Past continuous

Grammatica > Verbi > Il Passato

Il past continuous si costruisce con il past simple del verbo BE (ausiliare) seguito dalla forma in -ing del verbo che indica l'azione

	Past Continuous
Forma Affermativa	Forma Negativa		Forma Interrogativa
	Intera	Contratta
I was playing	I was not playing	I wasn't playing	Was I playing?
You were playing	You were not playing	You weren't playing	Were you playing?
He was playing	He was not playing	He wasn't playing	Was he playing?
She was playing	She was not playing	She wasn't playing	Was she playing?
It was playing	It was not playing	It wasn't playing	Was it playing?
We were playing	We were not playing	We weren't playing	Were we playing?
You were playing	You were not playing	You weren't playing	Were you playing?
They were playing	They were not playing	They weren't playing	Were they playing?

Forma Interrogativa-Negativa	Risposte brevi - Short answers
Wasn't I playing?	Yes, I was	No, I was not/wasn't
Weren't you playing?	Yes, you were	No, you were not/weren't
Wasn't he playing?	Yes, he was	No, he was not/wasn't
Wasn't she playing?	Yes, she was	No, she was not/wasn't
Wasn't it playing?	Yes, it was	No, it was not/wasn't
Weren't we playing?	Yes, we were	No, we were not/weren't
Weren't you playing?	Yes, you were	No, you were not/weren't
Weren't they playing?	Yes, they were	No, they were not/weren't

Uso

Il past continuous si usa per:

Segnalare un'azione che stava avvenendo in un preciso momento nel passato.

I was jogging at 6 a.m. this morning. Stavo facendo jogging stamattina alle 6.

Presentare due azioni che si stavano svolgendo simultaneamente nel passato.

While Maria was cooking, I was setting the table. Mentre Maria cucinava, io preparavo la tavola.

Evidenziare un'azione che si ripeteva continuamente nel passato e che era irritante o fastidiosa.

(La forma affermativa + always: equivale alla struttura italiana "continuava a...").

I was annoyed with her because she was always complaining. Ero seccata con lei perché si lamentava sempre.

Descrivere il contesto o la situazione in cui è accaduto qualcosa in una narrazione.

It was a wonderful evening. The stars were twinkling, and the crickets were chirping.
Era una serata meravigliosa. Le stelle scintillavano e i grilli frinivano.

Similmente al present continuous, anche il past continuous è una forma progressiva e si utilizza con i verbi d'azione (non con i verbi di stato). Con i verbi di stato, si può usare could/couldn't seguito dalla forma base del verbo.

Le congiunzioni when (quando) e while (mentre) introducono entrambe proposizioni subordinate, ma differiscono nel loro uso. L'azione prolungata, espressa al past continuous, può essere introdotta da while, when o as, con il significato di 'mentre'. L'azione breve, espressa al past simple, può essere introdotta solo da when.

I saw Julia when she was driving her mum's car

When I saw Julia she was driving her mum's car

La proposizione subordinata può seguire la principale oppure precederla. Se precede la principale, si inserisce una virgola tra le due: When my brother came home, we were all having dinner in the kitchen.

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