Para hablar de una acción en curso en un momento del pasado, usa was / were + el verbo con -ing. Usa was con I, he, she, it; were con you, we, they.
was / were + -ing
At 8pm I was watching TV.
She was cooking dinner.
They were playing in the garden.
Not "They was playing in the garden." — say "They were playing in the garden.". Con they, usa were, no was.
Pruébalo: At 8pm, we ___ dinner. (were having / was having / were have) Respuesta: were having — Con we, usa were, y añade -ing al verbo: were having. "Was having" es para una persona (I/he/she), y "were have" le falta el -ing.
La ortografía del verbo con -ing
La mayoría de los verbos solo añaden -ing (play → playing, watch → watching). Si el verbo termina en una -e muda, primero quita la e: drive → driving, have → having, make → making. Los verbos cortos como run y sit duplican la última letra: run → running, sit → sitting.
She was driving to work. (drive → driving)
We were having lunch. (have → having)
The dog was running in the park. (run → running)
Not "She was driveing to work." — say "She was driving to work.". Quita la e muda antes de -ing: drive → driving, no driveing.
Pruébalo: At noon, they were ___ lunch. (have) (having / haveing / haved) Respuesta: having — Quita la e muda antes de -ing: have → having. "Haveing" conserva la e por error, y "haved" no es una forma real.
Negativas y preguntas
Para el negativo, pon not después de was/were: wasn't / weren't + -ing. Para una pregunta, pon was / were antes de la persona: Was / Were + persona + -ing?
I wasn't sleeping at 10pm.
They weren't listening to me.
Were you waiting for the bus?
Was she working yesterday?
Not "Did you were working?" — say "Were you working?". Para una pregunta, mueve were delante de la persona; no añadas did.
Pruébalo: It was quiet. The children ___ any noise. (not / make) (weren't making / wasn't making / didn't making) Respuesta: weren't making — The children es plural, así que usa weren't y mantén el -ing: weren't making. "Wasn't" es para una persona, y "didn't making" mezcla dos formas de pasado.
Pruébalo: ___ you ___ TV when I called? (Were … watching / Did … watching / Was … watching) Respuesta: Were … watching — Con you, empieza la pregunta con Were y mantén el -ing: Were you watching? "Did" no va con -ing, y "Was" es para I/he/she/it.
Una acción larga y una corta
Cuando una acción corta irrumpe en una más larga, usa was / were + -ing para la acción larga, y el pasado simple para la corta.
I was reading (long) when the phone rang (short).
She was driving when she saw the accident.
They were playing when it started to rain.
Pruébalo: Amina estaba preparando la cena. Eso le llevó un rato. Entonces, de repente, sonó el timbre una vez. ¿Cuál encaja con la acción más larga que ya estaba pasando? (She was cooking dinner. / She cooked dinner.) Respuesta: She was cooking dinner. — Cocinar era la acción más larga que ya estaba en curso, así que usa was cooking. "She cooked dinner" suena terminado, no el fondo del timbre.
Pruébalo: Hiroshi estaba en medio de un viaje largo en coche. Entonces, en un instante, vio un accidente más adelante. ¿Cuál encaja con la acción corta que pasó en un solo momento? (He saw an accident. / He was seeing an accident.) Respuesta: He saw an accident. — Ver el accidente pasó en un solo momento rápido, así que usa el pasado simple saw. "Was seeing" lo convertiría en una acción larga, pero fue repentino.
while va con la acción larga
While va con la acción larga (was / were + -ing). When va con la acción corta (el pasado simple).
While I was sleeping, the phone rang.
When the phone rang, I was sleeping.
While she was cooking, someone knocked.
Not "While the phone rang, I was sleeping." — say "While I was sleeping, the phone rang.". While va con la acción larga (was sleeping), no con la corta (rang).
Pruébalo: Mei estuvo leyendo un buen rato. La llamada fue lo breve que la interrumpió. ¿Qué palabra encaja antes de la acción larga, was reading? (While she was reading, the phone rang. / When she was reading, the phone rang.) Respuesta: While she was reading, the phone rang. — Leer era la acción larga, y while va con la acción larga: While she was reading, the phone rang. "When" suele apuntar a la acción corta (when the phone rang).
Pruébalo: While Lars ___ home, it ___ to rain. (was walking … started / walked … was starting / was walking … was starting) Respuesta: was walking … started — Caminar a casa era la acción larga → was walking. Que empezara a llover fue el momento corto → started. La larga lleva was + -ing; la corta lleva el pasado simple.