾ BẢO | A Comprehensive Guide to English Syntax and Grammatical Rules 2
PAPER 18 PAST PROGRESSIVE TENSE

BÀI TẬP 1: MIÊU TẢ THỜI GIAN BIỂU


Hãy dựa vào thời gian biểu của vợ chồng nhà Anderson dưới đây ở phần A để hoàn thành câu miêu tả thời
gian biểu của họ ở phần B:
A. Schedule
Time Mr. Anderson Mrs. Anderson
7:00-7:15 had a shower
got ready for work
7:15-7:20 made breakfast for their kids
8:00-8:30 ate breakfast ate breakfast at work
9:00-12:00 wrote emails taught a history class
12:00-1:00 ate lunch in a restaurant ate lunch at work
1:00-2:00 met with his boss taught a maths class
2:00-3:00 met with his sales manager met with the principal
3:00-4:00 wrote reports exercised at the gym
4:00-5:00 picked up their kids bought groceries
5:30-6:00 took their kids to the tennis court made dinner
6:30-7:00 ate dinner ate dinner
7:00-9:00 cleaned their apartment cleaned their apartment
9:00-11:00 watched a movie watched a movie
11:00 fell asleep fell asleep

B. Sentences
1. At 7:10 Mr. Anderson _______________________________________________________________

2. At 7:15 Mrs. Anderson ______________________________________________________________

3. At 8:15 Mr. and Mrs. Anderson _______________________________________________________

4. At 10:00 Mr. Anderson ______________________________________________________________

5. At 11:00 Mrs. Anderson _____________________________________________________________

6. At 12:30 Mr. Anderson and Mrs. Anderson ______________________________________________

7. At 1:30 Mrs. Anderson ______________________________________________________________

8. At 3:30 Mrs. Anderson ______________________________________________________________

9. At 4:30 Mr. Anderson and Mrs. Anderson _______________________________________________

10. At 8:00 Mr. and Mrs. Anderson _______________________________________________________

11. At 12:30 am Mr. and Mrs. Anderson ___________________________________________________

NGUYỄN THẾ BẢO | A Comprehensive Guide to English Syntax and Grammatical Rules 3
PAPER 18 PAST PROGRESSIVE TENSE

BÀI TẬP 2: QUÁ KHỨ ĐƠN HAY QUÁ KHỨ TIẾP DIỄN?
Hãy chia động từ gợi ý ở thì quá khứ đơn hoặc quá khứ tiếp diễn phù hợp để hoàn thành câu:
1. He ___________ (fall) off the ladder while he ___________ (paint) the ceiling.
2. ___________ you ___________ (study) when I ___________ (call) you last night?
3. They ___________ (drive) very fast when the police officer ___________ (stop) them.
4. While I ___________ (drive) to work yesterday, I ___________ (see) an accident.
5. I ___________ (see) a great book last week.
6. My friends ___________ (drop in) for a visit while I ___________ (watch) TV last night.
7. I ___________ (see) Andrea at the party last night. She ___________ (wear) a beautiful dress.
8. The children ___________ (go) to bed at 9:00 last night. At 10:00, they ___________ (sleep).
9. We ___________ (have) dinner at a new restaurant last night. While we ___________ (eat), one of the
waiters ___________ (drop) a tray on the floor.
10. Monty ___________ (work) in his garage last night when he ___________ (hear) a loud noise. He
___________ (put) down his tools and ___________ (go) outside into the yard. While he ___________
(look) around, someone ___________ (run) out of his front door. Monty ___________ (call) the police.
He ___________ (tell) the police that the robber ___________ (wear) a black ski jacket and jeans.
11. When Sue ___________ (arrive) at the theater, her friends ___________ (wait) for her inside.
12. John ___________ (break) his leg while he ___________ (play) football.
13. Mr. Duncan ___________ (get) home last night while his wife ___________ (cook) dinner and the
children ___________ (watch) TV.
14. Paula ___________ (stay) home yesterday because it ___________ (snow) very heavily.
15. The fire ___________ (still / burn) at six in the morning.
16. Columbus ___________ (discover) America over 500 years ago.
17. She ___________ (wear) a bright yellow dress when I last ___________ (see) her.
18. He suddenly ___________ (realize) that he ___________ (travel) in the wrong direction.
19. He ___________ (sing) outside his crush’s house when someone ___________ (open) the window and
___________ (throw) out a bucket of water.
20. I __________ (meet) Tom and Jane at the airport a few weeks ago. They __________ (go) to Berlin and
I __________ (go) to Madrid. We __________ (have) a chat while we __________ (wait) for our flights.
21. I ___________ (cycle) home yesterday when suddenly a man ___________ (step) out into the road in
front of me. I ___________ (go) quite fast but luckily I ___________ (manage) to stop in time and
___________ (not / hit) him.
22. I ___________ (walk) along the street when suddenly I ___________ (hear) footsteps behind me.
Somebody ___________ (follow) me. I was frightened and ___________ (start) to run.
23. I _________ (look) out of the window and _________ (see) that people __________ (walk) in the park.
24. I __________ (lie) in the bath when the phone _________ (ring). It _________ (stop) after a few rings.
25. He _____________ (just / stay) in York until Friday when he ___________ (have) to go back to London.
26. The rain ___________ (get) heavier and heavier, so we ___________ (decide) to cancel the picnic.
27. When I ___________ (be) younger, I ___________ (always / complain) about trivial matters.
28. Don’t wake him up! Let him sleep a little longer. He ___________ (work) all night.

NGUYỄN THẾ BẢO | A Comprehensive Guide to English Syntax and Grammatical Rules 4

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