Quand une action était en cours à un moment du passé, utilise was ou were + un verbe en -ing. Utilise was avec I, he, she et it. Utilise were avec you, we et they.
Une action en cours au passé : was / were + -ing
At seven o'clock, I was eating dinner.
They were sitting in the garden.
Not "They was sitting in the garden." — say "They were sitting in the garden.". Avec they, utilise were.
Essaie: Ira: Who was in the school gym at eight? Amina: Some students. They ___ basketball. Choisis ce que dit Amina. (were reading / were playing / was swim) Réponse: were playing — Le match de basket était en cours à huit heures, et avec they, on utilise were : were playing.
Négations et questions
Pour dire non, utilise wasn't ou weren't + -ing. Pour poser une question, mets Was ou Were en premier : Were you sleeping?
I wasn't listening.
Were you sleeping?
Not "Did you sleeping?" — say "Were you sleeping?". Pose la question avec Was ou Were, pas avec did.
Essaie: Ira: Did you see the new painting in the hall? Amina: No, I ___. I was talking to the teacher. Choisis ce que dit Amina. (wasn't looking / wasn't talking / didn't watching) Réponse: wasn't looking — Amina parlait, donc elle ne regardait pas le tableau : she wasn't looking.
Petits accidents au passé : broke, fell, hurt, dropped, spilled
break → broke, fall → fell, hurt → hurt. drop et spill ajoutent simplement -ed : dropped (écris le p deux fois), spilled.
He fell in the park.
The window broke.
She spilled the soup.
Not "He falled in the park." — say "He fell in the park.". fall a son propre passé : fell.
Essaie: Ira: Where's your blue cup? Amina: I dropped it, and it ___. Choisis ce que dit Amina. (hurt / falled / broke) Réponse: broke — La tasse n’existe plus après être tombée par terre : elle s’est cassée, broke. Le passé de break est broke.
L’action longue et l’action courte
Utilise was / were + -ing pour l’action longue. Utilise la forme du passé pour l’action courte qui arrive au milieu.
She was running when she fell.
Essaie: Ira: Is the art room clean now? Amina: No. I ___ it when you came in, so I stopped. Choisis ce que dit Amina. (was cleaning / cleaned / was cooking) Réponse: was cleaning — Amina s’est arrêtée au milieu du ménage quand Ira est entrée, donc c’est was cleaning.
while + action longue, when + action courte
Mets while devant l’action longue : while I was waiting. Mets when devant l’action courte : when I saw him.
While I was waiting for the bus, I saw an old friend.
I was waiting for the bus when I saw an old friend.
Essaie: Ira: Where did you lose your umbrella? Amina: I lost it ___ I was walking home. Choisis ce que dit Amina. (then / while / finally) Réponse: while — Rentrer à pied, c’est l’action longue, et while se place devant l’action longue.
Raconter dans l’ordre : first, then, after that, finally
Pour raconter ce qui s’est passé dans l’ordre, utilise first, then, after that, et finally pour la dernière chose.
First we bought tickets. Then we found our seats. After that, we saw a movie. Finally, we had pizza.
Essaie: Ira: How was your Saturday? Amina: Busy! I went to class, then I studied, and after that I cooked. ___, I went to bed. Choisis ce que dit Amina. (Finally / First / While) Réponse: Finally — Aller se coucher, c’était la dernière chose, donc c’est Finally.