LEVEL 4 GRAMMAR, APRIL 6TH, 2017

NOTE: THERE IS NO CLASS ON THURSDAY, APRIL 13TH, BECAUSE THE BUILDING IS CLOSED FOR EASTER. APOLOGIES, I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE OPEN. THE CLASSES START AGAIN ON THURSDAY APRIL 27TH. 


We looked this week at the Past Continuous

We form this tense with

was
were           + verb-ing

we use it to describe an activity in progress at a point in the past.






We often used the past continuous with the past simple - the past continuous is a long, extended activity, the past simple is a short, interrupting action

I was cooking dinner (long, extended activity) when the phone rang (short, interrupting action).


Compare
When I arrived, they were eating dinner. - the action was in progress when I arrived

When I arrived, they ate their dinner - I arrived, and then they started dinner.


In the question we have to invert the words like this....

What were you doing at 3pm yesterday?


For homework we have to complete the exercises on p.74

More practice here and here.

More info here.


We also discussed some verbs that we do not use in the continuous.....

  • state: be, cost, fit, mean, suit
    Example: We were on holiday.
  • possession: belong, have
    Example: Sam had a cat.
  • senses: feel, hear, see, smell, taste, touch
    Example: He felt the cold.
  • feelings: hate, hope, like, love, prefer, regret, want, wish
    Example: Jane loved pizza.
  • brain work: believe, know, think, understand
    Example: I did not understand him.
  • introductory clauses for direct speech: answer, ask, reply, say
    Example: “I am watching TV,“ he said.

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