The past progressive is formed using was or were and the ing (present participle) form of the verb. Time: 5 min. Thankyou very much! Beare, Kenneth. It is common to use while with actions happening at a specific time (e.g. Present continuous signal words Signal words are words or phrases which often go hand in hand with a particular tense. Hosted by Dreamhost. Why is #2 not natural? This construction is also known as the durative aspect. You could use while with a state verb like ‘live’ if you really want to focus on the fact that an action was in progress at a specific time. Time clause: past simple OR past continuous, Main clause: past simple OR past continuous. We will learn to form the gerund in Spanish of –AR, -ER and –IR verbs and will show you many examples using ESTAR + gerund to talk about actions in progress in Spanish. Can you try to write an example sentence? She didn't get any exercise as long as she was working 60 hours a week.Peter didn't enjoy his company so long as he was in the house. When we say ‘the phone was ringing’ in the progressive, we are saying that this happened for some time. Past Progressive Vs. Like all future tenses, the future continuous cannot be used in clauses beginning with time expressions such as: when, while, before, after, by the time, as soon as, if, unless, etc. Añade tu respuesta y gana puntos. The phone may have rang once and stopped. The above examples of Present Progressive Tense are here to helpyou understand and use this tense properly and naturally. It is about the question you are asking. One thing happened ( simple past ) during the period of time another thing was happening ( past progressive .) I hope these ideas have been useful. The verb in the while clause is mostly progressive, expressing repetitive or detailed activities. For example: Subject + past form of “to be” + present participle ( ‘-ing’) form of the verb The boy + … at 11 p.m.). What’s the difference between the subordinate conjunctions when and while? jump, kick, shower, drink). He usually has lunch while he takes a walk around the campus.Angela often takes notes as the meeting progresses. We can use as, when and while to mean ‘during the time that’, to connect two events happening at the same time: Another coach-load of … I will break up the verbs on the ‘banned list’ into two smaller groups because I think you are more likely to have problems with the first group. Therefore, the most natural verb tense to use is a progressive tense, which shows that an action is in progress at a certain time. Also, we use while to show that a shorter action (usually in the past simple, e.g. The Present Progressive is used when we talk about something which is happening now. Simple Past → the telephone rang. Teacher prepares cards with Words on them and explains to students they must form sentences using the Present Continuous / Progressive Tense. Introduction The simple present tense is often confused with the present continuous tense.This page will explain when to use each one. The first or the second. This means that the action (ring) happened over a period of time that had a start and end. 1. Here are a few examples: – She hurt herself when / while she was playing basketball. The meaning is basically the same. ThoughtCo, Aug. 25, 2020, thoughtco.com/while-as-as-so-long-as-1209911. Here are some tips on the use of these two conjunctions. This is correct. The action in Simple Past interrupted the action in Past Progressive. While I was washing the dishes, my wife came home. Hello. Phone ringing 30 seconds- is a short action While cooking takes 360 seconds- is a long action it is an answer to a friend comment. favorite spot (expression) – a preferred restaurant, café, bar, plaza Use of Past Progressive puts emphasis on the course of an action in the past Example: He was playing football. We do not use progressive tenses with state verbs. (2020, August 25). Please try to make an example sentence. People in many countries enjoy ice swimming. Wonderful teaching! The Present Progressive (Continuous) is a form of the verb that shows the action or state is in progress (continues) in the present. We use them to introduce subordinate clauses. "While" and "as" are sometimes confused with the preposition "during." (full adverb time clause with subject and verb), They are going to visit the Empire State Building as they visit New York. While she was driving, I played with the radio. Instead, we use when and past simple. Thank you. Instead of future continuous, present continuous is used. Because we are using While + present progressive, we are focusing on duration. How many times did the phone ring here? Present: Present Progressive Use Describing things that happen at the moment of speech or things that happen exceptionally; talking about a plan that happens in the near future The Difference: When vs. Hello. Simple Past – Practice Directions: Complete the following sentences using the correct form (past progressive or simple past) of the verbs provided. Present: Use "as / so long as" to express that something happens or doesn't happen over the entire period of time that another event occurs. For example, the sentence’ She hurt her ankle when she was playing basketball’ is probably intended to respond to when she hurt her ankle. ThoughtCo. Do you want to practise using present simple and present continuous in English? Often this shorter action interrupts the longer action. I agree with the author. The table below provides an overview of the future progressive tense in positive, negative and interrogative sentences. I was cooking dinner). However, "as / so long as" is used for longer period of times, while "when" and "as" are used for more specific, shorter periods of time. The simple present tense Habits Actions which happen regularly (for example, every day or Write a simple dialoque using the present progressive. We use while to focus on an action happening at a specific time. "A progressive tense is usually used for the longer 'background action'". so need not change the example. "As long as" and "so long as" are similar in use to "while" and "as." While I was cooking dinner, the phone rang. As long as he plays piano, I go for a walk.She visits with her month, so long as her husband has to take care of business in town. In English grammar , the present progressive is a verb construction comprised of a present form of the verb "to be" plus a present participle that usually conveys a sense of ongoing action at the present time. A good easy-to-follow rule for students. In this lesson, we will explain the basic rules for the present progressive in Spanish. The past continuous is formed using was/were + present participle. Main clause: past simple OR past continuous. On the other hand, we use ‘when’ to give emphasis on the time or when something happened. A sensible rule is to use while with the progressive tenses and when with the simple tenses. ² present tense vs. present progressive tense– "We get together" expresses habit or custom. If you found this page helpful, consider a donation to our hosting bill to show your support! positive. The period of twelve years when you were a child is too long to use a progressive tense. https://www.thoughtco.com/while-as-as-so-long-as-1209911 (accessed April 8, 2021). "We are getting together" expresses a plan that is about to happen. nataliaemanuelaespin está esperando tu ayuda. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/while-as-as-so-long-as-1209911. the phone rang) happened during as a longer action (usually in past progressive, e.g. The verb in the when clause is mostly nonprogressive, expressing an activity without particular focus on duration. Use the present perfect form of the verb in parentheses. While (English Grammar), The Difference between 'a few/few/a little/little', The Difference between "Other" & "Another", The Social Dilemma: A Lesson on Social Media (Upper-Intermediate), The Social Dilemma: A Lesson on Social Media (Advanced), Bad Habits to Break to Improve Your Life (Upper-Intermediate Lesson Plan), Political Correctness (PC) Gone Mad (Upper-Intermediate Lesson Plan), The School (Short Story): Comprehension, Discussion & Vocabulary Questions (ESL), Prepositions: Online Exercises and Worksheet (for ESL/EFL Students), Subject Verb Agreement Rules & Exercises (English Grammar), To emphasize (focus) that an action was in progress at a specific time, use. Both ‘while ‘ and ‘when’ sometimes can be used without any difference in meaning although ‘While’ sounds more suitable. The best I can find is that it is called "Present Progressive" or "Present Continuous". When it started to rain, we went inside. BE, live, understand, know, exist). 1. (full adverb time clause with subject and verb). If we change it to “while” she was playing basketball, the sentence is essentially the same, but you could probably argue that ‘while’ focuses on the idea that basketball was _in progress_ at that time (though this is already obvious). Also, “While I was a child” is unnatural because the BE verb (was a child) is a state verb. Although examples are provided for ​the past, present and future, "as long as" and "so long as" are generally used with future forms. "During" is a preposition and is used with a noun or noun phrase. Generally, if you want to focus on an action that has a duration being in progress, use a while + a progressive tense. Can you try to write an example sentence? Can you think of any examples when it is wrong to use when and you have to use while? 1. Progressive tenses use the BE verb + a verb in ~ing form. * (Washing the dishes has a duration, e.g. We're going to speak about the modifications as you eat lunch.She'll work out the order details while we discuss what to do next. Please read the page. Listen to … In other cases when you don’t need to emphasize that an action was in progress or the action is short and without a significant duration, use when and a simple tense. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below. Live is a state verb, and also, the action of living in my hometown probably had a duration of 18 years. The conjugation is that same for all forms. Visual Explanations of Each English Tense, Past, Present, and Future Are Simple Tenses, Learn to Order Events for Narrative Writing Assignments, Using Adverb Clauses with Time Expressions, How to Effectively Teach the Past Continuous to EFL and ESL Students, How to Teach Conditionals to ESL Students, How to Teach the Past Simple to ESL Students. 2. Negative: You were not studyingwhen she called. Notice how the meaning remains the same in both structures: We discussed the situation during lunch. Driving is an action verb and the action is limited in duration. As per the lesson above, ‘while’ is often used with the continuous (progressive) tenses. Because we’re using when, we don’t know. Past: Use "as / so long as" to describe an action that did or didn't occur over a longer period of time in the past. ), (*Note you can also use when here, but as a general rule, while is suitable.). can you post some activities based on it?? I will never play golf as long as I live.She will never return so long as she breathes. This use of "while" and "as" is not as common as the time expression "when." To conjugate the future progressive tense we follow the rule: will + be + present participle or ing-form. "While, As, As/So Long As: Describing Action." Present progressive and present continuous are the same tense. Negatives are made with not. The teacher will time the drill and ask pairs to pass on their card to the next pair after 1 minute.