过去某个时候正在进行的动作，用 was 或 were + 动词 -ing。I、he、she、it 用 was；you、we、they 用 were。
was / were + -ing：过去进行时
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 要用 were。
试一试: Ira: Who was in the school gym at eight? Amina: Some students. They ___ basketball. 选出 Amina 会说的话。 (were reading / were playing / was swim) 答案: were playing — 八点的时候正在打篮球，而 they 要用 were：were playing。
否定和疑问
否定用 wasn't 或 weren't + -ing。提问就把 Was 或 Were 放在前面：Were you sleeping?
I wasn't listening.
Were you sleeping?
Not "Did you sleeping?" — say "Were you sleeping?". 用 Was 或 Were 提问，不用 did。
试一试: Ira: Did you see the new painting in the hall? Amina: No, I ___. I was talking to the teacher. 选出 Amina 会说的话。 (wasn't looking / wasn't talking / didn't watching) 答案: wasn't looking — Amina 当时在说话，眼睛没看那幅画，所以是 wasn't looking。
Not "He falled in the park." — say "He fell in the park.". fall 有自己的过去式：fell。
试一试: Ira: Where's your blue cup? Amina: I dropped it, and it ___. 选出 Amina 会说的话。 (hurt / falled / broke) 答案: broke — 杯子掉到地上后就没了，所以是摔碎了：broke。break 的过去式是 broke。
长动作和短动作
长动作用 was / were + -ing。在长动作中间发生的短动作用过去式。
She was running when she fell.
试一试: Ira: Is the art room clean now? Amina: No. I ___ it when you came in, so I stopped. 选出 Amina 会说的话。 (was cleaning / cleaned / was cooking) 答案: was cleaning — Ira 进来的时候，Amina 正打扫到一半就停下了，所以是 was cleaning。
while + 长动作，when + 短动作
while 放在长动作前面：while I was waiting。when 放在短动作前面：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.
试一试: Ira: Where did you lose your umbrella? Amina: I lost it ___ I was walking home. 选出 Amina 会说的话。 (then / while / finally) 答案: while — 走路回家是长动作，而 while 要放在长动作前面。
first、then、after that、finally：按顺序说
按顺序讲发生的事，用 first、then、after that，最后一件事用 finally。
First we bought tickets. Then we found our seats. After that, we saw a movie. Finally, we had pizza.
试一试: Ira: How was your Saturday? Amina: Busy! I went to class, then I studied, and after that I cooked. ___, I went to bed. 选出 Amina 会说的话。 (Finally / First / While) 答案: Finally — 上床睡觉是最后一件事，所以是 Finally。