Past Continuous

Presentation

1) I always go to bed at 11pm. So, last night at 11:30 I was sleeping.

7:30 am – breakfast
9 to 12 – classes
12 – lunch
1pm to 5pm – classes
6pm – gym
8pm – dinner
11pm – bedtime

2) When I got to the park, a boy was playing his guitar.
Continue!

3) Write the sentences in Greek:
STORY

4)It was 40 degrees in the shade. It was a very hot Thursday afternoon. A man was wearing a heavy army jacket, a pullover, a  wool cap, jeans and dark sunglasses when he walked into the Ceska Bank on the corner of Marian and Havel streets in downtown Broadway.

The man walked up to the teller and held up a gun for all to see. When the people in the bank saw the gun, they understood that he was a robber. He shouted, “Give me all your money, all the money in this bank, right now! to the teller while he was trying to make her frightened.  She was so afraid that she did whatever he told her to do. While everyone in the lobby was screaming, the security guard was trying to make them silent but everyone was running towards door. Nervously, the young female teller handed the man three big bags which were full of money.  After taking the money, he walked out the door. Luckily nobody was injured.

Ten minutes later, the police came to the bank but it was too late. At that time, the man was already travelling to Las Vegas to spend the money.

1. Where was the robbery?
2. When did it take place?
3. How many robbers were there?
4. Were they wearing disguises?
5. Were they armed?
6. How many robbers were there?
7. What did the workers and customers do?
8. Was anybody injured?
9. What did the robbers take?
10. How did they get away?
11. Who called the police?
12. When did the police arrive?
13. Have the robbers been caught yet?

Grammar Box

Formation:

Past Tense of “To Be” + (main action) verb + ing E. g. I was sleeping when the telephone rang.

Usage:

We use Past Continuous (or Past Progressive) Tense to express:

1. Interrupted Action in the Past.

E.g. I was reading a book, when the cat jumped on the bed. I was preparing for my piano lesson when the phone rang.

2. Specific Time as an Interruption.

E.g. Yesterday, at 3 pm I was still playing football. I was working on my computer at 10 pm yesterday.

3. Parallel Actions in the Past.

E.g. Lora was watching TV while the dogs were playing in the kitchen. Tim was working on his project, while David was playing a video game.

Practice:

1. Unscramble the conversations.

Sam: Really? I guess we were playing basketball while you were studying then. It was a good game.	Kim: How late did you play?
Sam: Hey, Kim, did you go out yesterday?	Kim: Oh, wow! At 10 pm yesterday I was falling asleep on my desk. Couldn’t study any more.
Sam: At 10 pm my dad called, and we were still playing.	Kim: No, I studied for the math exam at the end of the term.

Don: If he was studying all day yesterday, he’ll be OK.	Sam: Yes, I do. It’s the end of the term. He can’t fail this test.
Don: Do you think Kim was really studying when you called him yesterday?	Sam: Sure. We’ll play some other time.

2. Underline to correct form of the verb To Be.

E.g. She was studying /studied when her brother came home.

1. Sam was playing/ played basketball, while Kim studies/ was studying.
2. Lora prepared/ was preparing for her piano lesson when the phone rang.
3. They were taking/ took a test, when the principle entered the room.
4. When my dad came home yesterday, I read/ was reading a book.
5. We had dinner/ were having dinner when somebody knocked on the door.
6. I was watching/ watched TV, while my brother played/ was playing a video game.