Past Continuous

Past Continuous Tense: Red Ed,

Ingrid, and Beatrice have a picnic

Click on this link to see the original Scratch Animation:

Past Continuous Story

Here is the same story as a movie (good for stopping and starting):

The next day, Mr. Orange went for his daily walk in the park. To his surprise, he saw Red Ed having a picnic in the park with Beatrice and Ingrid. Mr. Orange felt confused.

“Hi, you guys!” Mr. Orange said. “I didn’t know you all knew each other. You don’t seem like you should belong together. How can a person who likes to talk about the past and a person who likes to talk about now be together?”

“Hi!” the three friends answered. “Don’t be confused. We have been friends for a long time. It really makes sense. You see, BE likes to talk about now, but mostly she loves to talk about things that keep going or aren’t finished. That can happen now or in the past.”

“Really? Like what?”

“Well, we can tell you what we were doing before you came. We were finding a good picnic spot. We were spreading out our blanket. We were taking out our food. Beatrice was watching the musicians. Ingrid was grilling hamburgers. Red Ed was telling stories.”

“Oh. I see. So during that time you are telling me about, those things weren’t finished. They were all still happening.”

“Yes, so we use Red Ed in the sentence to show past, and BE and ING in the sentence to show that the actions were still going on in the past.”

“How do you know which order to put the words in?”

“When Red Ed is here, he always holds Beatrice. She loves him. They even use different secret names when they are together. She will not use her secret names IS, ARE, and AM when Red Ed is here. She uses only two special names: WAS and WERE. The verb goes after WAS or WERE, and the ING goes with the verb.”

“How do you know when it is time to use WAS and when it is time to use WERE?”

“WAS mostly goes with one person: I, HE, SHE, and IT. WERE goes with YOU, or with more than one person, like THEY or WE.”

“Can I try some sentences?” asked Mr. Orange.

“Sure. Tell use what you were doing before you came here.”

“Before I came to the park, I was very busy. All morning I was working. I was cleaning my house. I was answering phone calls. I was baking bread. I was writing letters to my friends. I was getting many things done.”

“Very good. See. You did a nice job telling us about what you were doing.”

“Look out!” yelled Ed. “A bee is flying near BE. I think it will sting BE.”

The bee came very close, but it did not sting BE.

“I can’t believe it,” said Mr. Orange. “That was close. We were just standing here talking, when the bee flew near BE.”

“Yes,” said Ingrid. “I am glad no one was hurt.”

“Did you notice that you used the word WHEN?” asked Red Ed.

“No,” said Mr. Orange. “Did I?”

“Yes,” said Red Ed. “WHEN and WHILE are the two words we use the most to talk about things that were happening in the past but weren’t finished yet during the time we are talking about. Here are two examples: A few minutes ago, Beatrice was looking at the musicians while Ingrid was grilling hamburgers. After that, we were talking when the bee almost stung BE. WHILE tells about two things happening at the same time in the past, and WHEN tells about something that interrupted another action in the past.”

“WHEN and WHILE. Okay. I will try to remember those words. Now, however, I have to get home, because while we were talking here, my bread was rising. It should be finished now, and I have to go home and bake it. See you all later.”

“Bye.”

Let’s Practice Finding BE, Red Ed, and ING

Read these sentences from the story. Draw boxes around the verbs and color the verbs orange. Draw boxes around the BEs and Red Eds together (WAS or WERE). Make the words half white and half red. Draw boxes around the INGs. Color the ING boxes green.

We were finding a good picnic spot.

We were spreading out our blanket.

We were taking out our food.

Beatrice was watching the musicians.

Ingrid was grilling hamburgers.

Red Ed was telling stories

All morning I was working.

I was cleaning my house.

I was answering phone calls.

I was baking bread.

I was writing letters to my friends.

I was getting many things done

Write your own sentences about your morning. What were you doing this morning? Use your imagination if you can’t remember.

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Past Continuous Lesson Plans, Worksheets, and Activities