englishcam/The Past Progressive

Conversa Language Center's

englishcam.com

ANA WAS TAKING A SHOWER WHEN IVAN CALLED

1. THE PAST PROGRESSIVE

The past progressive is formed using the past of BE with the GERUND (---ING form).

Singular		Plural
I was playing.		We were playing.
You were playing.		You were playing.
He was playing.		They were playing.
She was playing.
It was playing.

We use the past progressive to express an action that was happening at a specific moment in the past. Examples:

I was watching TV at 9:00 last night.

This means that I started watching TV some time before 9:00 and finished some time after.

|-------------------------------------X--------------------------------------|

started 9:00 finished

As you have done in previous lessons, repeat the sentence during the pause in the video where indicated.

a: What were you doing at 12:30 yesterday?

b: I was having lunch with my friends.

Repeat:

a: Ivan called Ana at 7:15 yesterday evening. He talked to her until almost 8:30.

a: What was Ivan doing at 8:00?

c: He was talking to Ana.

Repeat:

2. PRACTICE

Make sentences using the past progressive:

1. I arrived at the bus stop at 4:00. The bus came at 4:30

At 4:15 I______________________________________________________ (wait)

Repeat:

2. Ana started eating breakfast at 7:50. She finished at 8:10.

At 8:00 Ana ___________________________________________________ (eat)

Repeat:

3. Ivan started watching a movie at 7:30. It finished at 9:30

At 8:30 Ivan ____________________________________________________ (watch)

Repeat:

4. We started drinking coffee at 10:00. We finished at 11:00

At 10:30 we ____________________________________________________ (drink)

Repeat:

5. Bob and Susan played tennis from 2:00 until 4:00 yesterday

At 3:00 yesterday they ___________________________________________ (play)

Repeat:

3. QUESTION PRACTICE

Let’s practice asking questions about what people were doing at certain times. Examples:

a: What were you doing at 9:00 this morning?

b: I was drinking coffee. What were you doing at 6:30 yesterday evening?

c: I was eating dinner. What were you doing last night when I called?

Repeat: What were you doing last night when I called?

a: I was watching TV when you called. What were you doing at midnight on New Year's Eve?

b: I was celebrating with my friends. What were you doing, Kiyomi?

c: Dancing at Have a Nice Day Cafe. What were you doing?

Repeat: What were you doing?

a: I was preparing for my next English class.

b & c: Yeah, right!

4. INTERRUPTED ACTIONS

Look at this sentence:

I was watching TV when the phone rang.

|-------------------------------------X--------------------------------------|

started phone rang finished

Ana was taking a shower when Ivan called.

|-------------------------------------X--------------------------------------|

started Ivan called finished

Notice that the interrupted action is expressed using the past progressive, and the interrupting action is expressed by the past simple.

5. PRACTICE

Combine the following pairs of sentences into one sentence using the model above.

1. John read the newspaper from 6:00 to 6:30 yesterday. At 6:15 his wife came home.

___________________________________________________________________

Repeat:

2. Ana walked in the park from 2:30 to 3:00 yesterday afternoon. At 2:45 she saw Ivan.

____________________________________________________________________

Repeat:

3. I played golf from 9:00 to noon on Sunday morning. At 11:00 it began to rain.

____________________________________________________________________

Repeat:

4. Ivan studied from 7:00 to 8:00 yesterday. His brother called him at 7:30.

____________________________________________________________________

Repeat:

5. We watched TV from 8:00 to 10:00 last night. At 9:00 the doorbell rang.

____________________________________________________________________

Repeat:

That is all for this lesson on the Past Progressive. Until next time, keep practicing your English!