Past Continuous
Keçmiş davamedici zaman (Past Continuous)
After this lesson you can
- Can describe actions in progress at a specific time in the past.
- Can combine Past Continuous and Past Simple with when and while to tell a story.
- Can set the background scene of a story.
Explanation
Use
Use the Past Continuous for an action in progress at a specific time in the past: At 8 pm yesterday I was having dinner.
Form
was/were + verb-ing: I was working, they weren't working, Were you working?
With Past Simple
A longer action (Past Continuous) is interrupted by a short event (Past Simple): I was walking home when it started to rain.
- when + short action: ...when the phone rang.
- while + long action: The phone rang while I was cooking.
Two long actions at the same time: While I was studying, my brother was playing games.
It is also used to describe the background of a story: The sun was shining. Don't use it for a list of finished actions.
Azərbaycan dilində ətraflı izah
Nə vaxt işlənir?
Past Continuous keçmişdə müəyyən bir anda davam edən hərəkət üçündür:
- At 8 pm yesterday I was having dinner., Dünən saat 8-də şam yeməyi yeyirdim.
Azərbaycan dilində bu mənanı "-ırdı, -irdi" verir: yeyirdim , oxuyurdu. Bu, yaxşı müqayisədir: I was reading ≈ "oxuyurdum".
Forma: was/were + -ing
| Təsdiq | İnkar | Sual | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I/he/she/it | was working | wasn't working | Was she working? |
| you/we/they | were working | weren't working | Were they working? |
Past Continuous + Past Simple
Uzun, davam edən hərəkət (Past Continuous ) qısa bir hadisə ( Past Simple) ilə kəsilir:
- I was walking home when it started to rain., Evə gedirdim ki, yağış başladı.
when adətən qısa hadisədən əvvəl, while isə uzun hərəkətdən əvvəl gəlir:
- The phone rang while I was cooking.
- While we were watching TV, the lights went out.
İki uzun hərəkət eyni vaxtda: *While I **was studying *, my brother was playing games.
Hekayədə fon
Hekayənin əvvəlində səhnəni təsvir etmək üçün də işlənir: The sun was shining and birds were singing.
Tipik səhvlər
- Hər keçmiş hərəkət üçün Past Continuous işlətmək: Yesterday I was going to the shop and was buying milk ✗ → Yesterday I went to the shop and bought milk.
- Vəziyyət feillərini -ing ilə işlətmək: ✗ I was knowing → ✓ I knew.
Examples
At ten o'clock last night I was reading in bed.
Dünən gecə saat onda yataqda kitab oxuyurdum.
She was driving to work when she saw the accident.
Qəzanı gördüyü zaman o, işə maşın sürürdü.
While we were having lunch, it started to snow.
Biz nahar edərkən qar yağmağa başladı.
What were you doing at six yesterday?
Dünən saat altıda nə edirdin?
They weren't listening to the teacher.
Onlar müəllimi dinləmirdilər.
While Mum was cooking, Dad was cleaning the car.
Anam yemək bişirərkən atam maşını təmizləyirdi.
iki paralel uzun hərəkət
It was raining and people were running to the bus stop.
Yağış yağırdı və insanlar avtobus dayanacağına qaçırdılar.
hekayə fonu
Common mistakes
I was cook when you called.
I was cooking when you called.
Past Continuous-da feil -ing formasında olmalıdır.
We was watching TV.
We were watching TV.
we/you/they ilə were işlənir.
While I walked home, I was seeing an old friend.
While I was walking home, I saw an old friend.
Uzun hərəkət Past Continuous, qısa hadisə Past Simple ilə ifadə olunur.
When the phone was ringing, I had a shower.
When the phone rang, I was having a shower.
Qısa, kəsən hadisə (telefon zəngi) Past Simple-dadır.
Yesterday I was getting up at seven and was going to work.
Yesterday I got up at seven and went to work.
Ardıcıl, bitmiş hərəkətlər üçün Past Simple işlənir.
Vocabulary
- accident noun
- a bad event that is not planned, often on the roadqəza“There was an accident on the motorway.”
- drop verb
- to let something fall by accidentəlindən salmaq“She dropped her phone while she was running.”
- fall asleep phrase
- to start sleepingyuxuya getmək“I fell asleep in front of the TV.”
- go out (lights) phrasal verb
- to stop giving lightsönmək“The lights went out during the storm.”
- ring verb
- to make the sound of a bell or phonezəng çalmaq“The phone rang at midnight.”
- shine verb
- to give out bright lightparlamaq“The sun was shining all day.”
- suddenly adverb
- quickly and unexpectedlybirdən“Suddenly, someone knocked on the door.”
- while conjunction
- during the time that...ərkən, ...dığı müddətdə“I fell asleep while I was watching the film.”