TENSES of VERBS

Grammar Simple tenses: Present tense, Past tense and Future tense

Progressive tenses: Present progressive, Past Progressive and

Future Progressive

Perfect Tenses: Present Perfect, Past Perfect and Future Perfect

Module 2

Lesson 5

The ProgressiveTenses

Module 2

Lesson 5A-2

The Past Progressive Tense

The Past Progressive Tense Definition: The past progressive tense is a

verb form used to describe:

• an on-going activity at some point in the past

• an interrupted activity in the past

• Parallel actions going on at the same time in the past.

• repeated action irritating the speaker

The Past Progressive Tense Format: • was+ verb+ing – used with pronoun “I”, all singular pronouns, all singular nouns and collective nouns considered as a unit. o I was reading a very interesting novel all night

long. o While he was waiting for the bus, his friend

invited him to see a basketball game o Nancy was calling you a while ago. o The crew of the ship was scrubbing its hull.

The Past Progressive Tense

• Were + verb + ing form – used with “You” singular or plural; all plural pronouns and nouns, all collective nouns taken individually.

o You were snoring in your sleep last night.

o They were planning a surprise party for Elena a while ago.

o The children were practicing their drama presentation at the gym.

The Past Progressive Tense Conditions in the use of Past Progressive tense: • action in progress at a specific time in the past.

o Peter was teasing his younger sister yesterday.

o His sister was still crying when their mother came home from work.

• action happening at the same time together with the simple past.

oWhile Sherman was driving along Buendia, a boy suddenly crossed the street.

o Johnny was taking a bath when Minnie put their room in order.

The Past Progressive Tense Note: In using “while”, the verb form is in Past

Progressive tense. If “when” is used, the verb form is in the Simple Past tense.

o Johnny was taking a bath while Minnie was putting their room in order.(parallel action)

• action that is sporadic but habitual in nature.

o Andrea was constantly talking about how bright she was.

o Colleen was frequently raiding my closet and (was) borrowing my clothes without my permission.

The Past Progressive Tense

• a series of parallel actions in the past.

o All the students were occupied: Ella was memorizing her oratorical speech; Josie was solving problems in Math, and Diane was designing a poster.

o When I arrived home, Armand was listening to a pop concert; Amy was reading a novel and the twins were giving each other a manicure.

The Past Progressive Tense

• an interrupted activity in the past. oKenneth was sleeping soundly when raucous

laughter awakened him. oElle was cooking dinner when the visitors

arrived • action done within a limited duration of time

o Nicholas lost his cell phone while he was biking.

o I pricked my finger while I was sewing a tear in my blouse.

The Past Progressive Tense

Timeline showing the range of action in the Past Progressive tense

The Past Progressive Tense Adverb indicators of the Past Progressive tense:

• always all (morning/night/day/week/month, etc) • as for (too long/ x seconds/minutes/hours,etc) • constantly last (night/week/weekend/month, etc) • for that (evening/day/week, etc) • forever the whole (day/ night/ time/ week, etc) • frequently this (day/night/week/month, etc) • just when ( clause) • while

The Past Progressive Tense

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The Past Progressive Tense Write the correct form of the enclosed

verb in the Past Progressive tense

1. Romy’s mother constantly (remind) _____ him to behave himself when he was a child.

2. Just as we (leave)______ the house, the telephone rang.

3. The kittens always (get) _____tangled up with the ball of yarn Mother gave them.

The Past Progressive Tense

4. Kerry (not do) _______ anything else last week end but watch reruns of her favorite movies.

5. Yesterday at this time, I (cut) ______ the hedges when it started to rain.

6. You just (sit) ______ while your sister (lug)

7. _______ all those heavy boxes to the storage room.

8. Yesterday, the police (patrol) ______ the scene of the crime, interviewing possible witnesses.

The Past Progressive Tense

If you got a score of 4 or less in the practice exercises, please review the notes on Past Progressive tense before taking the quiz.

Please look over the uploaded “Learning about Verbs” notes in Quia and check whether there are other facts you need to include in your Cheat Sheet.

The Past Progressive Tense Write the correct form of the enclosed

verb in the Past Progressive tense

1. Romy’s mother (constantly remind) was constantly reminding him to behave himself when he was a child.

2. Just as we (leave)were leaving the house, the telephone rang.

3. The kittens (always get) were always getting tangled up with the ball of yarn Mother gave them.

The Past Progressive Tense 4. Kerry (not do) was not doing anything else last

week end but watch reruns of her favorite movies.

5. Yesterday at this time, I (cut) was cutting the hedges when it started to rain.

6. You (just sit) were just sitting while your sister

7. (lug) was lugging all those heavy boxes to the storage room.

8. Yesterday, the police (patrol) were patrolling the scene of the crime, interviewing possible witnesses.

Module 2, Lesson 5A-2: The Past Progressive Tense Quiz

1. Please proceed to www. Quia.com/web

2. On the space provided, enter your log in name and your password.

3. Under “Quiz”, please select Lesson 5A-2, Quiz 1

4. Follow the instructions in the quiz.

5. Follow these same steps when you go to succeeding quizzes after every lesson.