Comprehension activities such as using photos in magazines will help with the past continuous. It can be used to describe what someone was doing at a particular point in time. You might want to consider teaching the past simple together with the past continuous for intermediate level classes, as the past simple will be review for students. This means that I started studying before 8 p.m. and I continued after 8 p.m. Past continuous and hypotheses We can also use the past continuous to refer to the present or future in hypotheses (when we imagine something). The past continuous and the past simple help us to show how two past actions or situations are connected. Peter M. replied on 17 January, 2021 - 08:27 Poland. It is used: Often, to describe the background in a story written in the past tense, e.g. Follow up these questions with a question asking what was happening when the event occurred. Remember this can be a real interruption or just an interruption in time. I tried to give him some advice, but he wasn't listening. Problems … Continue introducing the past continuous by asking students simple questions in the past simple about events. It will be raining at this time tomorrow. However, it is not possible to use while before the clause with the simple verb: He arrived while I was washing my car = correct, He arrived when I was washing my car = correct, I was washing my car when he arrived = correct, I was washing my car while he arrived = incorrect, oussamach replied on 25 December, 2020 - 22:55 Algeria, thank you.. my big problem in english is the grammar. They were watching TV when I came. I took the textbook because I needed it ………. Beare, Kenneth. Which you use depends upon the context and the speaker's intention or focus, neither of which we have here as your sentence is presented in isolation. With as many problems as we are all faced with in our work and life, it seems as if there is never enough time to solve each one without dealing with some adversity along the way. Although the connection is not obvious, it is possible to link this to the meanings above. Kenneth Beare is an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher and course developer with over three decades of teaching experience. I was preparing ………. i can understand when i read or when some one speak to me .. but i can't reply correctly or write a text without mistakes.. and i know that i have a lof of mistakes in my comment.. keep going. "How to Effectively Teach the Past Continuous to EFL and ESL Students." What's the difference? In the second case we don't know which action takes place first, so past perfect continuous is the better choice here as well. The past continuous can also show that an activity was in progress for some time, not just for a moment. Start by speaking about what was interrupted. Make sure that students understand the use of time clauses with "when" and "while" to help them use the past continuous in context. A creative writing exercise on the past continuous will also help students build their ability to integrate the past continuous into more advanced structures. Other challenges can include the use of the past continuous to express an activity that happened over a period of time. Describe an important past event and then fill in the details as a painter would fill in background details by using the past continuous form. She said my piano teacher ………. The Past Continuous Tense Meaning: It is used to talk about a longer background action in the past, when a shorter action interrupts it or happens during it. Past Continuous Timeline. The past continuous tense is often used in combination with the past simple tense. Before yet I thought, 'while' goes with past continuous and 'when' with past tense. 70. Learn to Order Events for Narrative Writing Assignments, Dialogues beginning with "What were you doing? 72. (2020, August 27). We will live the house. She was sitting on the bench and reading a book at that moment. The past continuous is another tense that is commonly taught to beginners, usually after they’ve learned the past simple. as you said before it's unusual using the continuous tense with already so that's why the answer to this question is '' were already closing''. Did Sam play basketball when he was at university? I woke up early this morning. It's crucial for students to understand that the past continuous describes a particular moment in time, and not a completed event. were playing with ……….. past continuous (1) Type the correct answer into the box. I was going ………. One action (past continuous) is interrupted by another action (past simple). There are several reasons as to why we use the passive voice in English. I think the answer '' already closed'' is still correct. He will try to contact us next week. He ……….. Dialogues beginning with "What were you doing?" When I woke up this morning, it was snowing. Even teachers who are native speakers do not always agree on whether the past perfect is more appropriate than the past simple in some sentences. I'll prepare a timeline to reintroduce the past perfect. Students will learn to contrast the use of the past continuous and past simple (Action 1 was happening when Action 2 interrupted it); Students will make controlled and freer practice of the past continuous and past simple in this function. 1st (if clause) and 2nd (result) The typical mistakes are usually made in the forms of two tenses. Improve your grammar skills with LearnEnglish Grammar, the #1 educational mobile app. Present Perfect Continuous Tense Structure: Subject + Has/have + been + Verb(+ing) Example: I have been completing my assignment for the last three days. 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