Past Continuous (Pasado continuo)

Form (Forma)

Para formar el pasado continuo se utiliza el verbo auxiliar "to be" y el gerundio (infinitivo + "-ing") del verbo. El verbo auxiliar "to be" está en el pasado simple, pero ten en cuenta que "to be" es un verbo irregular.

Sujeto Auxiliar (to be) Gerundio

I, He, She, It wastalking, eating, learning, doing, going...

You, We, They weretalking, eating, learning, doing, going...

Structure (Estructura)

1. Affirmative Sentences (Frases afirmativas)o Ejemplos:o I was talking. (Estaba hablando.)o He was eating. (Estaba comiendo.)o They were learning. (Estaban aprendiendo.)

Estructura Sujeto + verbo auxiliar ("to be") + gerundio.

2. Negative Sentences (Frases negativas)o Ejemplos:o I was not [wasn't] talking. (No estaba hablando.)o He was not [wasn't] eating. (No estaba comiendo.)o They were not [weren't] learning. (No estaban aprendiendo.)

Estructura Sujeto + verbo auxiliar ("to be") + "not" + gerundio.

3. Interrogative Sentences (Frases interrogativas)o Ejemplos:o Were you talking? (¿Estabas hablando?)o Was he eating? (¿Estaba comiendo?)o Were they learning? (¿Estaban aprendiendo?)

EstructuraVerbo auxiliar ("to be") + sujeto + gerundio?

Uses (Usos)

1. El pasado continuo lo utilizamos para una acción larga que ya en el pasado fue interrumpido. La acción que se interrumpe está en pasado continuo y la acción que provoca la interrupción está en pasado simple. "When" y "while" señalan el uso del

pasado simple y continuo. En general, usamos el pasado simple directamente después de "when" y el pasado continuo después de "while."

o Ejemplos:o Jose called while I was watching the news. (Jose llamó mientras estaba

mirando las noticias.)o He was walking to work when he fell. (Estaba caminando hacia su trabajo

cuando se cayó.) o Was it raining when you left? (¿Estaba lloviendo cuando te fuiste?)

2. Se usa el pasado continuo para hablar sobre acciones en un tiempo específico en el pasado.o Ejemploso Paula wasn't living in Spain in 2005. (Paula no estaba viviendo en España en

el 2005.)o We were still working at 10 o'clock last night. (Todavía estabamos trabajando

a las 10 de la noche. )3. Se usa el pasado continuo para dos acciones que estaban ocurriendo al

mismo tiempo en el pasado.o Ejemploso My son was reading while I was cooking. (Mi hijo estaba leyendo mientras

que yo estaba cocinando.)o They were talking very loudly while we were trying to watch the movie.

(Estaban hablando muy alto mientras nosotros estábamos intentando mirar la película.)

Estructura de Oraciones

Oraciones Afirmativas

Pronombre /Sujeto + was/were + Verbo – ing + Complemento + Time expression

Oraciones Negativas

Pronombre / sujeto + wasn´t/weren´t + Verbo-ing + Complemento + Time Expression

Oraciones Interrogativas

Was/Were + Subject + verbo-ing + Complemento + Time expression + ?

Time Expressions

Word Complement

Last… Nigh, week, weekend, month, year, etc.

…Ago A week, month, day, centuries, etc

In… Year, centuries.

Yesterday, at the morning, nigh, summer, Wednesday, etc.

Ejemplos de Oraciones

Afirmativa

Alina was running in the court football last weekend.

Negativa

Alina wasn´t running in the court football last weekend.

Interrogativa

Was Alina running in the court football last weekend?

Otros Ejemplos

Simultaneous actions Past Progressive + Past Simple

While I was playing in the court, Claudia was studying.

Claudia and her sister were riding, when a child ran on front of them.

Ejemplos de Oraciones

Afirmativa

Alina was running in the court football last weekend.

Negativa

Alina wasn´t running in the court football last weekend.

Interrogativa

Was Alina running in the court football last weekend?

Otros Ejemplos

Simultaneous actions Past Progressive + Past Simple

While I was playing in the court, Claudia was studying.

Claudia and her sister were riding, when a child ran on front of them.

Nota: Hay unos verbos que no solemos usar en los tiempos continuos.

