2.2. Dealing with the past

 

The past continuous tense

forest

Imagen de Ray Skinner en Flickr. Licencia CC

The past continuous tense expresses activity at a particular moment in the past.

      The river was flooding the wood.

The action started before that moment and continues at that moment we describe.

It is formed with the verb BE in past tense + an infinitive verb ending in -ing

For example, I was watching a Humphrey Bogart film on TV last night but I fell asleep on the couch. 

                   They were talking about Rick's café.

 

Spelling rules

 

1) Consonant after a short, stressed vowel at the end of the word

Double the consonant.

sit – sitting, put - putting

2) In British English

double one -l at the end of the word:

travel - travelling

3) One -e at the end of the word

 

But with double –e: (-ee)

Leave out the -e.

 

add -ing

write – writing

take – taking

see – seeing

4) Verbs ending in -ie Change 'ie' to 'y'. lie - lying
5) Verbs ending in -c Change 'c' to 'ck'. picnic - picnicking

 

Use

  • Use it to describe that a longer action in the past was interrupted.

The interruption is usually a shorter action in the Simple Past.    

 He was drinking when the stranger came into the bar.  

 Estaba bebiendo cuando el estraño entró al bar.

Two men

Imagen  en wikimedia. Licencia CC

 

  • Use it to describe parallel actions taking place in the past.

 Rick was smoking while Victor was talking about Lisa.  

 Rick estaba fumando mientras Victor estaba hablando de Lisa.

(Nota: En castellano lo expresaríamos de forma distinta)                                                      

  • Or simply use it to describe events that are occurring at that moment in the past.

 Where were you last night at 10:00 pm?

 I was sitting at my desk, working.

  ¿Dónde estuviste anoche a las 10?

 Estaba sentado a mi mesa, trabajando.

 

Watch this video in Spanish for more explanations.

Do it yourself

Question

How to study Irregular verbs.

Listen to this teacher talk about it.

 

Video alojado en Youtube

Does he recommend you study word lists?

Answers

Yes he does. He recommends his students study verb tables.

No he doesn't. He recommends they study verbs in context. Like chunks (= pieces) or different expressions.

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