PAST CONTINOUS TENSE

Created by :
Conistia Valenciana Utari
Fendy Budi Cahyono

PAST CONTINOUS
TENSE
Is used to express a continued or
ongoing action in past, an ongoing
action which occurred in past and
completed at some point in past.

EXAMPL
E
Iwas sleepingin bed when I hear Jack
crying.
Hewas
layingin
his
bed,holdinghis
teddy
bear.
My
husbandwas sleepingwhile I gave our
son breakfast. During breakfast Iwas
sittingat
the
table.
Jackwas
wearinghispyjamasandeatingcereal
with a spoon. While Iwas changinghis
diaper the phone rang.

THE FORMULA
I, She,
He, It

Positiv
e

O S + tobe (was/were) +

Infinity-ing

Examples :
O She was crying yesterday.
O They were climbing on a
hill.

You, We,
They

THE FORMULA

S + tobe (was/were)+ NOT +

Infinity-ing
Examples
O He was not studying yesterday.
O They were not sitting on the
table

Negativ
e

THE FORMULA
Interrogati
ve
Tobe (was/were) + S + Infinitying
Example
O Was she drillng yesterday?
O Were they cooking in the
kitchen?

Using PAST CONTINOUS

O A continuous action in the past

which is interrupted by another

action or a time
Iwas taking a bath when the telephone
rang.
At three o'clock, Iwas working.

Using PAST
CONTINOUS
O Background information, to give

atmosphere to a story
It was a beautiful day. The birdswere
singing, the sunwas shining and in
the cafes peoplewere
laughingandchatting.

Using PAST CONTINOUS

O For two actions which happened at

the same time in the past

Iwas watchingTV and hewas
reading.

CONNECTION BETWEEN PAST CONTINOUS

AND SIMPLE PAST

Use WHEN
and WHILE
O The telephone rangwhenI was taking a bath.
O While I was taking a bath, the telephone rang.

1. What (do) when I (call) you last night?

exercise

2. I (sit) in a cafe when you (call).

3. When you (arrive) at the party, who (be)

there?
4. Susie (watch) a film when she (hear) the
noise.
5. It (be) a day last September. The sun (shine)
and the birds (sing) . I (walk) along the street
when I (meet) an old friend.
6. We (play) tennis when John (hurt) his ankle.
7. What (they/do) at 10pm last night - it was
really noisy?
8. When I (walk) into the room, everyone (work).
9. When I (leave) the house, it (snow).
10.He (live) in Russia when the Revolution

THANK YOU FOR YOUR

ATTENTION