| Past Continuous Tense We played basketball yesterday. We started at 4 o’clock and finished at 5 o’clock. We were playing basketball at 04. 30. I watched a film at on TV last night. The film started at 10 o’clock and finished at 12 o’clock. I was watching a film on TV at 11 o’clock. |
| was / were – ing doing I / he / she / it was playing We / you / they were watching reading |
| We use this tense to say that something was happening or somebody was doing something at a certain time in the past. I was living in Kastamonu at this time last year. They were studying English half an hour ago. (Yesterday evening, at six o’clock.) My mother was cooking the dinner. My father was helping her. I and my brother were playing chess. My grandmother was knitting a pair of socks for me. My sister was doing her homework. |
| doing I / he / she / it was not (wasn’t) playing We/you/ they were not (weren’t) watching reading |
| I wasn’t studying Maths at ten o’clock last night. They weren’t playing football. Ayþe wasn’t going to the theatre. |
| doing Was he/she/it playing Were we/you/they watching ? reading |
| Were you having a shower at half past ten? Yes, I was. / No, I wasn’t. Was she writing a letter half an hour ago? Yes, she was. / No, she wasn’t. Were they cheating during the exam? Yes, they were. / No, they weren’t. What were you doing at six o’clock yesterday evening? Where were you living this time last year? Why was she crying? |
| We often use the past continuous and the simple past to say that something happened in the middle of something else. Jack was reading a book. The phone rang. I was watching TV. Emma came. We were going to school yesterday morning. We saw a traffic accident. I was watering the flowers yesterday evening. A friend of mine visited me. I saw Jack in the park yesterday. He was sitting on a bank and reading a newspaper . Esra was writing a letter in her room last night. The electricity went off. They were walking along the street. A dog barked at them. He was running. He tripped on a rock and fell down. We use the past continuous and the past simple together. We can join two sentences with “when” or “while”. When + simple past We saw an accident. We were driving home. When the accident happened, we were driving home. The telephone rang. I was having a shower. When the phone rang, I was having a shower. They heard an explosion. They were wating at the bus stop. When they heard the explosion, they were waiting at the bus stop. It began to snow. We were having an exam. When it began to snow, we were having an exam. He was running. He tripped on a rock and fell down. He was running when he tripped on a rock and fell down. While + past continuous I was cooking. I burnt my hand. While I was cooking, I burnt my hand. They were playing tennis. It began to rain. While they were playing tennis, it began to rain. She was studying English. The electricity went off. While she was studying English, the electricity went off. We were watching TV. Our friends came. Our friends came while we were watching TV. I was having breakfast in the hotel. The fire alarm rang. The fire alarm rang while I was having breakfast in the hotel. |
| PAST SIMPLE Subject + verb 2 ... I watched TV last night. They went to the cinema yesterday. Subject + did + not + verb1 I didn’t watch TV last night. They didn’t go to the cinema yesterday. Did + Subject + Verb1...? Did he watch TV last night? Yes, he did./No, he didn’t. Did they go to the cinema yesterday? Yes, they did. / No, they didn’t. Wh- + did + subject + verb1...? What did he do last night? Where did they go yesterday? *Who helped him? *What happened? |
| PAST CONTINUOUS Subject + was / were + verb-ing... I was watching TV at 9 o’clock last night. They were going to the cinema when I saw them. Subject + was / were + not + verb-ing I wasn’t watching TV at 9 o’clock last night. They weren’t going to the cinema when I saw them. Was / were + subject + verb-ing...? Was he watching TV at 9 o’clock last night? Yes, he was./ No, he wasn’t. Were they going to the cinema when you saw them. Yes, they were. / No, they weren’t. Wh- + was / were + subject + verb-ing...? What was he doing at 9 o’clock last night? Where were they going when you saw them? *Who was helping him? * What was happening? |