В пособии рассматриваются основные моменты английской грамматики: части речи имя существительное, имя прилагательное и наречие; видо-временные формы глагола; модальные глаголы; неличные формы глагола

B. We often use the past continuous (I was doing) and the past simple (I did)
together to say that something happened in the middle of something else, in
other words when a shorter action interrupted a longer one:
Tom burnt his hand when he was cooking the dinner.
It was raining when I got up.
But to say that one thing happened after another (in other words there is a
sequence of actions), use the past simple:
Yesterday evening Tom was having a bath when the phone rang.
He got out of the bath and answered the phone.

3. Other Uses of the Past Continuous Tense

А. We can use the Past Continuous for repeated actions which are temporary,
only for a period:
My car was serviced. I was travelling to work by bus that week.
When we talk about longer, more permanent situations we use the Simple
Past. Compare:
It happened while I was spending my holiday in Africa.
I spent ten years in Africa when a child.
В. We can use the Past Continuous for a past arrangement.
I was busy packing things as I was leaving for the country.


С. Sentences with always, continuously, etc., in the Past Continuous mean ‘very
often’ or ‘too often’:
Do you remember Tom? ~ He was always quoting Shakespeare.


D. Another use of the Past Continuous is to stress that an activity was in
progress at every moment during a period of time:
They were quarrelling the whole time they were together.


E. The Past Continuous is not the normal tense for talking about repeated or
habitual actions. The Past Simple is usually used with this meaning:
I rang the bell six times.
However, the Past Continuous is possible if the repeated actions form a
‘background’ for the main action: At the time he wrote his first review he
was going to the theatres a lot and was also visiting art exhibitions.