O que é o Past Continuous?

O Past Continuous descreve uma ação que estava em progresso em um determinado momento do passado (corresponde a "estava a fazer" / "estava fazendo").

Ação em progresso

At 8pm, I was watching TV. (Às 20h, eu estava a ver TV.)

Cenário de fundo

It was raining when she arrived. (Estava a chover quando ela chegou.)

Ação interrompida

I was cooking when the phone rang. (Eu estava a cozinhar quando o telefone tocou.)

Formação: was/were + verbo-ing

sujeito + was/were + verbo-ing

I / he / she / it

I was working. She was sleeping.

you / we / they

You were studying. They were laughing.

Forma Negativa

I wasn't listening. They weren't playing.

Forma Interrogativa

Was she working? Were they sleeping?

While / When — palavras-chave

while + past continuous

While I was sleeping, she called.

enquanto (ação contínua de fundo)

It rained while we were walking.

when + past simple

I was reading when she called.

quando (momento da interrupção)

They were playing when it started to rain.

Past Continuous vs Past Simple

Past Continuous (em progresso)

I was watching TV all evening. (Ação longa/de fundo)

Past Simple (concluída)

I watched the film. (Ação pontual/concluída)

Uso conjunto típico

I was walking home when I saw the accident.

Continuous = fundo/interrompida · Simple = ação que interrompe ou pontual.

Verbos Estáticos (Stative Verbs)

Verbos de estado mental, sentimento ou perceção NÃO usam a forma contínua em inglês.

Estados mentais

know, believe, understand, remember

Sentimentos

love, hate, like, want, need

Perceção / Posse

see, hear, have (=possuir), belong

Em português diz-se "eu sabia", em inglês usa-se Past Simple: "I knew" (NUNCA "I was knowing").

Erros comuns (Erros típicos)

I was knowing the answer.

→

I knew the answer.

verbo estático → usar Past Simple

When I cooked, the phone was ringing.

→

When I was cooking, the phone rang.

fundo = continuous · interrupção = simple

She was play tennis.

→

She was playing tennis.

falta a terminação -ing

They was watching TV.

→

They were watching TV.

they → usar "were" (não was)

Resumo: Past Continuous

Forma

was/were + verbo-ing

I was working / They were playing

Uso

ação em progresso no passado

At 8pm I was sleeping

while / when

while + continuous · when + simple

while I was cooking when it rang

Estáticos

sem -ing: know, love, see

I knew (não was knowing)

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