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143
Describing activities that took place in the past
Past continuous
Interrupted actions in the past
We use the
past continuous
to indicate that an action was in progress in the past
and was interrupted. Sometimes a continuous past event (such as running, rea-
ding, eating, talking, dancing, sleeping, jumping, etc.) is interrupted by a momentary
event. In these cases, we use the past continuous for the continuous event and the
simple past for the momentary event.
Examples:
The childen were playing.
The mother was sleeping.
Check your answers in the Answer Key.
1. at six o´ clock this morning
A:
B:
2. at this time yesterday
A:
B:
3. before you came to school
A:
B:
4. last Sunday at 11:00 a.m.
A:
B:
Activity 2.4
We also use the past continuous to describe several actions in progress at the same
time in the past, usually to set a scene.
Examples:
Last night at 7:00 pm:
My father was cooking.
My mother was watching TV.
Mary and Peter were playing.
Use the following times of the day and write the corresponding question. Write your
possible answers.