O Past Continuous (passado contínuo) é um tempo verbal em inglês que corresponde a uma ação que estava acontecendo em um instante do passado. A sua formação compreende o verbo to be no passado. Portanto, usa-se “was/were” + verbo com “ing” (gerúndio) + complemento.
Logo, obedece a seguinte síntese:
Sujeito + Passado Simples Was/Were + Gerúndio do Verbo Principal + ing
Veja alguns exemplos:
- Ele estava jogando bola ontem. – He was playing ball yesterday.
- Eles estavam comendo em casa. – They were eating at home.
- Eles estavam no show no fim de semana. – They were at the show on the weekend.
Verbo “to be” no passado
Antes de abordamos mais sobre o Past Continuous é fundamental relembrar o verbo “to be” no passado simples (que corresponde ao verbo “ser ou estar” em português).
Abaixo uma tabela com os pronomes e os verbos correspondentes no passado.
| Verbo To Be | |
| I | Was |
| You | Were |
| He | Was |
| She | Was |
| It | Was |
| You | Were |
| We | Were |
| They | Were |
Forma afirmativa no Past Continuous
| Were | They were playing video game | Eles estavam jogando vídeo game |
| Was | She was studying | Ela estava estudando |
| Was | She was working last night | Ela estava trabalhando na noite passada |
| Was | He was watching TV | Ele estava vendo TV |
| Were | You were going to my house | Você estava indo para minha casa |
| Was | I was singing | Eu estava cantando |
Forma negativa no Past Continuous
A forma negativa no passado simples pode ser usada na forma formal "was/were not" ou com abreviação wasn’t/weren’t. As duas expressões estão corretas e são usadas no inglês.
O quadro abaixo mostra uma síntese das duas formas conforme o pronome e o verbo.
| Verbo To Be | |
| Formal | Informal (contraída) |
| I was not | I wasn’t |
| You were not | You weren’t |
| He was not | He wasn’t |
| She was not | She wasn’t |
| It was not | It wasn’t |
| You were not | You weren’t |
| We were not | We weren’t |
| They were not | They weren’t |
Veja exemplos abaixo aplicados na frase:
| Verbo | Frase na negativa | Tradução |
| Were | You were not sleeping. | Você não estava dormindo. |
| Was | I was not studying for the test. | Eu não estava estudando para o teste. |
| Was | I was not traveling last week | Eu não estava viajando na semana passada. |
| Was | She was not dancing last month | Ela não estava dançando mês passado. |
| Were | They were not sleeping at night. | Eles não estavam dormindo a noite. |
| Was | Elizabeth was not walking yesterday. | Elizabeth não estava caminhando ontem. |
| Was | Mary was not copying John exercise. | Mary não estava copiando o exercício de John. |
| Was | He was not going to my house. | Ele não estava indo para minha casa. |
| Were | They were not playing video game. | Eles não estavam jogando vídeo game. |
Forma interrogativa no Past Continuous
Ao realizar uma frase na interrogativa no inglês é necessário deslocar o verbo “to be” no passado (was/were) para o início da frase. Ou seja:
Was/Were + Sujeito + Complemento
Em síntese, a expressão estará correta da seguinte forma:
| Forma interrogativa | |
| Was | I…? |
| Were | You…? |
| Was | He…? |
| Was | She…? |
| Was | It…? |
| Were | We…? |
| Were | You…? |
| Were | They…? |
Exemplos do Past Continuous em frases
| Verbo | Frase | Tradução |
| Was | Was she sleeping? | Ela estava dormindo? |
| Were | Were they playing video game? | Eles estavam jogando vídeo game? |
| Was | Was he studying for the test? | Ele estava estudando para o teste? |
| Were | Were they working yesterday? | Eles estavam trabalhando ontem? |
| Were | Were they going to my house? | Eles estavam indo para minha casa? |
| Was | Was Mary copying John exercise? | Mary estava copiando o exercício de John? |
| Was | Was she dancing last month? | Ela estava dançando mês passado? |
| Was | Was Elizabeth walking yesterday? | Elizabeth estava caminhando ontem? |
| Were | Were they sleeping at night? | Eles estavam dormindo a noite? |
Resumo da conjugação do verbo “to be” no passado
| Afirmativa | Negativa | Interrogativa |
| I was | I was not | Was I…? |
| You were | You were not | Were you…? |
| He was | He was not | Was he…? |
| She was | She was not | Was she…? |
| It was | It was not | Was it…? |
| We Were | We were not | Were we…? |
| You Were | You were not | Were you…? |
| They Were | They were not | Were they…? |
Past Continuous: expressões auxiliares para as frases
- Often: frequentemente
- Occasionally: ocasionalmente
- Weekly: semanalmente
- Monthly: mensalmente
- Yearly: anualmente
Past Continuous & Simple Past
O Past Continuous e o Simple Past apesar de apresentarem semelhanças não são iguais. Esses dois assuntos na maioria das vezes causam dúvidas entre os estudantes, por isso é necessário realizar um comparativo.
Em inglês o Simple Past (passado simples) é um tempo verbal utilizado para falar de acontecimentos realizados no passado e que já foram finalizados. Ou seja, uma ação que aconteceu e foi concluída.
O auxiliar “did” é indicado para expressar ações no Simple Past, nas frases interrogativas e negativas. Tem-se, portanto, em expressões na negativa, a seguinte forma:
Sujeito + Did Not + Verbo Principal + Complemento
Veja o exemplo na frase abaixo:
- You did’nt (did not) work last week.
- Você não trabalhou semana passada.
Já para frases interrogativas tem-se a seguinte forma:
Did + Sujeito + Verbo Principal + Complemento
Veja o exemplo:
- Did he travel last year?
- Ele viajou ano passado?
Já para frases afirmativas deve-se acrescentar o “ed, d, ou ied” ao final do verbo.
Sujeito + Verbo + ED, D, IED + Complemento
Note o exemplo:
- You were playing video game
- Vocês estavam jogando vídeo game
Outro fator importante é que no Past Continuous usa-se o verbo “to be” no passado (was/were). Além disso, é preciso ficar atento ao construir frases interrogativas ou negativas.
É necessário fixar que:
- As frases interrogativas devem ser iniciadas pelo verbo “was/were”
- As frases negativas o “was/were” são acompanhadas pelo “not” ou pela forma contraída “wasn’t” ou “weren’t”.
Exceções
Como vimos na regra do Past Continuous para formar uma frase é necessário colocar o sujeito, o verbo “to be” no passado (was e were) e o gerúndio do verbo principal (ing). No entanto, para alguns verbos existem modificações. Veja os exemplos abaixo:
| Infinitive | Past continuous |
| To get | getting |
| To love | loving |
| To stop | stopping |