Past continuous (Verlaufsform der Vergangenheit)
Das Past continuous beschreibt eine Handlung, die zu einem Zeitpunkt in der Vergangenheit gerade im Gange war, oft als Hintergrund für ein kürzeres Ereignis. Form: was / were + Verb-ing.
| Hintergrund (past continuous) | Ereignis (past simple) |
|---|---|
| I was cooking | when the phone rang. |
| While we were walking, | it started to rain. |
Verwendung
- Ein Zeitpunkt in der Vergangenheit: At 8 pm I was watching TV.
- Unterbrochene Handlung: when + past simple, while + past continuous.
- Zwei gleichzeitige Handlungen: She was reading while he was cooking.
Beispiele
- What were you doing at 10 o’clock?Was hast du um 10 Uhr gemacht?
- I was sleeping when you called.Ich habe geschlafen, als du angerufen hast.
- The sun was shining and children were playing.Die Sonne schien und Kinder spielten.
- She cut her finger while she was cooking.Sie hat sich beim Kochen in den Finger geschnitten.
- He was driving too fast when the police stopped him.Er fuhr zu schnell, als die Polizei ihn anhielt.
Typische Fehler
- ✗ I was watch TV.✓ I was watching TV.Nach was oder were braucht man die -ing-Form: was watching.
- ✗ He was watching TV when I come.✓ He was watching TV when I came.Eine kurze Handlung, die eine längere unterbricht, steht im Simple Past.
- ✗ When she arrived, we had dinner. (we were in the middle of dinner)✓ When she arrived, we were having dinner.Eine Handlung, die zu einem Zeitpunkt schon lief, steht in der Past Continuous.
- ✗ I have been cooking when you called.✓ I was cooking when you called.Eine Handlung, die zu einem Zeitpunkt in der Vergangenheit lief, steht im Past Continuous und nicht im Present Perfect Continuous.
- ✗ I was go to school when I saw him.✓ I was going to school when I saw him.Nach was oder were braucht das Verb die -ing-Form, also going und nicht die Grundform go.