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Past Continuous Tense

  • English

    Past Continuous Tense in English:

    Past Continuous Tense

    The tense for ongoing actions in the past - Learn how to describe background activities and interrupted events

    When Do We Use Past Continuous?

    Actions in Progress at a Specific Past Time

    • I was watching TV at 8 PM yesterday.
    • They were playing football when it started to rain.
    • She was studying all evening.

    Interrupted Actions in the Past

    • I was cooking dinner when the phone rang.
    • They were driving home when they saw an accident.
    • He was sleeping when the alarm went off.

    Parallel Actions in the Past

    • While I was cooking, my husband was setting the table.
    • She was reading while the children were playing.
    • They were discussing plans while I was taking notes.

    Background Description in Stories

    • The sun was shining, birds were singing, and people were walking in the park.
    • When I entered the room, everyone was talking loudly.
    • It was raining heavily as we were driving to the airport.

    How to Form Past Continuous

    Subject Affirmative (+) Negative (-) Questions (?)
    I I was working I was not working Was I working?
    He/She/It He was working He was not working Was he working?
    You/We/They You were working You were not working Were you working?

    Key Rule:

    Use was/were + verb-ing:

    • I/He/She/It → was + verb-ing
    • You/We/They → were + verb-ing

    Spelling rules:

    • Verbs ending in -e: make → making (drop e)
    • Verbs ending in consonant-vowel-consonant: run → running (double consonant)
    • Verbs ending in -ie: lie → lying (change to y)

    Signal Words and Phrases

    While When As At that time At 8 o'clock All morning/evening Yesterday at... During The whole time

    Examples:

    • While I was cooking, the phone rang.
    • She was studying at 10 PM last night.
    • They were working all day yesterday.
    • When he arrived, we were having dinner.

    Real-Life Examples

    Narrative Story

    "Yesterday at 6 PM, I was walking home from work. It was getting dark, and the wind was blowing strongly. Suddenly, while I was crossing the street, I saw an old friend. He was waiting at the bus stop."

    Police Interview

    "What were you doing at 9 PM last night?"
    "I was watching TV with my family. We were watching a movie. My wife was making popcorn in the kitchen when the phone rang."

    Common Mistakes & Tips

    Mistake: "I was work when he called." (missing -ing)

    Correct: "I was working when he called."

    Mistake: "They was playing football." (incorrect verb form)

    Correct: "They were playing football."

    Mistake: "While I was cooking dinner, I was hearing a strange noise." (state verb)

    Correct: "While I was cooking dinner, I heard a strange noise." (use Past Simple for momentary actions)

    Essential Tip:

    Use Past Continuous for the longer background action and Past Simple for the shorter interrupting action:

    "I was reading (long action) when the phone rang (short action)."

    Quick Practice

    1. I __________ (watch) TV when the lights went out.

    was watching

    2. They __________ (not listen) while the teacher was explaining.

    were not listening / weren't listening

    3. __________ she __________ (sleep) when you called?

    Was, sleeping

    4. We __________ (have) dinner at 7 PM yesterday.

    were having

    Past Continuous vs. Past Simple

    Past Continuous Past Simple
    I was walking to work when I met John. (ongoing action) I walked to work yesterday. (completed action)
    She was studying at 8 PM. (action in progress) She studied for three hours. (completed action with duration)
    While we were having dinner, the phone rang. (background action) We had dinner at 7 PM. (specific completed action)
    They were playing tennis when it started to rain. (interrupted action) It started to rain at 3 PM. (specific event)

    While vs. When:

    • Use while with Past Continuous (long action): "While I was reading, the phone rang."
    • Use when with Past Simple (short action): "I was reading when the phone rang."

    Common Interrupting Actions

    Unexpected Events

    • The phone rang
    • The alarm went off
    • Something fell
    • Someone knocked on the door

    Sudden Realizations

    • I remembered
    • She realized
    • We noticed
    • They understood

    Brief Actions

    • He called
    • It started raining
    • The lights went out
    • Someone arrived

    Pattern: Past Continuous (ongoing action) + WHEN + Past Simple (interrupting action)

    Example: "I was cooking WHEN the phone rang."

  • Polish

    Czas Past Continuous w języku angielskim:

    Czas Past Continuous

    Czas do opisu trwających działań w przeszłości - Naucz się opisywać działania tła i przerwane zdarzenia

    Kiedy używamy czasu Past Continuous?

