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English grammar – Past continuous tense

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past continuous tense

In this English lesson you will learn how we use the past continuous tense in English. This lesson is for students of ESL that are looking to perfect their knowledge of English grammar and English grammar rules. 

Basically, the past continuous tense is as follows:

was/were + gerund

Examples:

I was talking to Sara yesterday about her promotion. 

John called while you were on having a bath.

It was raining when I went to the shops. 

Use with the past simple

Sara called while you were having a bath.

I was watching a film when the phone rang.

Don’t use with ‘state’ verbs – like, know, etc.

We don’t normally use the present continuous tense with ‘state‘ verbs.

The car used to belong to my father.

Shorter, temporary actions

I was working in London for a few years back in the early 90s.

Used with ‘always’, ‘constantly’, etc.

He was always scratching. He must have had a rash.

Here’s another lesson to help you improve your English grammar.

To interact with this lesson please visit curious.com

Filed Under: B1 (intermediate), B2 (upper-intermediate), English lessons, english video, Grammar, tutorials, Video Tagged With: english b1, english grammar, past continuous

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