Unit 2: At the movies

Objective: at the end of this unit you should be able to narrate and describe past events, and give a review about a film.

Introduction

What were you doing when 9/11 happened?

"I live in New York. It was 2 days before 3rd grade started. I totally forget where I was, and what building I was in but I heard people screaming all of a sudden. I looked out the window and said something like "Mom! Look! A Plane! It crashed into a building!" Everybody in the building was so astonished and thought that it was some horrible accident. People were calling 911 and everything. I wasn't scared because it was "just an accident" the plane must have malfunctioned. But then the second plane crashed. I didn't know at the time, but the adults all knew that it was more than just an accident. Everybody was crying and screaming and yelling; it was total chaos. My mom picked me up and we ran out. The streets were filthy and very crowded. That is all I can remember remembering. We went down underground into the subway station and firefighters and police were leading us to safety. That is all I remember."

RIP: My favorite cousin. September 11, 2001.

(Anonymous)

Grammar: Past Continuous

FORM 

[was/were + present participle]

USE

Interrupted Action in the Past

Use the Past Continuous to indicate that a longer action in the past was interrupted. The interruption is usually a shorter action in the Simple Past. Remember this can be a real interruption or just an interruption in time.

Examples:

I was watching TV when she called.
When the phone rang, she was writing a letter.
While we were having the picnic, it started to rain.
What were you doing when the earthquake started?
I was listening to my iPod, so I didn't hear the fire alarm.

Parallel Actions

When you use the Past Continuous with two actions in the same sentence, it expresses the idea that both actions were happening at the same time. The actions are parallel.

Examples:

I was studying while he was making dinner.
While Ellen was reading, Tim was watching television.
Were you listening while he was talking?
I wasn't paying attention while I was writing the letter, so I made several mistakes.
What were you doing while you were waiting?

Atmosphere

In English, we often use a series of parallel actions to describe the atmosphere at a particular time in the past.

Example:


When I walked into the office, several people were busily typing, some were talking on the phones, the boss was yelling directions, and customers were waiting to be helped. One customer was yelling at a secretary and waving his hands. Others were complaining to each other about the bad service.

EXERCISE 1
EXERCISE 2
EXERCISE 3