    Działania w toku w konkretnym momencie przeszłości

    • I was watching TV at 8 PM yesterday.
    • They were playing football when it started to rain.
    • She was studying all evening.

    Przerwane działania w przeszłości

    • I was cooking dinner when the phone rang.
    • They were driving home when they saw an accident.
    • He was sleeping when the alarm went off.

    Równoległe działania w przeszłości

    • While I was cooking, my husband was setting the table.
    • She was reading while the children were playing.
    • They were discussing plans while I was taking notes.

    Opis tła w opowiadaniach

    • The sun was shining, birds were singing, and people were walking in the park.
    • When I entered the room, everyone was talking loudly.
    • It was raining heavily as we were driving to the airport.

    Jak tworzyć czas Past Continuous

    Podmiot Zdania twierdzące (+) Zdania przeczące (-) Pytania (?)
    I I was working I was not working Was I working?
    He/She/It He was working He was not working Was he working?
    You/We/They You were working You were not working Were you working?

    Kluczowa zasada:

    Używamy was/were + czasownik z końcówką -ing:

    • I/He/She/It → was + verb-ing
    • You/We/They → were + verb-ing

    Zasady pisowni:

    • Czasowniki kończące się na -e: make → making (opuszczamy e)
    • Czasowniki C+K+C: run → running (podwajamy spółgłoskę)
    • Czasowniki kończące się na -ie: lie → lying (zamieniamy na y)

    Słowa i wyrażenia sygnalizujące

    While When As At that time At 8 o'clock All morning/evening Yesterday at... During The whole time

    Przykłady:

    • While I was cooking, the phone rang.
    • She was studying at 10 PM last night.
    • They were working all day yesterday.
    • When he arrived, we were having dinner.

    Przykłady z życia wzięte

    Opowiadanie

    "Yesterday at 6 PM, I was walking home from work. It was getting dark, and the wind was blowing strongly. Suddenly, while I was crossing the street, I saw an old friend. He was waiting at the bus stop."

    Rozmowa z policją

    "What were you doing at 9 PM last night?"
    "I was watching TV with my family. We were watching a movie. My wife was making popcorn in the kitchen when the phone rang."

    Częste błędy i porady

    Błąd: "I was work when he called." (brak -ing)

    Poprawnie: "I was working when he called."

    Błąd: "They was playing football." (błędna forma czasownika)

    Poprawnie: "They were playing football."

    Błąd: "While I was cooking dinner, I was hearing a strange noise." (czasownik stanowy)

    Poprawnie: "While I was cooking dinner, I heard a strange noise." (używamy Past Simple dla nagłych zdarzeń)

    Kluczowa porada:

    Używaj Past Continuous dla dłuższej akcji tła i Past Simple dla krótszej akcji przerywającej:

    "I was reading (długa akcja) when the phone rang (krótka akcja)."

    Szybkie ćwiczenia

    1. I __________ (watch) TV when the lights went out.

    was watching

    2. They __________ (not listen) while the teacher was explaining.

    were not listening / weren't listening

    3. __________ she __________ (sleep) when you called?

    Was, sleeping

    4. We __________ (have) dinner at 7 PM yesterday.

    were having

    Past Continuous vs. Past Simple

    Past Continuous Past Simple
    I was walking to work when I met John. (działanie w toku) I walked to work yesterday. (działanie zakończone)
    She was studying at 8 PM. (działanie w trakcie) She studied for three hours. (działanie zakończone z podanym czasem)
    While we were having dinner, the phone rang. (akcja tła) We had dinner at 7 PM. (konkretne zakończone działanie)
    They were playing tennis when it started to rain. (przerwane działanie) It started to rain at 3 PM. (konkretne zdarzenie)

    Różnica: While vs. When:

    • Używaj while z Past Continuous (długie działanie): "While I was reading, the phone rang."
    • Używaj when z Past Simple (krótkie działanie): "I was reading when the phone rang."

    Częste przerywające akcje

    Nieoczekiwane zdarzenia

    • The phone rang
    • The alarm went off
    • Something fell
    • Someone knocked on the door

    Nagłe olśnienia

    • I remembered
    • She realized
    • We noticed
    • They understood

    Krótkie działania

    • He called
    • It started raining
    • The lights went out
    • Someone arrived

    Schemat: Past Continuous (działanie w toku) + WHEN + Past Simple (działanie przerywające)

    Przykład: "I was cooking WHEN the phone rang."