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Cap. 2

Past Continuous

was/were + -ing · while/when · verbos estativos

¿Qué es el past continuous?

El past continuous describe una acción que estaba en progreso en un momento específico del pasado o que servía de fondo a otro evento.

A las 8pm, yo estaba viendo la tele.
→
At 8pm, I was watching TV.
Llovía cuando ella llegó.
→
It was raining when she arrived.
Cocinaba cuando sonó el teléfono.
→
I was cooking when the phone rang.

Forma: was/were + verbo-ing

sujeto + was/were + verbo en -ing
I / he / she / it
I was working. She was sleeping.
you / we / they
You were studying. They were laughing.
Negativo
I wasn't watching TV. They weren't listening.
Pregunta
Was she working? Were they coming?

While / When — palabras clave

while + past continuous
Mientras yo dormía, ella llamó.
acción de fondo
Llovió mientras caminábamos.
when + past simple
Yo leía cuando ella llamó.
momento de interrupción
Jugaban cuando empezó a llover.

Past continuous vs past simple

Past continuous (en progreso)
I was watching TV all evening.
Past simple (terminado)
I watched the film.
Ambos juntos — patrón típico
I was walking home when I saw the accident.
Continuous = fondo / más largo / en progreso
Simple = evento / más corto / completado

Verbos estativos — no van en continuo

Estados mentales
know, believe, understand, think (= opinión), remember
Sentimientos
love, hate, like, want, need, prefer
Percepción
see, hear, smell, taste, feel
Posesión
have (= poseer), belong to, own
Los verbos estativos usan la forma simple, no continua: no "I was knowing" → forma correcta: "I knew".

Errores comunes

I was knowing the answer.
→
I knew the answer.
verbo estativo → past simple
When I cooked, the phone was ringing.
→
When I was cooking, the phone rang.
fondo = continuo · interrupción = simple
She was play tennis yesterday.
→
She was playing tennis yesterday.
was/were + verbo-ing (no verbo base)
They was watching TV.
→
They were watching TV.
they → were (no was)

Resumen

Forma
was/were + verbo-ing
I was working
Uso
acción en progreso · fondo · interrumpida
a las 8pm veía la tele
while + cont · when + simple
fondo vs interrupción
mientras dormía · cuando llamó
Estativos
no continuo: know, love, see
I knew (NO was knowing)
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