El pasado continuo (también llamado pretérito progresivo) describe una acción o situación que estaba en curso en un momento determinado. Una frase compuesta en este tiempo consta de dos componentes: el verbo "was" o "were", y el participio presente ("-ing") del verbo principal.
Reglas gramaticales
In the affirmative form of a sentence in the past continuous tense, the subject is followed by either "was" or "were," depending on which verb best fits with that subject. Finally, comes the present participle of that main verb. For instance, "I was studying for my exam all afternoon" has "I" as its subject, "was" acting as an auxiliary verb and "studying" serving as its present participle.
In the negative form of a sentence in past continuous tense, "not" is placed between an auxiliary verb and present participle. For instance, "She wasn't paying attention during the meeting" indicates that while "she" is the subject, "was" an auxiliary verb, while "paying" acts as the present participle for main verb "pay attention".
In an interrogative sentence in the past continuous tense, an auxiliary verb is moved to the beginning of the sentence followed by the subject and present participle. For example, "Were you sleeping when I called you?". Here, "you" serves as the subject, "were" an auxiliary verb, and "sleeping" is simply part of its main verb "sleep".
10 Oraciones en Pasado Continuo
- As I was walking to the store, I met an old friend.
- She was singing loudly in the shower when her phone rang.
- They were playing soccer when it started raining.
- Children were laughing and playing games while adults talked.
- We were watching a movie when the power went out.
- He was working on his computer when it suddenly crashed.
- On that beautiful morning, birds were singing and the sun was shining through on those green grasses.
- She was cooking dinner while her husband set the table.
- They were discussing politics all night long.
- The students were listening intently to their teacher's lecture in silence.
Uso del pasado continuo
He aquí algunos ejemplos del uso del tiempo pasado continuo en viñetas:
- En algún momento del pasado, una acción puede haber estado en curso.
- Una acción en curso puede haber sido interrumpida por otro acontecimiento que ocurrió anteriormente o servir de antecedente para que ocurra otra acción futura.
- Descripciones de acciones repetidas que tuvieron lugar en el pasado.
- Describir una acción en curso cuando se ha producido otro acontecimiento o acción en el pasado.
- Relato vívido y detallado de un suceso o situación que ocurrió hace mucho tiempo.
- Para ambientar una narración o historia ambientada en esa época.
- Explicar un viejo hábito o rutina de antaño.
- Para describir una acción o situación pasada que sigue vigente o es relevante en el presente.
- Para expresar irritación, frustración o fastidio por un suceso de ese tipo.
Más ejemplos de oraciones en pasado continuo
Más ejemplos: