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The construction would + Infinitive is also used to describe repeated past actions (but not states). It is more common for written language and often occurs in reminiscences.
* Note the difference in meaning between 'used to do smth' and be (get) used to smth or doing smth', e.g. We used to go to the cinema a lot but we never get the time now. It's hard to understand Scottish people if you're not used to their accent. I'm not used to walking long distances.
When we worked in the same office, we would have coffee together.
4. Reported present time actions after the reporting verbs like say, tell, ask, wonder, etc in the Past Simple (according to the rules of Sequence of Tenses).
Direct Speech
Indirect (Reported) Speech
1. Jane said to me: «I am never late for classes». 2. A
1. Jane laid me (that) she was never late for classes. 2. A
B. The Past Continuous (Progressive) Tense
FORMATION
The Past Continuous tense is formed with the help of the auxiliary was/were and the Present Participle of the main
verb.
Table 5
Affirmative
Negative
Interrogative
I
was
working
I
was not
working
was
I
working?
you
were
you
were not
were
you
he
she
it
was
he
she
it
was not
was
he
she
it
we
you
they
we
you
they
were
we
you
they
were not
were
Contractions:
wasn't = was not weren't = were not
USAGE
The Past Continuous (Progressive) tense denotes:
1. An action in progress at a definite moment* or at a definite period of time in the past indicated normally by adverbial modifiers such as at 5 p.m., at that time yesterday, from 2 to 3, between three and four, all the morning, the whole day, etc.
At one o'clock she was having lunch.
What were you doing yesterday at seven p.m.?
It was raining the whole morning.
The moment in the past can also be expressed by the context or by an adverbial clause of time.
I looked out of the window. The sun was shining
and the birds were singing.
When I came in he was lying in bed.
Obviously, the action of the subordinate clause of time in such cases is simultaneous with that of the principal clause. However, the two actions are not always identical in character. One can be an action in progress (i.e. a long action) while the other may be an event (i.e. a short action) which 'interrupts' the activity going on at the given past moment.
We were going down in the lift when it suddenly stopped.
* Similar to the meaning of 'now' in the Present Continuous tense, the definite moment in the past may actually mean both at and around a particular moment in the past. The meaning of the Past Continuous in the latter case is that of a temporary past activity contrasted to a permanent past activity expressed by the Past Simple Tense.
// happened while I was living in Bristol. They lived in London all their life.
There can be situations with two parallel past actions in progress, which are both expressed by the Past Continuous or by the Past Simple tenses, or there may be a combination of the Past Continuous and the Past Simple. The two simultaneous actions in progress are normally linked by 'while'.
Jane was cooking while I was laying the table. While we were packing (packed) the suitcases, Bill was talking (talked) to the travel agent.
Note that when the two actions are not simultaneous, i.e.
when one action happened after the other, the Past Simple
is used for both the verbs.
When Brenda arrived I was telephoning Jim. (She arrived during my telephone call.) Wlien Brenda arrived I telephoned Jim. (I telephoned after her arrival.)
2. A past action of unusual frequency to convey a feeling of a
When he studied at school he was always making trouble.
3. Present time actions in progress in reported speech after the reporting verbs like say, tell, ask, wonder, etc in the Past Simple (according to the rules of Sequence of Tenses).
Direct Speech
Indirect (Reported ) Speech
1. Jim asked: «Is it freezing hard?» 2. Mike asked: «What are you cooking for di
1 . Jim wondered if it was freezing hard. 2. Mike asked his mum what she was cooking
for di
Compare the use of the Past Simple (Indefinite) and the Past Continuous (Progressive) tense-forms.
1. It was a cold winter night. It was snowing hard and I wanted to get back home quickly.
2. Jack fell off the ladder when he was painting the ceiling.
3. Yesterday evening we waited for him in the office for nearly an hour. We gave up in the end and went home.
4. What were you doing on the corner last night around 9 o'clock? - I was waiting for a bus to go down town.
5. When I opened the envelope I was delighted to see a picture of my friend's family.
6.1 dropped my bag when I was ru
PRACTICE
1. Choose between the Past Simple and Past Continuous (Progressive) tense-forms.
Thomas Edison started/was starting work on the railway when he was twelve, selling newspapers and snacks. There were long periods with nothing for him to do so he built/ was building himself a little laboratory in the luggage van where he could carry out experiments when he didn't sell/ wasn 't selling things to passengers. Another thing that he occupied/was occupying himself with was reading. Rejoined a library and read/was reading every single book in it. One day, when he waited/was waiting at a station he noticed/was noticing a small boy who played/was playing by the track, unaware that a train approached/was approaching. Edison ran/was ru