PAST SIMPLE CONTINUOUS

PAST SIMPLE CONTINUOUS
SUBJECT + WAS / WERE + VERB-ing + (Complements)


STATEMENT
You were listening to the radio
He was coming from school by car
You were being an animal

NEGATION
You were not listening to the radio
He was not coming from school by car
You were not being an animal

INTERROGATION
Were you listening to the radio?
Was he coming from school by car?
Were you being an animal?


TIME EXPRESSIONS:
• YESTERDAY / THE DAY BEFORE YESTERDAY
• AT (Hours) / ON (Days of the Week) / IN (Months, Years and Centuries)
• LAST (day, year, time, ...) / THIS / THAT (day, year, time, ...)
• WHEN versus AS / WHILE: WHEN + Past Simple
(Action interrupting the continuous)
WHILE / AS + Past Simple Continuous (Action continuous)
WHEN she heard the noise, she was making a cup of tea
WHILE / AS she was making a cup of tea, she heard the noise

USES:
• Continuous activity in the past: They were working in London last year
• Continuous activity in the past interrupted by a past action: I was watching TV when the light went off
• Simultaneous actions in the past: Mary was reading a book WHILE / AS Peter was watching a film
• With ALWAYS to show annoyance (irritation) or surprise: She was always laughing

STATIVE VERBS:
• They cannot be used in the progressive form
• They are used to express feelings, likes and dislikes, possession and mental activities:

- LOVE, HATE, WANT
- LIKE, DISLIKE
- OWN, HAVE GOT
- THINK, REMEMBER, KNOW, UNDERSTAND, BELIEVE