FULL Period 1 8.1 Past Continous Tense A2
Past Continous Tense
Activity: Divide into groups and ask questions about what you did yesterday. Try to use what you know of the past contious to answer them. Make questions such as “What were you doing at 12 AM yesterday?”, “At 3 PM yesterday, were you speaking with a client?” or “What were you doing before 5 PM yesterday?”
Theory: Past Continuous Tense
The Past Continuous tense is used to talk about actions that were happening at a specific time in the past.
Form:
Positive:
Subject + was/were + verb (-ing)
Example:- “I was working on a project at 9 AM.”
- “They were having a meeting at 2 PM.”
Negative:
Subject + was/were + not + verb (-ing)
Example:- “She was not writing an email at 5 PM.”
- “We were not discussing the new plan yesterday.”
Question:
Was/Were + subject + verb (-ing)?
Example:- “Were you talking to the client at 3 PM?”
- “Was he working from home yesterday?”
When do we use the Past Continuous?
To talk about an action that was happening at a specific time in the past:
- “At 10 AM yesterday, I was checking my emails.”
- “They were working on the report at 3 PM.”
To talk about two actions happening at the same time:
- “While I was talking to a client, my boss was sending me an email.”
To describe an action interrupted by another action:
- “I was having a meeting when the phone rang.”
Common Time Expressions with the Past Continuous:
At (time):
“At 2 PM, I was preparing a presentation.”When:
“When the manager arrived, we were discussing the project.”
Important:
- Use “was” with I, he, she, it.
Example: “I was working.” - Use “were” with you, we, they.
Example: “They were having a meeting.”
Reading and Comprehension Activity: Read the short story below about what happened in an office yesterday. Then, answer the comprehension questions that follow.
A Busy Day at the Office
Yesterday was a very busy day at GlobalTech Solutions. At 9 AM, Sarah was preparing the monthly sales report when her manager called her into a meeting. Meanwhile, her colleague John was speaking with a client on the phone. The client had many questions, so John was answering them patiently.
At 11 AM, the whole team was having a meeting to discuss a new project. While they were talking about the budget, the fire alarm suddenly went off! Everyone stopped the meeting and went outside. The team was waiting outside for about 15 minutes until the building was safe.
At 3 PM, Sarah and John were working together on the sales presentation for the board meeting. They were finishing the slides when Sarah’s computer crashed. Luckily, John had saved all the work earlier, so they didn’t lose anything.
Finally, at 5 PM, everyone was getting ready to leave the office when the CEO called for an urgent meeting. The team was tired, but they joined the meeting because it was important.
Part 2: Short Answer Questions
Answer the following questions about the story.
- What was Sarah doing at 9 AM?
- Who was John talking to on the phone?
- What happened during the team meeting at 11 AM?
- What were Sarah and John doing at 3 PM?
- Why did the team join a meeting at 5 PM?