Questions<\/h1>\n
The tense changes the demand for information:<\/p>\n
What did you do? = What started?\u00a0 What finished? Give me the summary!<\/p>\n
What were you doing<\/strong>? = What was happening?\u00a0 What action was continuing at this point?\u00a0 I want to know about actions before something else.<\/p>\n People who are investigating locations and actions will use this tense: parents, teachers, partners, police!<\/p>\n What were you doing<\/strong> at 11pm?\u00a0 They want to know exactly which action was continuing\u00a0<\/strong>at this time.<\/p>\n What did you do at 11pm? Asks about actions that started<\/em>\u00a0or finished<\/em> at 11pm.<\/p>\n Which question is better?<\/p>\n (1)\u00a0asking for the reason, the summary – most usual question<\/p>\n (2)\u00a0asking about why the action was not happening – not usual question, but possible!<\/p>\n Why didn’t you answer the doorbell?<\/p>\n Which tense works to answer this question?<\/p>\n I slept = action is finished.\u00a0 When did it start? When did it finish?\u00a0 Before the postman arrived? After?\u00a0 At the same time? It’s not clear.<\/p>\n I was sleeping<\/strong> when the postman delivered my new stick.<\/p>\n This shows that the action started before the other action <\/strong>(postman delivered) and continued after.<\/strong><\/p>\n Note: Usually we respond to questions in the same tense, but in this case we need to explain an action that continues, so there is no other choice!<\/p>\n – What were you doing<\/strong> when I called you?\u00a0 Why didn’t you answer? This shows the action started before and continued after the telephone call. We can use a location to answer this question.<\/p>\n There is no need to give the detail of the action.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Why use this? What is this tense for? Describe an action that continued in the past Questions & Answers Duration Questions The tense changes the demand for information: What did you do? = What started?\u00a0 What finished? Give me the summary! What were you doing? = What was happening?\u00a0 What action was continuing at this … <\/p>\nUsage<\/h1>\n
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Answers<\/h1>\n
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\n– Sorry, I was having<\/strong> a shower!<\/p>\n
\nThis shows the subject was between the start and the end of the action.<\/p>\nLocation<\/h2>\n
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>> Part 3 Duration<\/a><\/h1>\n