Prétérit continu

Formation du past continuous

Sujet + was/were + verbe-ing

• was → I, he, she, it
• were → you, we, they
• Négatif : wasn't / weren't + verbe-ing

Exemples

• I was sleeping.
• She was reading a book.
• They were playing football.
• He wasn't listening.
• They weren't studying.

Orthographe du -ing

• Verbe en -e muet : supprimer le -e → make → making, write → writing
• Consonne + voyelle courte : doubler la consonne → run → running, sit → sitting

Action interrompue : past continuous + past simple

L'action longue en arrière-plan est au past continuous. L'événement soudain qui l'interrompt est au past simple. Le lien entre les deux : when.

Exemples

• I was watching TV when my phone rang.
• She was doing her homework when the lights went out.
• We were having dinner when someone knocked at the door.

À retenir

• when = quand (introduit l'événement court au past simple)
• Past continuous = décor / action de fond
• Past simple = événement qui interrompt

While + past continuous / past simple

While (pendant que) introduit l'action longue au past continuous. L'événement court qui suit est au past simple.

Structures possibles

• While + past continuous, past simple.
• Past simple + while + past continuous. (même sens, sans virgule)

Exemples

• While I was walking, it started to rain.
• It started to rain while I was walking.
• While she was cooking, the cat knocked over a glass.
• He fell asleep while he was studying.
• While they were talking, the bus arrived.

While vs when

• while + past continuous (action longue)
• when + past simple (événement court)