How to form and when to use past tense continuous?

视频信息

答案文本 复制

视频字幕 复制

Past continuous tense describes actions that were in progress at a specific time in the past. The basic formula is was or were plus verb with ing ending. For example, I was reading at 8 PM yesterday shows an ongoing action at a specific past time. This tense helps us describe what was happening during a particular moment in the past. To form past continuous, we need to understand subject-verb agreement. Use was with I, he, she, and it. Use were with you, we, and they. The verb always adds ing. There are three forms: positive uses was or were plus verb-ing, negative adds not after was or were, and questions put was or were before the subject. Some verbs have spelling changes when adding ing, like stop becomes stopping, run becomes running, and lie becomes lying. Past continuous has five key usage situations. First, it describes actions in progress at a specific past time, like I was studying at 9 PM. Second, it shows interrupted actions, such as I was reading when he called. Third, it describes parallel actions happening simultaneously, like while I was cooking, she was cleaning. Fourth, it provides background descriptions in stories, such as it was raining heavily. Finally, it forms polite questions about past activities, like were you working yesterday. These timelines show how actions relate to specific moments or other actions in the past. The key difference between past continuous and simple past is duration versus completion. Past continuous shows ongoing actions that were in progress, like I was reading when he called. Simple past shows completed actions, like I read the book yesterday. Past continuous emphasizes the process, while simple past focuses on the finished action. A common mistake is using simple past when describing interrupted actions. Always use past continuous for the ongoing action that gets interrupted. Past continuous works effectively in complex sentences with time clauses. Use while for simultaneous actions, when for interruptions, and as for actions happening at the same time. Multiple past continuous actions can occur simultaneously, like I was reading while she was writing. In conditional sentences, past continuous shows hypothetical ongoing actions. In reported speech, past continuous maintains the ongoing nature of the original action. These structures help create more sophisticated and nuanced descriptions of past events.