Past Continuous
Le past continuous décrit une action qui était en cours à un moment précis dans le passé.
Maîtrisez le past continuous et sa différence avec le past simple grâce à nos cours et exercices.
Le prétérit continu permet de décrire une action qui était en cours à un moment précis du passé. Essentiel pour les narrations !
Formation du Past Continuous
Sujet + WAS/WERE + Verbe-ING
| Sujet | Auxiliaire | Exemple |
|---|---|---|
| I | was | I was reading |
| You | were | You were reading |
| He/She/It | was | She was reading |
| We | were | We were reading |
| They | were | They were reading |
Emplois du Past Continuous
Action en cours dans le passé
Décrire ce qui se passait à un moment précis du passé
"At 8 PM, I was watching TV"
"This time yesterday, we were flying to London"
Action interrompue
Une action longue interrompue par une action courte (Past Simple)
"I was sleeping when the phone rang"
"She was cooking when he arrived"
Actions simultanées
Deux actions qui se déroulaient en même temps
"While I was reading, she was listening to music"
"They were talking while we were working"
Contexte et atmosphère
Planter le décor dans une narration
"The sun was shining and birds were singing"
"It was raining heavily that night"
Past Simple vs Past Continuous
Past Simple
Action terminée, ponctuelle
"I ate breakfast at 8"
Action complete, finie
Past Continuous
Action en cours, durée
"I was eating breakfast at 8"
Action en progression
Astuce : Souvent utilisés ensemble :
"I was walking home when I saw my friend."
Erreurs courantes à éviter
I was work yesterday
I was working yesterday
Le verbe principal doit être en -ING
She were sleeping
She was sleeping
Avec he/she/it, on utilise WAS, pas WERE
I was knowing the answer
I knew the answer
Les verbes d etat (know, believe, want) ne s utilisent pas au continuous
Marqueurs temporels fréquents
Formes du Past Continuous
Affirmative
I was playing
They were playing
Négative
I was not (wasn't) playing
They were not (weren't) playing
Interrogative
Was I playing?
Were they playing?
