Passato remoto progressivo

Introduzione

Il past continuous è usato per descrivere un'azione progressiva nel passato (l'azione inizia e finisce nel passato).

L'azione può essere interrotta da un'azione più breve (past simple) o da un'ora specifica, per esempio:

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

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

Possiamo anche descrivere due azioni progressive che capitano allo stesso momento, per esempio:

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

Parte 1 - Past continuous positivo

Formiamo il past continuous con
la forma passata del verbo "to be" ("was", "were")
+ la forma in "ing’" del verbo principale (present participle)

Per esempio:

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

Pratica

Completa le frasi con la forma corretta del past continuous positivo del verbo tra parentesi.

.

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)

Parte 2 - Past continuous negativo

Per formare una frase negativa usiamo "wasn't" ("was not") / "weren't" ("were not").

Per esempio:

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

Pratica

Completa le frasi con la forma negativa corretta del past continuous del verbo tra parentesi.

.

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)

Parte 3 - Domande col past continuous

Per fare domande mettiamo "was" / "were" prima del soggetto

Per esempio:

Was	he	playing	football?
Were	you

Was	she	watching	television?
Were	they

Was the dog running?
Were we being noisy?

Risposte brevi

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

Pratica

Completa le frasi con la forma interrogativa corretta del past continuous del verbo tra parentesi.

.

1)

you when I called? (bake)

2)

the pasta long enough? (boil)

3)

he you? (annoy)

4)

they the highest mountain? (climb)

Ulteriore pratica

Scegli la risposta corretta per completare la frase: a, b, c o d.
.

1)

The teacher ____ exam papers for 5 hours.

were correcting

was correcting

weren't correcting

was corrected

2)

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

were covering

wasn't covering

were they covering

was 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?

Was she

Were she

They was

Was they

5)

They ____ the accident.

was discussing

were they discussing

wasn't discussing

weren't discussing

6)

He ____ more than her.

were earning

wasn't earning

weren't earning

are earning

Punto di lingua intermedio

Il past continuous è considerato un tempo narrativo e può essere usato per creare o descrivere un'atmosfera in un momento del passato o per una storia.

Per esempio: