과거진행

과거진행형 = was / were + -ing. I / he / she / it에는 was, you / we / they에는 were를 씁니다. -ing를 붙이는 방법은 현재진행형과 같습니다(「현재진행」 레슨 참고).

의문사가 있을 때: What were you doing? Who was she talking to? 짧은 대답: Yes, I was. / No, they weren't.

1. 과거의 어느 순간에 진행 중이던 동작 — 그 순간 전에 시작해서 아직 끝나지 않은 일. at 9 o'clock last night, at this time yesterday 등과 자주 함께 씁니다.

• At nine last night, I was watching a football match.

  어젯밤 9시에 저는 축구 경기를 보고 있었어요.

• What were you doing at this time yesterday?

  어제 이 시간에 뭐 하고 있었어요?

2. 이야기의 배경 설명 — 이야기를 시작할 때

• It was raining, and people were hurrying home.

  비가 내리고 있었고, 사람들은 서둘러 집으로 가고 있었어요.

• The sun was shining and the kids were playing on the beach.

  해가 비치고 있었고 아이들은 해변에서 놀고 있었어요.

3. 동시에 일어나던 두 개의 긴 동작 — 흔히 while로 연결합니다

• While I was cooking, my husband was setting the table.

  제가 요리하는 동안 남편은 상을 차리고 있었어요.

• Lan was studying while her brother was playing games.

  란이 공부하는 동안 남동생은 게임을 하고 있었어요.

💡과거진행형은 과거의 어느 순간에 어떤 일을 “하던 중”이었다고 생각하세요: 어젯밤 9시에 나는 축구 경기를 보던 중이었다 = I was watching football. 과거형은 처음부터 끝까지 다 끝난 동작에 씁니다.

두 시제는 한 문장 안에서 자주 함께 쓰입니다. 과거진행형은 진행 중이던 긴 동작, 과거형은 그것을 끊는 짧은 동작을 나타냅니다.

• I was having a shower when the phone rang.

  샤워를 하고 있는데 전화가 울렸어요.

• We were driving home when we saw the accident.

  차를 타고 집에 가다가 사고를 봤어요.

• When I arrived, they were eating dinner.

  제가 도착했을 때 그들은 저녁을 먹고 있었어요.

시제를 바꾸면 뜻이 달라집니다:

차례로 일어나는 동작에는 모두 과거형을 씁니다: She got up, had breakfast and left.

• while + 긴 동작(보통 과거진행형): While I was walking home, it started to rain.
• when + 짧은 동작(보통 과거형): I was walking home when it started to rain.
• When도 긴 동작과 함께 쓸 수 있지만(When I was walking home, …), while은 보통 지속되는 일과 함께 씁니다. 순간적으로 일어나는 동작에는 when을 씁니다: “while I opened the door”가 아니라 “when I opened the door”.
• when / while 절이 앞에 오면 쉼표를 찍습니다: While she was sleeping, someone called. 뒤에 오면 보통 쉼표를 찍지 않습니다: Someone called while she was sleeping.

while(+ 절)은 during(+ 명사)과 다릅니다. 「During과 while」 레슨을 보세요.

현재와 마찬가지로 know, want, like, need, believe, understand, own 같은 상태동사는 과거의 어느 순간에 진행 중이던 일이라도 보통 진행형으로 쓰지 않고 과거형을 씁니다.

• I didn't understand what he was saying.

  그가 무슨 말을 하는지 이해하지 못했어요. (wasn't understanding은 틀림)

• We wanted to leave, but it was still raining.

  우리는 떠나고 싶었지만 아직 비가 오고 있었어요.

• ✗I was cook dinner when you called.

  ✓I was cooking dinner when you called.

  was 뒤에는 -ing가 필요합니다.

• ✗They was playing football.

  ✓They were playing football.

  they → were.

• ✗I watched TV when the lights went out.

  ✓I was watching TV when the lights went out.

  중간에 끊긴 긴 동작 → 과거진행형.

• ✗Were you sleep when I called?

  ✓Were you sleeping when I called?

  was / were + -ing.

• ✗I was knowing the answer.

  ✓I knew the answer.

  know는 상태동사 → 과거형.

• ✗What did you doing at eight last night?

  ✓What were you doing at eight last night?

  과거진행형은 did가 아니라 was / were를 씁니다.