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ESL forum >
Ask for help > why past continuous?
why past continuous?
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Vale A.
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why past continuous?
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Hello dear colleagues,
Could you please help me with the following sentence?
The man was carrying no identification and there was nothing in his pocket except some old bank notes...
My students don �t understand why they should use past continuous and neither do I, to be completely honest. The past simple form seems more correct and logic to me.
Lots of thanks for your help!!! |
8 Nov 2011
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ueslteacher
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What about the background for the story as a description of a man?We often use the past continuous tense to "set the scene" in stories. We use it to describe the background situation at the moment when the action begins. Often, the story starts with the past continuous tense and then moves into the simple past tense. Here is an example: " James Bond was driving through town. It was raining. The wind was blowing hard. Nobody was walking in the streets. Suddenly, Bond saw the killer in a telephone box..." Sophia
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8 Nov 2011
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perma
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I guess the context is
The man was carrying no identification and there was nothing in his pocket except some old bank notes... when they found him or when he was arrested or something like that.
For me it �s quite obvious. It �s what was happening when the main action took place.
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8 Nov 2011
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Vale A.
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Great explanations dear Sophia and perma! thank you so much! |
8 Nov 2011
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