I was studying for one hour or I have been studying for one hour (length of time = one hour).Ī sentence like I was studying one hour ago shows WHEN you studied, but it doesn't tell us the length of time (i.e. The length of time is shown by 'for' or 'since', e.g. Sorry, I don't really understand the question. Because the person says 'I need a shower', I am assuming that he/she has already stopped playing.Ģ. We can also use the past continuous to refer to the present or future in hypotheses (when we imagine something). Level: intermediate Past continuous and hypotheses

MultipleSelection_MTY2NDE= Past continuous and past simple When I got home, I really needed (NOT was needing) a shower. We do not normally use the past continuous with stative verbs. with verbs which show change or growth:.I was practising every day, three times a day. for something that happened again and again:.to show that something continued for some time:.I was writing a letter.Ĭompare: At eight o'clock I wrote (= started writing) some letters. for something that happened before and after a specific time:.The other day I was waiting for a bus when … This use of the past continuous is very common at the beginning of a story: The children were doing their homework when I got home.Ĭompare: The children did their homework when (= after) I got home. We use the past continuous to talk about the past:įor something which happened before and after another action: The past continuous is made from the past tense of the verb be and the –ing form of a verb:

To swim past tense