S p i r a l C a t

Translations     Advice on Learning English     Book Advice     Original Art and Writing     English Tuition     Deutsche Version     Site Map      
I Was Doing
 
We use this form of words to show we are talking about a past action that is not connected to now.
This is the ...ing form which we use to show that there is a period of time involved.
 
I was reading a lot. (In the past I read a lot of books but I do not do it now.)
I was painting that room. (We use the ing form to show that the painting took some time)
I was having fun. (The fun is over, I am not having fun now.) 
 
 
 
 

A little care is needed with the ...ing form. The ...ing form is used for other things as well as tense forming.

 

The ...ing form is very often used to make a noun into a verb.

A garden is bit of land with nice flowers. Gardening is all the things I do in the garden, like when I dig out weeds.

 

The ...ing form is also used for making things sound more polite.

We think your company should be closed. This sounds short and unfriendly.

We are thinking of closing your company. Of course nobody wants to hear this, but it is a little more polite.