ELISA ENGLISH's Blog 英語園地

Past Continuous / Past Progressive (過去進行式)

Elisa文章版權所有 - 請勿竊取.

 1.   State a longer action or event (in progress at a particular moment) in the past interrupted by a shorter (completed) action or event in the past.   The action started before that particular moment in the past and continued over a period of time after that certain time.  Overall, it states interrupted actions in progress.

2.  Describe actions happening or in progress at the same time in the past.

3.  State a temporary situation.   (Use past simple to state a more permanent situation)

4.  Describe an action or event still in progress at a specific point in time.  It emphasizes the continuity of the action.

5.  To show irritation over something or somebody in the past.

For example:

1.  I was eating dinner when Joe called.

1.  Mary was sleeping as the robbery occurred It was raining hard when we left the building.

2.  John was watching TV while Jimmy was playing Nintendo.

3.  Mr. Johnson was moonlighting during his career as a elementary school teacher.  

3.  During recess, Mary was playing hide-and-seek with Myra.

4.  What were you doing at 10am yesterday?

4.  Henry was heading to the North Shore this morning.

4.  Everyone was talking about Tiger Wood’s affair all day long.

4.  My baby was born last summer.

5.  John was always teasing his roommates.

Elisa文章版權所有 - 請勿竊取.