1. Isabel was cooking when the telephone rang (past continuous)

Any doubt about the Past Continuous tense?

Before starting with the topic, here you can listen to lots of examples of sentences in past progressive. They are clear and brief. Watch it, because it is an enjoyable way to learn this tense.

Caso práctico

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We are sure you can identify the Past Continuous in affirmative form.

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Paco was visiting the Royal Pavilion in Brighton and was walking around the Lanes. The Lanes are a collection of narrow lanes, famous for their small shops and several antique shops and narrow alleyways.

He tried to speak with his family on the phone every day but sometimes it was too late or he was too busy to call.

One night, Isabel was cooking when the telephone rang. She was wondering what Paco was doing in Brighton. In fact, she was expecting a call coming from Britain. It was Paco, indeed.

They spoke for a long time. Isabel was alone at home and Paco couldn't speak to Sonia. His father was also out, so Paco told his mother about the places he was visiting and that he was also learning a lot about British culture.

Imagen de Diliffen Wikimedia. Licencia CC

Reflexiona

Do you remember the reasons why you can use a Past Continuous in an English sentence?

Retroalimentación

HAVE A LOOK AT THE MAIN USES OF THE PAST CONTINUOUS TENSE:

USE 1. Interrupted Action in the Past.

Use the Past Continuous to indicate that a longer action in the past was interrupted. The interruption is usually a shorter action in the Simple Past. Remember this can be a real interruption or just an interruption in time:

When the phone rang, she was writing a letter.

USE 2. Specific Time as an interruption.

In USE 1 we have seen that the Past Continuous is interrupted by a shorter action in the Simple Past. However, you can also use a specific time as an interruption:

Yesterday at this time, I was speaking on the phone at work.

USE 3. Parallel actions.

When you use the Past Continuous with two actions in the same sentence, it expresses the idea that both actions were happening at the same time. The actions are parallel.

I was studying English while my flatmates were cooking dinner.

USE 4. Atmosphere.

The English language sometimes uses a series of parallel actions to describe the atmosphere at a particular time in the past:

When I got home, my sister was watching television, my mother was reading a book,

my father was speaking on the phone and my grandparents were playing chess in the sitting room.

USE 5. Irritation with always in the past.

The Past Continuous with adverbs like always or constantly expresses the idea that something irritating often happened in the past:

I didn't like that teacher because he was always shouting.

Importante

A SLIGHT DIFFERENCE IN USE BETWEEN THE PAST SIMPLE AND THE PAST CONTINUOUS

In the Past Simple, a specific time is used to show when an action began or finished:

Yesterday at midnight I listened to the radio (I started listening to it at midnight)

However, in the Past Continuous a specific time only shows what was happening, in progress at that time. It is not that the action started or finished at that time, but that the action was already in progress.

Yesterday at midnight I was listening to the radio

(I started earlier than midnight. At midnight I was already listening to the radio)

Traducción

En Past Simple, un tiempo específico denota cuando empezó o terminó una acción :

Yesterday at midnight I listened to the radio (I started listening to it at midnight)

Ayer a medianoche escuché la radio (o sea, empecé a escuchar la radio a las 12).

Sin embargo, con Past Continuous, un tiempo específico indica que estaba ya pasando en ese momento. No es que empezó o terminó a esa hora sino la acción ya estaba en progreso:

Yesterday at midnight I was listening to the radio

(Ayer a medianoche estaba escuchando la radio) (o sea empecé antes de las 12, y seguía haciéndolo cuando dieron las 12.)

Comprueba lo aprendido

Complete the blanks with the Past Continuous forms of the verbs in brackets.

When I phoned my friends they Rellenar huecos (1): JXUwMDJmJXUwMDEyJXUwMDE3JXUwMDE3 Rellenar huecos (2): (TO HOLD) a party at home. Some of them Rellenar huecos (3): JXUwMDJmJXUwMDEyJXUwMDE3JXUwMDE3 Rellenar huecos (4): (TO PLAY) monopoly, others Rellenar huecos (5): JXUwMDJmJXUwMDEyJXUwMDE3JXUwMDE3 Rellenar huecos (6): (TO PREPARE) dinner for their children. The boys Rellenar huecos (7): JXUwMDJmJXUwMDEyJXUwMDE3JXUwMDE3 Rellenar huecos (8): (TO SWIM) in the pool and the girls Rellenar huecos (9): JXUwMDJmJXUwMDEyJXUwMDE3JXUwMDE3 Rellenar huecos (10): (TO LISTEN) to music in the sitting room, except one of them who Rellenar huecos (11): JXUwMDJmJXUwMDE2JXUwMDEy Rellenar huecos (12): (TO WATCH) TV. The little children were practising (TO PRACTISE) the guitar in the garden. A neighbour Rellenar huecos (13): JXUwMDJmJXUwMDE2JXUwMDEy Rellenar huecos (14): (TO COMPLAIN) about the noise they Rellenar huecos (15): JXUwMDJmJXUwMDEyJXUwMDE3JXUwMDE3 Rellenar huecos (16): (TO MAKE).

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Para saber más

About the Past Continuous Tense: explanations in Spanish.

Click here to learn about the forms and uses of the Past Continuous or Past Progressive.