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句型

was/were + 現在分詞

例句：

• I was studying when Anna called. (安娜來電時我正在唸書)
• Were you studying when Brenda called? (布蘭達來電時你正在唸書嗎？)
• He was not studying when Frank called. (法蘭克來電時他沒有在唸書)

用法之一：過去進行式的動作發生在過去簡單式的動作之前

過去進行式係用來表示該動作發生在過去簡單式的動作之前且一直持續到過去簡單式的動作發生時，而在過去簡單式的動作發生時，該動作可能就結束了，亦可能仍在進行中。

例句：

• I was watching TV when Sam called. (山姆來電時，我正在看電視)
• When the phone rang, I was writing a letter. (電話響起時，我正在寫信)
• While they were having the picnic, it started to rain. (他們正在野餐時，天就下起雨來了)
• What were you doing when the earthquake started? (地震發生時，你正在做什麼呢？)
• I was listening to my iPod, so I didn’t hear the fire alarm. (當時我正在聽 iPod，所以沒有聽到火災警報)
• You were not listening to me when I told you to turn the air conditioner off. (我叫你關掉冷氣時，你沒有聽見)
• While Mary was sleeping last night, someone stole her car. (昨晚瑪麗在睡覺時，有人偷了她的車子)
• Paul was waiting for us when we got off the plane. (我們下機時，保羅正在等我們)
• While I was writing the email, the computer suddenly went off. (我在寫電子郵件時，電腦突然當機了)
• A: What were you doing when you broke your leg? (你摔斷腿時正在做什麼呢？)
  B: I was skateboarding. (我正在溜滑板)

用法之二：過去進行式的動作發生在過去某個時間點之前

在用法之一中，過去進行式的動作是發生在過去簡單式的動作之前。然而，過去進行式的動作亦可能發生在過去某個特定時間點之前。

例句：

• Last night at 7 PM, I was eating dinner. (昨晚七點我正在吃晚餐)
• At midnight, we were still driving through the desert. (午夜時我們還在開車經過沙漠)
• Yesterday at this time, I was sitting at my desk at work. (昨天這個時候我正坐在公司的辦公桌前)

重點提示

在過去簡單式中，某個特定時間點是用來表示某個動作的開始或結束，但在過去進行式中，某個特定時間點係表示某個動作在該時間點還在進行中。

例句：

• Last night at 7 PM, I ate dinner. (昨晚我七點吃晚餐) － 我昨晚七點開始吃晚餐
• Last night at 7 PM, I was eating dinner. (昨晚七點我正在吃晚餐) － 昨晚我在七點之前開始吃晚餐，而在七點時，我還在用餐中。

用法之三：過去同時進行中的動作

同一句中的兩個動作若都是過去進行式，則表示這兩個動作同時發生。

例句：

• My girlfriend was making dinner while I was studying. (我在唸書時，我女友正在做晚餐)
• While Allen was surfing the Internet, Tim was watching television. (艾倫在上網時，提姆正在看電視)
• Were you listening while he was talking? (他在講話時，你有在聽嗎？)
• I wasn’t paying attention while I was writing the letter, so I made several mistakes. (我在寫信時不專心，所以有幾個地方寫錯)
• Cindy wasn’t working, and I wasn’t working either. (辛蒂沒有在工作，我也沒有在工作)
• They were eating dinner, gossiping, and having a good time. (他們一邊吃晚餐，一邊聊八卦，過得很愉快)

用法之四：氣氛 (atmosphere)

在英文中，我們經常使用一連串同時發生的動作來敘述過去某一特定時間的氣氛。

例句：

• 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. (當我走進辦公室時，有幾個人正忙著打字，有些人正在講電話，老闆正大吼大叫下達指示，而客戶正等著被服務。有個客戶對著一名秘書大聲小叫還比手劃腳。其他客戶則你一言我一語抱怨服務差)

用法之五：與 always 或 constantly 等字連用來表示過去某一令人厭煩、不悅、惱怒或驚訝的事情經常發生

當過去進行式與 always, constantly 或 forever 等字連用時，它是在表示過去某一令人厭煩、不悅、惱怒或驚訝的事情經常發生。注意：它的語意與 “used to" 非常相似，但卻是在表達負面的情緒。記得要將 always, constantly 或 forever 置於 BE 動詞和 V-ing 之間。

例句：

• Kate was always coming to class late. (凱特上課老是遲到)
• Henry was constantly talking. He annoyed everyone. (亨利老是嘰哩聒拉講個不停。他惹惱了每個人)
• I didn’t like them because they were always complaining. (我不喜歡他們，因為他們老是抱怨東抱怨西的)

While vs. When

在過去動詞時態中，when 子句幾乎都使用過去簡單式，而 while 子句通常使用過去進行式。while 意為「當…的時候」，它與 when 的意思相近，但強調句子不同的部分。

例句：

• I was studying when she called. (她來電時，我正在唸書)
• While I was studying, she called. (我在唸書時，她打電話來)

切記非進行式動詞及若干混合動詞的非進行式用法

切記非進行式動詞不能用於任何進行式時態。再者，若干非進行式含意
的混合動詞亦不能用於進行式。對於這些不能用過去進行式的動詞，我們必須使用過去簡單式。

例句：

• Anna was being at my house when you arrived. (當你到達時，安娜正在我家) (誤)
• Anna was at my house when you arrived. (當你到達時，安娜正在我家) (正)

副詞的位置

always, usually, only, never, ever, still, just 等副詞通常位在 BE 動詞的後面。

例句：

• I was still studying when she called. (她來電時，我還在唸書)
• They were still eating dinner when Bill arrived. (比爾到達時，他們還在吃晚餐)

主動態/被動態

例句：

• The salesman was helping the customer when the thief came into the store. (小偷進入店裡時，店員正在為顧客服務) － 主動態
• The customer was being helped by the salesman when the thief came into the store. (小偷進入店裡時，顧客正在被店員服務) － 被動態

文章來源：http://englishhome.org/past-progressive-tense.html