過去のある時点で動作が続いていたときは、was か were + -ing のついた動詞を使います。I, he, she, it には was、you, we, they には were を使います。
過去進行形：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.". they のときは were を使います。
やってみよう: Ira: Who was in the school gym at eight? Amina: Some students. They ___ basketball. Amina のせりふを選んでください。 (were reading / were playing / was swim) 答え: were playing — 8時にはバスケットボールをしている最中で、they には were を使うので were playing です。
否定文と疑問文
否定するときは wasn't か weren't + -ing を使います。たずねるときは Was か Were を最初に置きます：Were you sleeping?
I wasn't listening.
Were you sleeping?
Not "Did you sleeping?" — say "Were you sleeping?". did ではなく Was か Were でたずねます。
やってみよう: Ira: Did you see the new painting in the hall? Amina: No, I ___. I was talking to the teacher. Amina のせりふを選んでください。 (wasn't looking / wasn't talking / didn't watching) 答え: wasn't looking — Amina は話している最中だったので、絵を見ていませんでした：wasn't looking。
Not "He falled in the park." — say "He fell in the park.". fall には特別な過去形があります：fell。
やってみよう: Ira: Where's your blue cup? Amina: I dropped it, and it ___. Amina のせりふを選んでください。 (hurt / falled / broke) 答え: broke — カップは床に落ちてなくなってしまったので、割れたのです：broke。break の過去形は broke です。
続いていた動作と割り込んだ動作
続いていた長い動作には was / were + -ing を使います。その途中に起きた短い動作には過去形を使います。
She was running when she fell.
やってみよう: Ira: Is the art room clean now? Amina: No. I ___ it when you came in, so I stopped. Amina のせりふを選んでください。 (was cleaning / cleaned / was cooking) 答え: was cleaning — Ira が入ってきたとき Amina は掃除の途中でやめたので、was cleaning です。
while + 続いていた動作、when + 割り込んだ動作
長い動作の前には while を置きます：while I was waiting。短い動作の前には when を置きます：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.
やってみよう: Ira: Where did you lose your umbrella? Amina: I lost it ___ I was walking home. Amina のせりふを選んでください。 (then / while / finally) 答え: while — 歩いて帰るのが長い動作で、while は長い動作の前に置きます。
順番を言う：first, then, after that, finally
起きたことを順番に話すときは、first、then、after that を使い、最後のことには finally を使います。
First we bought tickets. Then we found our seats. After that, we saw a movie. Finally, we had pizza.
やってみよう: Ira: How was your Saturday? Amina: Busy! I went to class, then I studied, and after that I cooked. ___, I went to bed. Amina のせりふを選んでください。 (Finally / First / While) 答え: Finally — 寝たのが最後のことなので Finally です。