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THE PAST PROGRESSIVE TENSE The Past Progressive describes an action which went on during a stretch of time in the past and finished. Other actions may have happened at the same time (short and immediate or ongoing). While I was walking down the street yesterday, I suddenly met my boss. An ongoing incomplete action which continued for a stretch of time in the past and ended. The emphasis is on the duration of the action and the fact that the doer invested time and effort in the activity Donna was doing her homework for hours yesterday. Last weekend, the guys were shopping all night long. The Prime Minister was still talking at 09:00 yesterday morning. (Donna, the guys, and the Prime Minister were all busy doing an activity, which lasted for some time before it finished.) A few ongoing actions that were happening at the same time While you were riding the train to the airport, I was trying to call you. (During his ride to the airport, I was continuously trying to call him, but since the train was making a noise, he didn’t hear his cell phone. It was all happening at the same time.) Michelle was working in London the same month her boyfriend was spending his vacation there. (It turned out that Michelle’s boyfriend was spending his vacation in parallel to her working in London. The two got to be together during that time after all.) Ron was making dinner while his roommates were cleaning the apartment. (The roommates were all busy doing something concurrently and therefore could not be interrupted.) An ongoing past activity with a shorter past action that occurred and was completed in the middle of the longer one I was jogging in the park when you called. (He called at some point during the jog. Because I was running, (longer activity) I couldn’t answer my cell phone as I was busy in the middle of the activity. He only made one call (short action) and didn’t continue trying.) Don was writing an email when the computer suddenly shut down. (Don was in the process of writing an email on the computer when the malfunction caught him by surprise. He was already in the middle of the activity when something new happened, in this case interrupting his work.) As Sherry was walking home, she unexpectedly met an old friend. (Sherry was minding her own business getting home (extended activity), when she suddenly bumped into a friend (short sudden activity)). Background information, to give atmosphere to a story It was a beautiful day. The birds were singing, the sun was shining and in the cafes people were laughing and chatting. An annoying and repeated action in the past, usually with ‘always’ He was always leaving the tap running. NB: Remember you can’t use this tense or any continuous tense with stative verbs.
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