Para falar de uma ação em andamento num momento do passado, use was / were + o verbo em -ing. Use was com I, he, she, it; were com 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.". Com they, use were, não was.
Experimente: At 8pm, we ___ dinner. (were having / was having / were have) Resposta: were having — Com we, use were, e acrescente -ing ao verbo: were having. "Was having" é para uma pessoa só (I/he/she), e "were have" está sem o -ing.
A ortografia do verbo em -ing
A maioria dos verbos só adiciona -ing (play → playing, watch → watching). Se o verbo termina em -e mudo, primeiro tire o e: drive → driving, have → having, make → making. Verbos curtos como run e sit dobram a 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.". Tire o e mudo antes de -ing: drive → driving, não driveing.
Experimente: At noon, they were ___ lunch. (have) (having / haveing / haved) Resposta: having — Tire o e mudo antes de -ing: have → having. "Haveing" mantém o e por engano, e "haved" não é uma forma real.
Negativas e perguntas
Para o negativo, coloque not depois de was/were: wasn't / weren't + -ing. Para uma pergunta, coloque was / were antes da pessoa: Was / Were + pessoa + -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 perguntar, mova were para antes da pessoa — não adicione did.
Experimente: It was quiet. The children ___ any noise. (not / make) (weren't making / wasn't making / didn't making) Resposta: weren't making — The children é plural, então use weren't e mantenha o -ing: weren't making. "Wasn't" é para uma pessoa só, e "didn't making" mistura duas formas de passado.
Experimente: ___ you ___ TV when I called? (Were … watching / Did … watching / Was … watching) Resposta: Were … watching — Com you, comece a pergunta com Were e mantenha o -ing: Were you watching? "Did" não combina com -ing, e "Was" é para I/he/she/it.
Uma ação longa e uma curta
Quando uma ação curta interrompe uma mais longa, use was / were + -ing para a ação longa, e o passado simples para a curta.
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.
Experimente: Amina estava no meio de fazer o jantar. Isso levou um tempo. Aí, de repente, a campainha tocou uma vez. Qual combina com a ação mais longa que já estava acontecendo? (She was cooking dinner. / She cooked dinner.) Resposta: She was cooking dinner. — Cozinhar era a ação mais longa, já em andamento, então use was cooking. "She cooked dinner" soa terminado, não como o pano de fundo da campainha.
Experimente: Hiroshi estava no meio de uma viagem longa de carro. Aí, num instante, ele viu um acidente mais à frente. Qual combina com a ação curta que aconteceu num só momento? (He saw an accident. / He was seeing an accident.) Resposta: He saw an accident. — Ver o acidente aconteceu num momento rápido, então use o passado simples saw. "Was seeing" transformaria isso numa ação longa, mas foi repentino.
while acompanha a ação longa
While acompanha a ação longa (was / were + -ing). When acompanha a ação curta (o passado simples).
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 acompanha a ação longa (was sleeping), não a curta (rang).
Experimente: Mei estava lendo há um bom tempo. A ligação foi a coisa rápida que interrompeu. Qual palavra combina antes da ação longa, was reading? (While she was reading, the phone rang. / When she was reading, the phone rang.) Resposta: While she was reading, the phone rang. — Ler era a ação longa, e while acompanha a ação longa: While she was reading, the phone rang. "When" costuma apontar para a ação curta (when the phone rang).
Experimente: While Lars ___ home, it ___ to rain. (was walking … started / walked … was starting / was walking … was starting) Resposta: was walking … started — Andar para casa era a ação longa → was walking. A chuva começar foi o momento curto → started. A longa leva was + -ing; a curta leva o passado simples.