مدونة التربية و التعليم في الجزائر – دروس، فروض، نتائج امتحانات مدونة التربية والتعليم في الجزائر | تحضير الدروس، فروض واختبارات، نتائج البكالوريا وBEM، مسابقات التوظيف، والتوجيه المدرسي للطلاب وأولياء الأمور.
? Past Continuous Tense (Was/Were + Verb-ing) — English — 4th Year Middle School — Algerian Curriculum
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Subject: English (Grammar) | Level: 4th Year Middle School (4AM) | Duration: 1-2 sessions | Exam Priority: ? Very Important for BEM
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? Learning Objectives
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- ✅ Form the Past Continuous tense (was/were + verb-ing)
- ✅ Use Past Continuous for actions in progress at a specific past time
- ✅ Combine Past Continuous with Past Simple (interrupted actions)
- ✅ Use “when” and “while” correctly with past tenses
- ✅ Answer BEM-style exercises on Past Continuous
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? Introduction — What is the Past Continuous?
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The Past Continuous (also called Past Progressive) describes an action that was in progress at a specific time in the past. It tells us what someone was doing at a particular moment.
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بالعربية: زمن الماضي المستمر (Past Continuous) نستخدمه لوصف فعل كان مستمراً في وقت معين في الماضي. مثلاً: “كنت أشاهد التلفاز الساعة الثامنة مساءً أمس” — هذا يعني أن الفعل (المشاهدة) كان مستمراً في تلك اللحظة.
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أمثلة تمهيدية:
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- Yesterday at 8 PM, I was watching TV. ? (كنت أشاهد التلفاز)
- At 7 o’clock this morning, she was sleeping. ? (كانت نائمة)
- They were playing football when it started to rain. ⚽ (كانوا يلعبون كرة القدم عندما بدأ المطر)
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? 1. Formation — كيفية التكوين
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| Form | Structure | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Affirmative (مثبت) | Subject + was/were + verb(-ing) | I was studying. / They were playing. |
| Negative (منفي) | Subject + was/were not + verb(-ing) | She wasn’t sleeping. / We weren’t listening. |
| Question (استفهام) | Was/Were + subject + verb(-ing)? | Were you working? / Was he running? |
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? Remember: Was vs Were
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- Was → I, He, She, It (مفرد)
- Were → You, We, They (جمع)
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✅ I was reading. → كنت أقرأ
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✅ He was writing. → كان يكتب
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✅ They were eating. → كانوا يأكلون
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✅ We were watching a film. → كنا نشاهد فيلماً
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⏰ 2. Uses of Past Continuous — الاستعمالات
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A. An action in progress at a specific past time
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نستخدمه لوصف فعل كان مستمراً في وقت محدد في الماضي
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? Yesterday at 5 PM, I was doing my homework.
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? This morning at 7 AM, she was having breakfast.
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? Last night at 10 PM, they were watching a film.
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B. Interrupted actions — الأفعال المتقطعة (Past Continuous + Past Simple)
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نستخدم Past Continuous لفعل كان مستمراً و Past Simple لفعل قصير قطعه
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? I was reading a book when the phone rang. (كنت أقرأ كتاباً عندما رن الهاتف)
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? She was walking to school when it started to rain. (كانت تمشي إلى المدرسة عندما بدأ المطر)
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? He was cooking dinner when he cut his finger. (كان يطبخ العشاء عندما جرح إصبعه)
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C. Two simultaneous past actions — فعلان متزامنان في الماضي
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نستخدم Past Continuous لكلا الفعلين عندما كانا يحدثان في نفس الوقت
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? I was listening to music while I was doing my homework.
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??? Mum was cooking while dad was reading the newspaper.
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? 3. Past Simple vs Past Continuous — المقارنة
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| Past Simple | Past Continuous |
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| ✔️ A completed action (فعل منتهي) | ? An action in progress (فعل مستمر) |
| I watched a film last night. (شاهدت الفيلم كاملاً) | I was watching a film when you called. (كنت أشاهده عندما اتصلت) |
| V-ed / irregular form (شربت / لعبت) | Was/were + V-ing (كنت أشرب / كنت ألعب) |
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✍️ 4. Exercises — تمارين تطبيقية
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Exercise 1: Complete the sentences with the Past Continuous form of the verbs in brackets.
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- I ______ (read) a book at 9 PM last night.
- She ______ (not/sleep) when I called her.
- They ______ (play) football in the park yesterday afternoon.
- We ______ (have) dinner when the guests arrived.
- What ______ you ______ (do) at 8 o’clock this morning?
- He ______ (study) while his sister ______ (listen) to music.
- The children ______ (not/watch) TV; they ______ (do) their homework.
- I ______ (wait) for the bus when I saw the accident.
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Exercise 2: Put the verbs in brackets into the correct tense (Past Simple or Past Continuous).
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- I ______ (walk) home when I ______ (meet) my friend.
- She ______ (fall) asleep while she ______ (watch) a film.
- They ______ (play) video games when their mother ______ (call) them.
- He ______ (break) his leg while he ______ (play) basketball.
- We ______ (have) a picnic when it ______ (start) to rain.
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Exercise 3: Rewrite the sentences using “when” or “while”.
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- I was taking a shower. The doorbell rang. → I ______ a shower ______ the doorbell ______.
- She was driving to work. She saw an accident. → ______ she ______ to work, she ______ an accident.
- We were studying. He was listening to music. → He ______ to music ______ we ______.
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? Answer Key — الإجابات
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Exercise 1:
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- was reading
- was not sleeping / wasn’t sleeping
- were playing
- were having
- were…doing
- was studying / was listening
- were not watching / were not watching…were doing
- was waiting
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Exercise 2:
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- was walking / met
- fell / was watching
- were playing / called
- broke / was playing
- were having / started
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Exercise 3:
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- was taking…when…rang
- While she was driving…she saw…
- He was listening to music while we were studying.
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? Summary — ملخص سريع
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| Use | Structure | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Action in progress at a past time فعل مستمر في وقت محدد |
Was/Were + V-ing | At 6 PM, I was studying. |
| Interrupted action — فعل متقطع | Past Continuous + when + Past Simple | I was sleeping when the phone rang. |
| Two simultaneous actions — فعلان متزامنان | Past Continuous + while + Past Continuous | He was reading while she was cooking. |
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⚠️ Key difference: Past Simple = complete action ✅ | Past Continuous = action in progress ?
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? Signal words: at 5 PM yesterday, when, while, as, at that moment
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📍 دروس مشابهة
- The Simple Past Tense — English 4AM
- Second Conditional (If Clauses Type 2) — English 4AM
- Present Perfect Tense — English 4AM
