Curso sobre el past continuous (pretérito continuo) - Preparación TOEIC®
❓ Las palabras pretérito continuo y past continuous significan lo mismo en inglés.
1. Formación del past continuous (o pretérito continuo)
| Frases afirmativas | Frases negativas | Frases interrogativas |
|---|---|---|
| I was reading | I was not (wasn't) reading | Was I reading? |
| You were reading | You were not (weren't) reading | Were you reading? |
| He/She/It was reading | He/She/It was not (wasn't) reading | Was he/she/it reading? |
| We were reading | We were not (weren't) reading | Were we reading? |
| You were reading | You were not (weren't) reading | Were you reading? |
| They were reading | They were not (weren't) reading | Were they reading? |
- Para frases afirmativas, se utiliza la forma sujeto + was/were + -ing.
- Para frases negativas, se utiliza la forma sujeto + was/were + not + -ing.
- Para frases interrogativas, se utiliza la forma was/were + sujeto + -ing + ?.
Errores comunes
- Uso de "were" en la tercera persona del singular:
- Incorrecto: We were reading a book.
- Correcto: We was reading a book.
2. ¿Cuándo usar el past continuous (o pretérito continuo)?
2.1. Acciones en curso en el pasado
En general, se utiliza el past continuous para hablar de acciones que estaban ocurriendo en un momento específico del pasado.
- Yesterday at 8 PM, I was watching a movie.
2.2. Acciones interrumpidas en el pasado
En la continuidad del punto anterior, el past continuous se utiliza para hablar de acciones en curso que fueron interrumpidas en el pasado.
- Yesterday at 8 PM, I was watching a movie when my friend called me.
Marcadores temporales asociados al past continuous
Expresiones como "while", "when", "at that moment" se utilizan comúnmente con el past continuous para indicar cuándo o durante cuánto tiempo tuvo lugar una acción.
- While she was waiting for the bus, she met an old friend.
- Josephine was writing on the whiteboard when her phone rang.
- At that moment, Josephine was writing on the whiteboard.
🎯 Tips: si en una frase TOEIC® ves uno de estos marcadores temporales seguido del pretérito simple (she met, rang, ...), puedes estar casi seguro de que el tiempo utilizado es el past continuous.
Aquí está la forma más genérica:
- While *+ past continuous***,** past simple
- Past continuous, when past simple
- At that moment, past continuous
Conclusión
En el examen TOEIC®, encontrarás al menos algunas preguntas que te pedirán un dominio del past continuous. Debes recordar que se forma con was / were + ing, y que se utiliza para hablar de una acción en curso en el pasado.
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