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El pasado continuo en inglés
Pasado continuo (Past continuous): lo que estaba pasando en un momento del pasado. Por ejemplo: I was sleeping.
Para qué sirve
- Lo que estaba pasando en un momento del pasado: At eight I was cooking.
- La acción larga que otra corta interrumpe (con when): I was sleeping when you called.
- Dos cosas a la vez, con while: I was reading while she was cooking.
- El fondo de una historia, la escena: It was raining and people were running.
Cómo se forma
| Frase | Estructura | Ejemplos |
|---|---|---|
| Afirmativa | sujeto + was / were + verbo-ing | I was working. They were working. |
| Negativa | sujeto + wasn't / weren't + verbo-ing | I wasn't working. They weren't working. |
| Pregunta | Was / Were + sujeto + verbo-ing? | Was she working? Were you working? |
Palabras que lo delatan
Si ves estas palabras en una frase, es una pista de que hace falta el pasado continuo:
- at 8 o'clock last night
- while
- when
- all day yesterday
- at that moment
- this time last year
Errores típicos de hispanohablantes
I was sleep when you called.→ I was sleeping when you called.Después de was o were, el verbo lleva -ing.When you called, I slept.→ When you called, I was sleeping.La acción que estaba en marcha (dormir) va en pasado continuo; la corta que la interrumpe (llamar), en pasado simple.I didn't sleeping.→ I wasn't sleeping.El pasado continuo se niega con wasn't o weren't, no con didn't.
El mismo verbo en otros tiempos
Con I was working at eight. («Estaba trabajando a las ocho.») como punto de partida, mira cómo cambia la idea según el tiempo:
- Presente simple: I work every day. — Trabajo todos los días.
- Presente continuo: I am working now. — Estoy trabajando ahora.
- Pasado simple: I worked yesterday. — Trabajé ayer.
- Futuro (will y going to): I will work tomorrow. — Trabajaré mañana.
- Present perfect: I have worked here since 2019. — Trabajo aquí desde 2019.
- Pasado perfecto: I had worked before she arrived. — Había trabajado antes de que ella llegara.
- Present perfect continuo: I have been working here since 2019. — Llevo trabajando aquí desde 2019.
- Futuro continuo: I will be working at eight. — Estaré trabajando a las ocho.
- Futuro perfecto: I will have worked here for ten years by June. — En junio llevaré diez años trabajando aquí.
Cinco frases para empezar
El método de tutorus: escribe una frase de cada tipo y comprueba que suenan bien.
- I was studying at nine last night.Afirmativa
- I wasn't sleeping when you called.Negativa
- What were you doing at eight?Pregunta
- I was living in Madrid in 2020.Sobre tu vida
- It was raining while we were walking home.Para una conversación