Continuous Verb Tenses (Tiempos continuos de los verbos)

A continuación tenemos la lista de los verbos que no podemos usar en los tiempos continuos. La lista se encuentra clasificada en grupos según el tipo. En general, son verbos estáticos y no de actividad (dinámicos). Algunos de estos verbos pueden tener dos significados, uno de acción y otro estático. Si hay más de un significado para un mismo verbo, encontrarás el significado que no podemos usar en los tiempos continuos con la traducción al español.

1. Los verbos de sentido:

feel (el tacto, sentir), hear

hear (el oido, oir), see

see (la vista, ver), smell

mell (el olfato, olor), taste

taste (el gusto, sabor)

o Ejemplos:o Involuntaria:o I see you.

I (can) see you. (Te veo.)

o I am seeing you.o It smells like you are cooking something.

It smells like you are cooking something. (Huele como que estás cocinando algo.)

o It is smelling like you are cooking something.o Voluntaria:o I am seeing you later, right?

I am seeing you later, right? (¿Te veré luego, no?)

o I see you later, right?o I am tasting the soup to see if it is as good as it smells.

I am tasting the soup to see if it is as good as it smells. (Estoy probando la sopa para ver si es tan buena como huele. )

o I taste the soup right now.

Nota: Si la percepción es voluntaria, se puede usar la forma continua. Usamos el verbo "to listen" para oir de forma voluntaria.

2. Verbos emotivos:

believe (creer), dislike

dislike (no gustar), doubt

doubt (dudar), imagine

imagine (imaginar), hate

hate (odiar), know

know (saber, conocer), like

like (gustar), love

love (encantar, amar, querer), prefer

prefer (preferir), realize

realize (dar cuenta), recognize

recognize (reconocer), remember

remember (recordar, acordarse), suppose

suppose (suponer), think

think (creer), understand

understand (entender, comprender), want

want (querer), wish

wish (esperar)

o Ejemplos:o You're lying. I don't believe you.

You're lying. I don't believe you!

o You're lying. I am not believing you!o Don't worry, he understands you.

Don't worry, he understands you.

o Don't worry, he is understanding you.o You think there is something wrong?

You think there is something wrong?

o You are thinking there is something wrong?3. Verbos de estado o verbos abstractos:

be (ser, estar), cost

cost (costar), seem

seem (parecer), need

need (necesitar), care

care (importar), contain

contain (contener), exist

exist (existir)

o Ejemplos:o I am ill.

I am ill.

o I am being ill.

o You are silly.

You are silly. (*Significa que "eres tonto.")

o You are being silly.

You are being silly. (*Significa que "ahora te estás portando como un tonto.")

Nota: Normalmente, "to be" es un verbo estático pero podemos usarlo también para hablar del comportamiento. Entonces, si lo usamos para referirnos a la conducta de alguien, podemos usar el tiempo continuo.

o Otros ejemplos:o David needs a new car.

David needs a new car.

o David is needing a new car.o Cigarettes cost 5 euros now.

Cigarettes cost 5 euros now.

o Cigarettes are costing 5 euros now.o I don't care if you don't like it, you are going to eati it!

I don't care if you don't like it, you are going to eat it!

o I'm not caring if you are not liking it, you are going to eat it!4. Verbos de posesión:

belong (pertenecer), have

have (tener), possess

possess (poseer), own

own (poseer)

o Ejemplos:o I have a car.

I have [I've got] a car.

o I am having a car.o I am having dinner right now.

I am having dinner right now.

o I have dinner right now.

Nota: Cuando usamos "to have" para refirirnos a algo que poseemos (una cosa, una cantidad, etc.), no podemos usarlo en el tiempo continuo. Pero si es parte de una expresión, podemos usarlo en el continuo.

o Otros ejemplos:o Ann owned a house when she lived in New York.

Ann owned a house when she lived in New York.

o Ann was owning a house when she lived in New York.o That belongs to me!

That belongs to me!

o That is belonging to me!5. Verbos de comunicación:

agree (acordar), astonishastonish (asombrar), denydeny (negar), disagreedisagree (no estar de acuerdo), impressimpress (impresionar), meanmean (significar), pleaseplease (agradar), promisepromise (prometer), satisfysatisfy (satisfacer), surprisesurprise (sorprender)

Ejemplos: I disagree, I think it's a great idea.

I disagree, I think it's a great idea.

I am disagreeing, I am thinking it's a great idea. You surprised me!

You suprised me!

You were surprising me!