1. THE PAST CONTINUOUS TENSE

3. FORM Was / were + verb + -ing They were driving to Paris.
I was writing my English homework all afternoon.
We weren’t waiting for a long time.
What were they doing?
Was your friend listening to the teacher?

4. Use
1) to express activities in progress before, and probably after, a particular time in the past (that were not yet finished at a past time)
At 7 o’clock this morning I was having my breakfast.
Yesterday at 5p.m. Sarah was drinking coffee with a friend of hers.

5. Examples: Erika’s Schedule At 8:30, Erika breakfast.
8 – 9: had breakfast
9 – 10: finished her homework
10 – 11: exercised
11 – 12: cooked lunch
12 – 2: shopped
2 – 5: talked to a friend on the phone
At 8:30, Erika breakfast.
At 9:15, she her homework.
At 10:15, she
At 11:30, she lunch .
At 1, she
At 3, she to a friend.
was having
was exercising
was shopping
was finishing
was cooking
was talking

6. 2) for descriptions
Jan looked beautiful. She was wearing a green dress.
The man was busy. He was walking fast and in his right hand he was carrying a suitcase.

7. 3) to express an interrupted past activity
When the phone rang, I was having a shower.
Tim was driving his car when a bird hit his windscreen.

8. 4) to express an incomplete activity
I was reading a book during the flight.
She was learning Statistics yesterday.

9. 5) to describe the background when narrating a story
It was a lovely morning. Matthew got out of bed and opened his bedroom window. The sun was shining and some birds were singing in the trees.

10. While
two (or more) actions that were in progress in the past at the same time
Examples:
Sorry, I wasn’t listening to you while you were talking.
While I was reading, he was writing.

11. When
for an action that was in progress that was interrupted by another event in the past):
Examples:
I was just leaving when you called.
He was doing his maths homework when I arrived.
When my phone rang, the teacher was explaining the rules.

12. Punctuation with WHEN and WHILE
When and while at the front of a sentence, use a comma:
When you called, I was watching TV.
While he was washing the clothes, I was doing the dishes.
When and while in the middle of a sentence, no comma:
I was watching TV when you called.
I was doing the dishes while he was washing the clothes.

13. Question and Negative sentences
A: Was the man writing at 6p.m. yesterday?
B: No, he wasn’t. The man was not writing .
He was reading a newspaper.
read
A: Were they chatting at 8 yesterday?
B: No, they weren’t. They weren’t chatting .
They were discussing a project.
discuss a project
A: Was the girl singing at 4p.m. yesterday?
B: No, she wasn’t. She was not singing .
She was dancing to the music .
dance

14. What was/were … doing at that time?

15. While Amy was reading yesterday, Suzy____________ on the sofa.
The telephone ___________ while Suzy _____________ on the sofa.
was sleeping
rang
was sleeping
While Eddie was sleeping yesterday,
Daniel ____________the computer game.
Kitty ___________ beside Daniel.
was playing
was standing
was looking
Peter ___________ at some photos
when Millie _______ him a pencil.
gave

16. Past Simple or Past Continuous
sometimes both tenses are possible. The Past Simple focuses on past actions as complete facts. The Past Continuous focuses on the duration of past activities
Compare:
A: I didn’t see you at the party last night.
B: No. I stayed at home and watched the football.
A: I didn’t see you at the party last night.
B: No, I was watching the football at home.

17. The past simple  is used to talk about finished actions in the past.
The past continuous  is used to describe an action
in progress at a specific moment in the past.
Compare:
What did you do yesterday? PAST SIMPLE
What were you doing at yesterday evening? PAST CONTINUOUS

18. youtube - past continuous
Tutorial
ONLINE EXERCISE

19. It was Friday again, the day for famous parties at Wellington High School. Students (dance) in the garden and everyone   (enjoy) the pleasure of being away from boring lessons. When Sarah   (come) to the party, the music had already started. Tim suddenly   (notice) Sarah and   (feel) shocked.
He had been looking for her for 2 years. They   (meet) each other at a holiday camp in 1999, but mysteriously Sarah   (disappear) after a while. He had been thinking about her since then.

20. At the party, Sarah (talk) to one of her friends while most of the students (drink) as much as they could. Tim (decide) to talk to her and (wait) for her friend to leave. When he (go) next to her, she (search for) something in her bag, so she (not see) him. As soon as he (touch) her on the shoulder, she (raise) her head and couldn’t believe her eyes. She had never forgot him. At the end of the party, no one (be) happier than Sarah and Tim as they (find) each other after 2 years.