Passé continu

Introduction

On utilise le prétérit continu ("past continuous") pour décrire une action continue dans le passé (l'action commence et se finit dans le passé).

L'action peut être interrompue par une action plus courte (au prétérit/passé simple) ou par un moment précis, par exemple:

I	was preparing	dinner when he	arrived.
	past continuous		past simple

At 8am	yesterday I	was working.
specific time		past continuous

On peut aussi décrire deux actions continues qui se déroulent en même temps, par exemple:

While he	was watching	television, his sisters	were doing	their homework.
	past continuous		past continuous

Section 1 - Prétérit continu - forme affirmative

On forme le prétérit continu avec
la forme passée du verbe "to be" ("was", "were")
+ le verbe principal à la forme "ing’" (participe présent)

Par exemple:

I He / She / It	was	playing	football.
You We They	were

I He / She / It	was	watching	television.
You We They	were

I He / She / It	was	reading	a book.
You We They	were

Exercices d'entraînement

Complétez les phrases en mettant le verbe entre parenthèses à la forme affirmative correcte du prétérit continu.

.

1)

At 4am this morning, I . (sleep)

2)

She when the alarm started. (dream)

3)

They to London when the accident happened. (travel)

4)

We a film while they were making dinner. (watch)

Section 2 - Prétérit continu - forme négative

Pour former une phrase négative, on utilise "wasn't" ("was not") / "weren't" ("were not").

Par exemple:

I He / She / It	wasn't	playing	football.
You We They	weren't

I He / She / It	wasn't	watching	television.
You We They	weren't

I He / She / It	wasn't	reading	a book.
You We They	weren't

Exercices d'entraînement

Complétez les phrases en mettant le verbe entre parenthèses à la forme négative correcte du prétérit continu.

.

1)

We rice for the curry. (boil)

2)

He the house alone. (build)

3)

I the accident very well. (describe)

4)

The clothes very quickly. (dry)

Section 3 - Prétérit continu - forme interrogative

Pour former des questions, on met "was" / "were" avant le sujet

Par exemple:

Was	he	playing	football?
Were	you

Was	she	watching	television?
Were	they

Was the dog running?
Were we being noisy?

Réponses courtes

Yes,	I he / she / it	was.
No,	I he / she / it	wasn't.
Yes,	you we they	were.
No,	you we they	weren't.

Exercices d'entraînement

Complétez les phrases en mettant le verbe entre parenthèses à la forme interrogative correcte du prétérit continu:

.

1)

you when I called? (bake)

2)

the pasta long enough? (boil)

3)

he you? (annoy)

4)

they the highest mountain? (climb)

E xercices d'entraînement supplémentaires

Choisissez la réponse correcte pour compléter la phrase; a, b, c ou d.
.

1)

The teacher ____ exam papers for 5 hours.

was correcting

was corrected

weren't correcting

were correcting

2)

They ____ the man with a blanket when the doctor arrived.

were covering

wasn't covering

was covering

were they covering

3)

____ the street when the accident happened?

Were you crossing

You wasn't crossing

He were crossing

Was they crossing

4)

____ crying for the whole film?

They was

Was she

Were she

Was they

5)

They ____ the accident.

were they discussing

weren't discussing

wasn't discussing

was discussing

6)

He ____ more than her.

weren't earning

were earning

wasn't earning

are earning

Point de langue pour niveau intermédiaire

Le prétérit continu est considéré comme étant un temps de narration, et peut être utilisé pour créer ou décrire une atmosphère à un moment dans le passé ou dans une histoire.

Par exemple:

When she arrived home, everyone was shouting, the baby was crying, the dogs were barking, and outside it was raining heavily.

Le prétérit continu peut être utilisé pour exprimer une action agaçante répétée dans le passé, en utilisant "always" ("toujours") ou "constantly" ("constamment").

Par exemple: