The Past Continuous ( Progressive ) Tense

Образование

The Past Continuous Tense образуется при помощи вспомогательного глагола to be в прошедшем времени и причастия настоящего времени смыслового глагола.

Вопросительная форма и краткие ответы:

Was she (I, he, it) working when the phone rang? — Она работала, когда     

зазвонил телефон?

 Yes, she (I, he, it) was.                                         — Да.

No, she (I, he, it) was not (wasn't).                      — Нет.

Употребление

The Past Continuous Tense употребляется для выражения длительного действия, которое началось до определенного момента в прошлом и продолжалось в указанный момент. Этот момент может быть определен:

- точным указанием времени:

 What were you doing at 6 o'clock yesterday? — Что ты делал в 6 часов вечера?

I was reading. — Я читал.

- другим кратким одновременным действием в прошлом, причем это действие всегда выражается глаголом в Past Indefinite:

 I was reading when you came in. — Я читал, когда ты вошла.

- контекстом или ситуацией, т.е. точное указание времени или начало другого действия выражены в предыдущем предложении или ясны из ситуации:

I came to the station. My brother was waiting for me on the platform. — Я при­ехал на станцию. Мой брат ждал меня на платформе.

The Past Continuous Tense употребляется для выражения действия, которое непрерывно продолжалось в течение указанного отрезка времени с целью придания эмоционального оттенка длительности действия. Обычно в предложениях с таким значением употребляются слова all day ( night , и др.) long , the whole morning ( day , night , и т.д.), all the time :

 I was reading from 7 till 9 o'clock. — Я читал с 7 до 9 часов.

 I was reading all day yesterday. — Я читал вчера весь день.

The Past Continuous Tense употребляется для выражения двух длительных действий, которые происходили одновременно в течение одинакового промежутка времени:

        While he was speaking to the teacher I was waiting for him. —

         Пока он разговаривал с учителем, я ждал его.

Поскольку The Past Continuous Tense передает идею длящегося действия, оно используется для описаний:

This morning was really beautiful. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and everyone in the street was smiling and saying hello to each other. — Утро было действительно прекрасным. Сияло солнце, птицы пели, люди на улице улыбались, приветствуя друг друга.

EXERCISES

Exercise 8. Translate the following sentences into Russian. Make them negative and interrogative.

1. Jane was walking home when it started to rain. 2. Mr. Drill was driving to the airport when his car broke down. 3. I was waiting for you at 5 p.m. 4. It was growing dark, so we decided to return. 5. While Jack was sitting biting his nails, we were working out a plan to cover up our traces. 6. She looked out of the window and saw that the children were returning from the school. 7. When we met for the first time, he was selling newspapers on the street. 8. The train was speeding past hills full of cows and sheep. 9. He didn’t see me as he was reading when I came into the room. 10. When I woke up this morning, the sun was shining high in the sky.

Exercise 9.

 One evening a friend invited Susan to a party. Use the words to make sentences saying what each member of the family was doing while Susan was at the party. Use the Past Continuous Tense.

1. Her grandmother/ watch/ her/ favourite/ serial

2. Her mother/ cook/ in the kitchen

3. Her father/ make/ a phone call

4. Her grandfather and her brother/ play/ chess

5. Her sister/ read up for/ the exams

6. His brother/ write/ a letter

Exercise 10. Translate the following sentences from Russian into English. Use the Past Continuous Tense.

1. Вчера в 9 утра я играл в теннис. 2. Вчера с 7 до 9 он переводил статью.

3. Мы готовились к экзамену весь день. 4. Что ты делал вчера утром? 5. На прошлой неделе я не занимался этим проектом. 6. Вчера весь день шел дождь. 7. Они спорили весь вечер. 

Exercise 11. Open the brackets and use either the Past Indefinite or the Past Continuous.

1. We (walk) in silence when he suddenly (ask) me to help him.  2. I just (have) breakfast when the telephone (ring). When I came back to my coffee, it (be) cold.

3. When I (finish) my letter in the hall, a tall beautiful woman with red hair (enter). A dog (follow) her. 4. Ann (drop) two cups while she (wash up) last night, but neither of the cups (break). 5. I (walk) along the street watching what (go on) around me. Fast cars (rush) in both directions and it (be) impossible to cross the street. 6. The old man who (sit) on the bench beside me (keep) silence. Then suddenly he (turn round) to me and (begin) to speak. 7. I (stand) near the fence when suddenly I (hear) the voices. 8. He well (remember) the day when he first (go) to school. 9. We (talk) about Jim when he (run) into the room. 10. The day was marvelous: the sun (shine), the birds (sing) so we (decide) to go for a walk. 11. Miss Brown's telephone (ring) when she (dress). 12. I (light) my pipe and (nod) to him to show that I (listen). 13. When he (come) into the office the secretary (do) a crosswords puzzle. 14. Why you (not listen) to me while I (speak)? 15. He (wait) for her, but she never (come). 16. Mary (play) the piano; John (read); my wife (sew) when suddenly we all (hear) a shout.  17. Next day, while he was (shave) he (cut) himself. 18. Eric (come) in, (look) at the fire, (stand) a moment, (turn) and (go) away. 19. When I (be) a boy, I (want) to be an actor. 20. When they (walk) up the street together they (begin) to talk. 21. At that time I (look) for a job. 22. I (glance) at the terrace below the balcony. He (sit) under one of the trees, smoking. 23. Mr Smith (talk) with his boss when I last (see) him.

Exercise 12. Correct the forms of the verbs if the tenses are wrong.

1. When I came, he was having breakfast.  2. When she worked there, she often made mistakes.  3. When he was phoning, she had a bath.  4. While I was ironing, he read a newspaper.  5. I cooked supper when I heard this news.  6. He was working in this company in 1997.  7. I could not answer your call. I worked in the garden then. 8. They wished to stay because they enjoyed themselves. 9. Were you quarreling all evening? 10. The train was approaching the city when it was starting to rain heavily. 11. The secretary still typed when the boss came in and was putting some documents on the table. 12. When he came up to the square, he saw a lot of people: they sang, danced and shouted. They were celebrating New Year. 13. Just as I was coming into the room, the students discussed the first report. 14. All the time I was writing, he was annoying me with silly questions. 15. The children played while the mother put the room in order. 16. John was taking a photograph of me while I didn’t look. 17. I was seeing you in the park. You were sitting and read a book. 18. I was walking along the road when I saw Dave. I was stopping and we had a chat. 19.We were good friends. We was knowing each other very well.

20.I was enjoying the party but Chris wanted to go home.

Exercise 13. Translate into English .

1. Ты видел его вечером? - Да, он прогуливался по парку. 2. Когда он пришел, мы репетировали пьесу. 3. В это время я увидел своего друга. Он махал мне с другой стороны дороги. 4. Они вернулись в дом, когда пошел дождь. 5. Когда я приехал, Лена как раз уходила. 6. С кем вы разговаривали по телефону, когда я вошла? - Я разговаривала с сестрой. 7.Мальчик стоял у двери и пытался дотянуться до звонка, я решил помочь ему. 8. Все время, пока он говорил, я пытался вспомнить его имя. 9. Он вдруг понял, что едет не в ту сторону. 10. Когда она проснулась, в саду весело пели птицы. 11. Сначала я не узнал его, потому что я был не в очках. 12. Майк выглянул в окно. Снег все еще шел. 13. Когда я приехал, они ждали такси. 14. Всю ночь я слышал какой-то шум. 15. Я, вероятно, выронил ключ, когда искал деньги в сумке.

Будущее продолженное время