1   O tempo verbal past continuous (ou past progressive) tem as seguintes formas:     na afirmativa:

Full Form		Significado
I was doing		eu estive a fazer (1)
you were doing		tu estiveste a fazer (1)
he she it	was doing	ele(a) esteve a fazer (1)
we were doing		nós estivemos a fazer (1)
you were doing		vós estivestes a fazer (1)
they were doing		eles(as) estiveram a fazer (1)

(1) A tradução (para a língua portuguesa) da conjugação deste tempo verbal past continuous é apenas um dos exemplos possíveis entre vários, estando este tempo verbal dependente do contexto de uma frase.     na negativa:

Full Form		Short Form
I was not doing		I wasn't doing
you were not doing		you weren't doing
he she it	was not doing	he she it	wasn't doing
we were not doing		we weren't doing
you were not doing		you weren't doing
they were not doing		they weren't doing

na interrogativa:

Full Form was I doing? were you doing? was he she it doing? were we doing? were you doing? were they doing?

na interrogativa negativa:

Full Form	Short Form
was I not doing?	wasn't I doing?
were you not doing?	weren't you doing?
was he/she/it not doing?	wasn't he/she/it doing?
were we not doing?	weren't we doing?
were you not doing?	weren't you doing?
were they not doing?	weren't they doing?

nas respostas breves:

Full Form  /  Short Form
Yes,	I / he / she / it	was.
	you / we / they	were.
No,	I / he / she / it	was not / wasn't.
	you / we / they	were not / weren't.

 

2   Como podemos verificar no ponto anterior, o tempo verbal past continuous forma-se da seguinte maneira:   WAS / WERE  +  -ING   onde WAS / WERE = verbo auxiliar be no past tense e -ING = verbo principal terminado em -ing (ex. reading, writing)     3   Veja as regras ortográficas dos verbos principais terminados em -ing.     4   Emprega-se o tempo verbal past continuous para descrever:     (a) acções em progresso no passado:

Example	Significado
John was doing his homework last night.	O João esteve / estava a fazer os trabalhos de casa ontem à noite.
Mary was reading a book yesterday.	A Maria esteve / estava a ler um livro ontem.

 

(b) acções que começam antes de uma outra no passado:

Example	Significado
I was having a bath when the telephone rang.	Eu estava a tomar banho quando o telefone tocou.
He was writing a letter when someone knocked at the door.	Ele estava a escrever uma carta quando alguém bateu à porta.

 

(c) acções em simultâneo no passado:

Example	Significado
While Mary was watching television, John was reading a book.	Enquanto a Maria estava a ver televisão, o João estava a ler um livro.
While the children were playing in the garden, their mother was cooking dinner.	Enquanto as crianças estavam a brincar no jardim, a (sua) mãe estava a fazer o jantar.

 

(d) acções repetidas no passado:

Example	Significado
When she worked here, she was always complaining about the room.	Quando ela trabalhou aqui, ela queixava-se sempre da sala.
He was always asking for more money.	Ele estava sempre a pedir mais dinheiro.

 

(e) acções que introduzem o pano de fundo de uma história numa narrativa:

Example	Significado
Mary was walking down the path one afternoon. The birds were singing and the wind was blowing gently. Suddenly, a twig snapped nearby. Mary heard the noise and froze. The birds also stopped singing. ...	A Maria estava a andar ao longo do trilho uma tarde. Os pássaros estavam a cantar e o vento soprava com suavidade. De repente, um ramo estalou-se por perto. A Maria ouviu o estalo e ficou imóvel. Os pássaros também pararam de cantar. ...

 

(f) acções que exprimem pedidos de informação num modo educado:

Example	Significado
I was wondering if you could tell me the time, please.	Não sei se me poderia dizer as horas, por favor.