{"id":11684,"date":"2020-02-10T15:58:04","date_gmt":"2020-02-10T14:58:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/?p=11684"},"modified":"2021-10-11T09:24:42","modified_gmt":"2021-10-11T07:24:42","slug":"past-continuous-tense-advanced","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2020\/02\/past-continuous-tense-advanced\/","title":{"rendered":"Past Continuous Tense (Advanced)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Level: Intermediate-Advanced<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The past continuous is formed by combining the past tense of the be-verb<\/span> and the \u2013ing form<\/span> of a verb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

was\/were + -ing (was\/were doing)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This tense is used when speaking about something that happened before and after another past action<\/span>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The students were revising<\/span><\/strong> for their test when the teacher entered<\/span><\/strong> the room.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

COMPARE<\/strong>: The student revised <\/span><\/strong>when (= after) the teacher entered<\/span><\/strong> the room.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is also very typical to use it at the beginning of a story<\/span>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two days ago, he was fixing<\/span><\/strong> the roof when \u2026
Last month, as she was starting<\/span><\/strong> to learn Chinese, \u2026<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It can also be used for something that happened before and after a definite time<\/span>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was 10 o’clock. I was reading<\/span><\/strong> a book.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

COMPARE<\/strong>: At 10 o’clock, I read <\/span><\/strong>(= started reading) a book.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another use of this tense is to express that something continued to happen for a period of time<\/span>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My back was aching<\/span><\/strong>.
The team was losing<\/span><\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is also used for talking about something that happened repeatedly<\/span>.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was practicing <\/span><\/strong>my speech every day, three times a day.
The members were organizing <\/span><\/strong>a protest against their leader.
Dan and Selena were<\/span><\/strong> always bickering<\/span><\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It can also be used with verbs to express change or growth<\/span>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company was growing<\/span><\/strong> sluggishly.
Her French was improving<\/span><\/strong>.
His hair was turning<\/span><\/strong> grey.
The climate was changing<\/span><\/strong> adversely.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The past continuous is NEVER<\/strong> used with stative verbs<\/span><\/strong>. The past simple is used instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CORRECT<\/strong>: When they decided to get a divorce, they really needed<\/span> <\/strong>a lawyer.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

WRONG<\/strong>: <\/em> When they decided to get a divorce, they really was needing<\/span> <\/strong>a lawyer.<\/em> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Level: Intermediate-Advanced The past continuous is formed by combining the past tense of the be-verb and the \u2013ing form of a verb. was\/were + -ing (was\/were doing) This tense is used when speaking about something that happened before and after another past action. The students were revising for their test when the teacher entered the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[309],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11684","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-grammar"],"yoast_head":"\nPast Continuous Tense (Advanced) | phone english blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/phoneenglish.es\/blog\/2020\/02\/past-continuous-tense-advanced\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Past Continuous Tense (Advanced) | phone english blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Level: Intermediate-Advanced The past continuous is formed by combining the past tense of the be-verb and the \u2013ing form of a verb. was\/were + -ing (was\/were doing) This tense is used when speaking about something that happened before and after another past action. 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