Past Continuous Tense (Was/Were + Verb-ing) — English — 4th Year Middle School — Algerian Curriculum

الرابعة متوسط, تربية وتعليم, دروس المتوسط ضع تعليق

? Past Continuous Tense (Was/Were + Verb-ing) — English — 4th Year Middle School — Algerian Curriculum

Subject: English (Grammar) | Level: 4^th Year Middle School (4AM) | Duration: 1-2 sessions | Exam Priority: ? Very Important for BEM

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? Learning Objectives

✅ 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:

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

Was → I, He, She, It (مفرد)

Were → You, We, They (جمع)

✅ I was reading. → كنت أقرأ

✅ He was writing. → كان يكتب

✅ They were eating. → كانوا يأكلون

✅ 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

نستخدمه لوصف فعل كان مستمراً في وقت محدد في الماضي

? Yesterday at 5 PM, I was doing my homework.

? This morning at 7 AM, she was having breakfast.

? Last night at 10 PM, they were watching a film.

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B. Interrupted actions — الأفعال المتقطعة (Past Continuous + Past Simple)

نستخدم Past Continuous لفعل كان مستمراً و Past Simple لفعل قصير قطعه

? I was reading a book when the phone rang. (كنت أقرأ كتاباً عندما رن الهاتف)

? She was walking to school when it started to rain. (كانت تمشي إلى المدرسة عندما بدأ المطر)

? 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

نستخدم Past Continuous لكلا الفعلين عندما كانا يحدثان في نفس الوقت

? I was listening to music while I was doing my homework.

?‍?‍? 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
✔️ 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.

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).

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”.

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:

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:

was walking / met

fell / was watching

were playing / called

broke / was playing

were having / started

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Exercise 3:

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

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.

⚠️ Key difference: Past Simple = complete action ✅ | Past Continuous = action in progress ?

? Signal words: at 5 PM yesterday, when, while, as, at that moment

Past Continuous Tense (Was/Were + Verb-ing) — English — 4th Year Middle School — Algerian Curriculum