Page 49 - BASIC GRAMMAR PRACTICE

Verbs

38 Past Continuous

FORM

Positive Question Negative
I I I
He he He was not
was Was
She she She (wasn't)
It working. it working? It working.
We We were not
You were Were You (weren't)
They theyI They

USE
To describe a past action at some point between its beginning and its end.
The past continuous is often interrupted by the past simple.

I was having a bath when the phone rang.
John arrived when I was eating.
I was listening to the radio when I had an idea.
We were playing tennis at 7 o'clock last night.

Note the difference between:
a) When she arrived, we had dinner.
b) When she arrived, we were having dinner.
The time order for (a) is arriving then having dinner.
The time order for (b) is having dinner, during which she arrived.

When she arrived, we were having dinner.

Practice

38a Look at these sentences and answer the questions by circling A or B.
1 When I saw them, they were playing football.

Which happened first?
A I saw them (B) they were playing football

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