Skyrocket EnglishC1 · ponto 2
Revisão de past simple e past continuous: ações concluídas × em andamento, interrupção, ações simultâneas, hábito irritante (was always -ing), cortesia (I was wondering) e verbos de estado.
O past simple relata ações concluídas e eventos em sequência. O past continuous descreve o cenário e ações em andamento num momento do passado, e muitas vezes é interrompido por uma ação em past simple: “I was driving when the engine stopped.”
| Uso | Estrutura | Exemplo |
|---|---|---|
| Ação concluída / sequência | past simple | She opened the door and walked in. |
| Ação em andamento (cenário) | was / were + -ing | It was raining and people were running. |
| Interrupção | was -ing + when + past simple | I was reading when the phone rang. |
| Ações simultâneas | while + was -ing, was -ing | While he was cooking, she was singing. |
| Irritação com hábito | was always -ing | He was always leaving his things everywhere! |
| Cortesia / hesitação | I was wondering if... | I was wondering if you could help me. |
Verbos de estado (know, understand, believe, want, own, belong, prefer) normalmente não vão para o contínuo: “I knew the answer” (não “was knowing”). Para insistência, use kept + -ing: “She kept interrupting me.” Para hábitos passados, would e used to funcionam, mas o contínuo com always transmite crítica ou irritação.
We were having dinner when the lights went out.
Estávamos jantando quando a luz acabou.
He kept calling me, so I turned my phone off.
Ele ficava me ligando, então desliguei o celular.
I wasn't thinking; I just reacted.
Eu não estava pensando; apenas reagi.
Atenção: Alguns verbos mudam de sentido: I was thinking (estava refletindo) × I thought (achava); I was having lunch (comendo) × I had a car (possuía, estado). Em narrativas, alterne os dois tempos: past continuous para o fundo, past simple para o avanço da história.
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