ENGLISH LEARNER'S STATION: Verb Tense: Past Continuous

🌟 Verb Tense: Past Continuous

1. What is the Past Continuous?

The Past Continuous (also called the Past Progressive) is used to describe:

An action that was happening at a specific time in the past
An action that was in progress when another action occurred
Two actions happening at the same time in the past

2. How to Form the Past Continuous

Subject + was/were + verb-ing

Subject	Verb: "read"	Example Sentence
I/He/She/It	was reading	She was reading a book at 9 p.m.
You/We/They	were reading	We were reading while it was raining.

🔹 Use “was” for singular subjects (I, he, she, it)
🔹 Use “were” for plural subjects (you, we, they)

3. Negative Form

Subject + was/were + not + verb-ing

I was not sleeping at that time.
They were not listening to the teacher.
He wasn’t doing his homework.

4. Question Form

Was/Were + subject + verb-ing?

Were you watching TV?
Was she cooking when you arrived?
Were they playing soccer yesterday?

5. When to Use the Past Continuous

To describe an action in progress at a specific time in the past

At 8 p.m., I was studying.
She was driving home at 6 p.m.

To describe an action that was interrupted by another action

I was watching a movie when the phone rang.
They were eating dinner when I arrived.

To describe two actions happening at the same time in the past

While he was cooking, she was cleaning.
I was reading while my brother was playing video games.

6. Signal Words

These are commonly used with Past Continuous:

while
when
at (a specific time in the past)
all day, all night, at that moment, as

7. Common Mistakes

Using the wrong auxiliary verb:

❌ They was watching TV.
✅ They were watching TV.

Forgetting the “-ing” form:

❌ He was read a book.
✅ He was reading a book.

Mixing Past Simple and Past Continuous incorrectly:

❌ I was cook when the guests arrived.
✅ I was cooking when the guests arrived.

8. Quick Practice

Fill in the blanks using Past Continuous:

I __________ (study) when you called me.
They __________ (not/sleep) at 11 p.m.
What __________ you __________ (do) at that time?
While we __________ (walk), it started to rain.

(Answers: 1. was studying, 2. were not sleeping, 3. were, doing, 4. were walking)

#pastcontinuous #learnenglish #englishgrammar #grammarlesson #hoctienganh #tienganhcoban #verbtense #englishforkids #basicgrammar

🌟 Thì Động Từ: Quá Khứ Tiếp Diễn (Past Continuous)

1. Thì Quá Khứ Tiếp Diễn Là Gì?

Thì Quá Khứ Tiếp Diễn (còn gọi là Past Progressive) được dùng để diễn tả:

Hành động đang xảy ra tại một thời điểm cụ thể trong quá khứ
Hành động đang diễn ra thì có hành động khác chen vào
Hai hành động xảy ra đồng thời trong quá khứ

2. Cấu Trúc Thì Quá Khứ Tiếp Diễn

Chủ ngữ + was/were + động từ-ing

Chủ ngữ	Động từ: "read"	Ví dụ câu
I/He/She/It	was reading	She was reading a book at 9 p.m. (Cô ấy đang đọc sách lúc 9 giờ tối.)
You/We/They	were reading	We were reading while it was raining. (Chúng tôi đang đọc sách khi trời đang mưa.)

🔹 Dùng “was” cho chủ ngữ số ít: I, he, she, it
🔹 Dùng “were” cho chủ ngữ số nhiều: you, we, they

3. Câu Phủ Định

Chủ ngữ + was/were + not + động từ-ing

I was not sleeping at that time. (Tôi đã không ngủ vào lúc đó.)
They were not listening to the teacher. (Họ đã không nghe giáo viên giảng.)
He wasn’t doing his homework. (Anh ấy đã không làm bài tập.)

4. Câu Hỏi

Was/Were + chủ ngữ + động từ-ing?

Were you watching TV? (Bạn đang xem TV phải không?)
Was she cooking when you arrived? (Cô ấy đang nấu ăn khi bạn đến à?)
Were they playing soccer yesterday? (Họ có đang chơi bóng hôm qua không?)

5. Khi Nào Dùng Thì Quá Khứ Tiếp Diễn

Mô tả hành động đang diễn ra tại một thời điểm cụ thể trong quá khứ

At 8 p.m., I was studying. (Lúc 8 giờ tối, tôi đang học bài.)
She was driving home at 6 p.m. (Cô ấy đang lái xe về nhà lúc 6 giờ.)

Hành động đang xảy ra thì bị hành động khác cắt ngang

I was watching a movie when the phone rang. (Tôi đang xem phim thì điện thoại reo.)
They were eating dinner when I arrived. (Họ đang ăn tối thì tôi đến.)

Hai hành động xảy ra song song trong quá khứ

While he was cooking, she was cleaning. (Khi anh ấy đang nấu ăn, cô ấy đang dọn dẹp.)
I was reading while my brother was playing video games. (Tôi đang đọc sách trong khi em trai tôi chơi game.)

6. Dấu Hiệu Nhận Biết

Một số trạng từ thường đi với thì quá khứ tiếp diễn:

while (trong khi)
when (khi)
at + thời gian cụ thể trong quá khứ
all day, all night, at that moment, as

7. Lỗi Thường Gặp

Dùng sai trợ động từ:

❌ They was watching TV.
✅ They were watching TV. (Họ đang xem TV.)

Quên thêm -ing vào động từ:

❌ He was read a book.
✅ He was reading a book. (Anh ấy đang đọc sách.)

Dùng sai cấu trúc giữa quá khứ đơn và quá khứ tiếp diễn:

❌ I was cook when the guests arrived.
✅ I was cooking when the guests arrived. (Tôi đang nấu ăn thì khách đến.)

8. Bài Tập Nhanh

Điền thì quá khứ tiếp diễn vào chỗ trống:

I __________ (study) when you called me.
They __________ (not/sleep) at 11 p.m.
What __________ you __________ (do) at that time?
While we __________ (walk), it started to rain.

(Đáp án: 1. was studying, 2. were not sleeping, 3. were, doing, 4. were walking)