El past continuous en inglés: was/were + -ing
Diego De La Croix
Profesor bilingüe francés-español
El past continuous describe acciones en progreso en un momento del pasado. Se forma con was/were + verbo en -ing. Equivale al «estaba + gerundio» español (estaba caminando, estaban jugando).
¿Cuándo se usa el past continuous en inglés: was/were + -ing?
I was sleeping at midnight.
Estaba durmiendo a medianoche.
La acción estaba en curso en un momento específico del pasado.
I was reading when the phone rang.
Estaba leyendo cuando sonó el teléfono.
Una acción larga (continuous) interrumpida por una corta (simple).
She was working while he was playing.
Ella trabajaba mientras él jugaba.
Dos acciones largas que ocurrían al mismo tiempo.
Cómo se forma el past continuous en inglés: was/were + -ing
Afirmativa
was (I/he/she/it) / were (you/we/they) + -ing.
I was walking. / They were sleeping.
Negativa
was not (wasn't) / were not (weren't) + -ing.
She wasn't reading. / We weren't playing.
Interrogativa
Was/Were + sujeto + -ing.
Were you working?
Tablas de conjugación del past continuous en inglés: was/were + -ing
Conjugación completa de 5 verbos en indicative past continuous.
walk
Ver todo →| Persona | Forma |
|---|---|
| I | was walking |
| you | were walking |
| he/she/it | was walking |
| we | were walking |
| they | were walking |
sleep
Ver todo →| Persona | Forma |
|---|---|
| I | was sleeping |
| you | were sleeping |
| he/she/it | was sleeping |
| we | were sleeping |
| they | were sleeping |
read
Ver todo →| Persona | Forma |
|---|---|
| I | was reading |
| you | were reading |
| he/she/it | was reading |
| we | were reading |
| they | were reading |
play
Ver todo →| Persona | Forma |
|---|---|
| I | was playing |
| you | were playing |
| he/she/it | was playing |
| we | were playing |
| they | were playing |
work
Ver todo →| Persona | Forma |
|---|---|
| I | was working |
| you | were working |
| he/she/it | was working |
| we | were working |
| they | were working |
Errores frecuentes al conjugar el past continuous en inglés: was/were + -ing
*I was walk when it rained.
El past continuous necesita -ing: I was walking when it rained.
*He were playing. (was/were incorrecto)
He/she/it usa was: He was playing.
*When I was cooking, the phone was ringing.
La interrupción corta usa past simple: When I was cooking, the phone rang.
El past continuous en inglés: was/were + -ing: comparación inglés y español
El past continuous (was walking) equivale a «estaba + gerundio» (estaba caminando) en español. La estructura es muy similar en ambos idiomas.
Preguntas frecuentes sobre el past continuous en inglés: was/were + -ing
Past continuous en inglés
Practica con walk, sleep, read. Ver: past simple, present continuous.
Practica el past continuous en inglés: was/were + -ing
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