Interrupted

Past-Continuous
Look at these sentences from the story. Answer the questions with your partner.

A. He was cooking breakfast when he saw a cat. B. When they were walking to the store, a thief stole a bag.

1. Did he start cooking before he saw the cat? (YES 1. Did the thief steal a bag before they started walking?
// NO) (YES // NO)
2. Did he stop cooking when he saw the cat? (YES // 2. Did Bob and his wife get to the store? (YES // NO)
NO) 3. Is walking a continuous action? (YES // NO)
3. Did he finish cooking? (YES // NO)


Look at the timelines below. Which one matches sentence A? Circle the right timeline.

Look at sentences A & B and the timeline above. Complete the rules below for interrupted past-continuous sentences.

1. We use (past simple // past continuous) for the action that happened first.
2. We use (past simple // past continuous) for the action that happened second.
3. In these kinds of sentences, the past-continuous action usually (did // didnt) finish.
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Interrupted Past-continuous. Fill in the table for the sentence below. Look at the DARK words.

when past simple (verb 2) verb-ing be verb

A. He was cooking breakfast, when he saw a cat.

______________ + _________________ + _______________ + ________________

Look at the sentences below. Are they OK or NOT OK?
When he was cooking breaking, he saw a cat.




Pronunciation
Look at the sentences below. What words do you think are stressed? Put a circle above them.


He was cooking when he saw a cat. He was walking to the store when a thief stole a bag.