Grammar Part 2 Past Continuous

Part 2: Past Continuous

Sentence Types	Structures	Examples
Declarative Sentence (ประโยคบอกเล่า)	was/were + verb + ing	I was speaking. You were speaking.
Negative Sentence (ประโยคปฏิเสธ)	was/were not + verb + ing	I was not speaking. You were not speaking.
Interrogative Sentence (ประโยคคำถาม)	was/were … + verb + ing?	Was I speaking? Were you speaking?

Use the past continuous to provide the background scene to an action or event (usually in the past simple). We often use words like when, while and as. (ใช้ past continuous เพื่อให้ข้อมูลเกี่ยวกับเบื้องหลังของเหตุการณ์ ซึ่งปกติมักเป็น past simple และมักใช้คำว่า when while และ as ร่วมอยู่ใน past continuous)

Examples:

There was an accident while she was watching TV.
He was doing his homework in his bedroom when his friends arrived at his home.
We often use the past continuous and the past simple together to say that something happened in the middle of something else. (เรามักใช้ past continuous และ past simple ร่วมกันเพื่อบ่งบอกว่า มีบางสิ่งเกิดขึ้นระหว่างนั้น)

Examples:

I saw Jim in the park. He was sitting on the grass and reading a book.
It was raining when I woke up.
When Tom arrived, we were having dinner.
Use the past continuous when we want to emphasize the activity without focusing on its completion. (ใช้ past continuous เมื่อต้องการเน้นย้ำถึงกิจกรรมที่ทำ ไม่ได้เน้นเกี่ยวกับการสิ้นของเหตุการณ์หรือกิจกรรมนั้น)

Examples:

Last year I was working at the cinema while studying for my degree.
This time last year I was living in Brazil.