Tóm tắt

Past Continuous diễn tả hành động đang diễn ra tại một thời điểm xác định trong quá khứ.

Khẳng định Phủ định Nghi vấn
I/He/She/It was working was not working Was ... working?
You/We/They were working were not working Were ... working?
  • At 8 pm last night, I was studying for the exam.
  • They were not sleeping when we arrived.
  • Were you watching TV when I called?

Tại sao quan trọng

Past Continuous là công cụ kể chuyện quan trọng trong IELTS: - Speaking Part 2: mô tả bối cảnh khi kể về sự kiện quá khứ - Writing Task 1: diễn tả xu hướng đang diễn ra tại một thời điểm - Tạo sự phong phú về ngữ pháp khi kết hợp với Past Simple

Cấu trúc và cách dùng

Cấu trúc

Subject + was/were + V-ing

Lưu ý: Dùng was cho I/he/she/it; were cho you/we/they.

4 cách dùng chính

1. Hành động đang diễn ra tại một thời điểm cụ thể trong quá khứ

Thường đi với: at 8 o'clock, at this time yesterday, at noon last Tuesday...

  • This time last year, she was living in London.
  • At midnight, the children were still sleeping.
  • What were you doing at 3 pm on Monday?

2. Hành động đang diễn ra thì bị gián đoạn (Past Continuous + Past Simple)

Past Continuous (background) + when + Past Simple (interruption)
  • I was reading a book when the phone rang.
  • She was cooking dinner when he arrived home.
  • They were discussing the plan when the power went out.

Mẹo: Past Continuous = hành động nền dài; Past Simple = sự kiện ngắn bất ngờ xảy đến.

3. Hai hành động song song trong quá khứ

Past Continuous + while + Past Continuous
  • She was reading while he was watching TV.
  • The students were taking notes while the teacher was explaining.
  • I was cooking while my sister was setting the table.

4. Mô tả bối cảnh / tạo không khí trong kể chuyện

  • The sun was shining, birds were singing, and children were playing in the park.
  • When we arrived, everyone was enjoying themselves.
  • The city was buzzing with excitement — it was the night before the festival.

Dấu hiệu nhận biết

Từ/Cụm từ Ví dụ
at + thời điểm + yesterday/last... at 5 pm yesterday
this time + last week/year this time last month
when (+ Past Simple) when I arrived
while while they were working
all morning/evening/day all morning yesterday

So sánh Past Continuous vs Past Simple

Past Continuous Past Simple
Ý nghĩa Đang xảy ra (chưa xong) Đã xảy ra và kết thúc
Thời gian Kéo dài / nền Điểm thời gian / hoàn thành
Kết hợp "when + PS" = bị gián đoạn "when + PC" = sự kiện bất ngờ
  • I was walking home when it started to rain. (đang đi thì trời bắt đầu mưa)
  • I walked home when it stopped raining. (đợi tạnh mưa rồi đi bộ về)

Lỗi thường gặp

Lỗi 1: Dùng was/were nhầm

  • ❌ You was sleeping.
  • ✅ You were sleeping.
  • ❌ They was playing football.
  • ✅ They were playing football.

Lỗi 2: Quên -ing

  • ❌ She was study when I called.
  • ✅ She was studying when I called.

Lỗi 3: Dùng state verbs (stative verbs) với Past Continuous

Các động từ chỉ trạng thái không dùng với continuous tenses: know, believe, understand, want, need, like, love, hate, have (sở hữu), see (nhìn thấy), hear...

  • ❌ I was knowing the answer.
  • ✅ I knew the answer.
  • ❌ She was loving the film.
  • ✅ She loved the film.

Lỗi 4: Nhầm khi dùng "when" và "while"

  • When thường đi với Past Simple: When she arrived, I was cooking.

  • While thường đi với Past Continuous: While she was cooking, I was reading.

  • ❌ While she arrived, I was cooking.

  • ✅ When she arrived, I was cooking.
  • ❌ When I was sleeping, he knocked.
  • ✅ While I was sleeping, he knocked. / When I was sleeping, he knocked.

Lỗi 5: Dùng Past Continuous thay vì Past Simple cho hành động đã hoàn thành

  • ❌ Yesterday, I was finishing my homework at 9 pm. (hàm ý chưa xong)
  • ✅ Yesterday, I finished my homework at 9 pm.
  • ✅ Yesterday, at 9 pm, I was finishing my homework. (đang làm tại thời điểm đó)

Ứng dụng trong IELTS

Speaking Part 2 — Kể chuyện sự kiện:

"I'd like to talk about a memorable trip to Hội An. When we arrived, the sun was setting and the lanterns were glowing everywhere. While my friends were taking photos, I was just standing there, taking it all in. It was one of the most magical moments I've ever experienced."

Speaking Part 1 — Mô tả quá khứ:

  • "When I was studying at university, I was living near the campus."
  • "This time last year, I was preparing for my IELTS exam."

Writing Task 1 — Mô tả xu hướng tại thời điểm:

  • "In 2005, the rate was rising steadily before it peaked in 2008."
  • "While the number of urban residents was increasing, rural populations were declining."

Writing Task 2 — Mô tả bối cảnh lịch sử:

  • "In the early 20th century, scientists were beginning to understand the link between diet and health."
  • "While governments were focusing on economic growth, environmental concerns were being largely ignored."

Bài tập luyện

Chia động từ đúng (Past Simple hoặc Past Continuous)

  1. I (read) ___ a book when she (call) ___ me.
  2. They (play) ___ football when it (start) ___ raining.
  3. At 10 pm, he (sleep) ___.
  4. While she (cook) ___ dinner, I (do) ___ my homework.
  5. What (you/do) ___ at midnight last night?

Chọn "when" hoặc "while"

  1. ___ I was studying, my phone rang.
  2. ___ she arrived, we were having dinner.
  3. He was reading ___ his wife was watching TV.
  4. The alarm went off ___ I was sleeping.

Sửa lỗi

  1. She was know the truth all along.
  2. You was working very hard yesterday.
  3. While he arrived, I was cooking.
  4. I was finishing the report at 6 pm yesterday.

Đáp án

Chia động từ: 1. was reading / called | 2. were playing / started | 3. was sleeping | 4. was cooking / was doing | 5. were you doing

When/While: 1. While | 2. When | 3. while | 4. while / when

Sửa lỗi: 1. She knew the truth all along. (stative verb) 2. You were working very hard yesterday. 3. When he arrived, I was cooking. 4. I finished the report at 6 pm yesterday. (hành động hoàn thành → Past Simple)

Tóm tắt nhanh

Cách dùng Cấu trúc Ví dụ
Hành động đang xảy ra tại thời điểm QK was/were + V-ing At noon, I was eating.
Hành động bị gián đoạn PC + when + PS I was studying when she called.
Hai hành động song song PC + while + PC He was reading while she was cooking.
Mô tả bối cảnh PC (nền) + PS (sự kiện) The rain was falling when we left.

Quy tắc vàng: - was = I / he / she / it - were = you / we / they - Stative verbs (know, want, love...) không dùng Past Continuous - Past Continuous = nền/bối cảnh; Past Simple = sự kiện xảy đến