过去进行时的用法
1）过去进行时主要表示过去某时的一个动作正在进行，过去时间可以由一个状语表示出来：
What were you doing when I rang you up? 我给你打电话时你在干吗？
I was having a bath (at that time). (那时) 我在洗澡。
You were then working in the post office, weren’t you? 那时你在邮局工作，对吧？
I was writing a letter when she called. 她来时我正在写信。
I was busy yesterday. I was preparing for the exams. 昨天我很忙，我在准备考试。
At that moment, I wasn’t doing anything. 那会儿我什么也没做。
I was thinking of you all those years. 那些年我一直惦记着你。
有时候时间由上下文表示出来：
Jane was in town. She was doing some shopping. 简在城里，在买东西。
The bride was wearing a pink dress and carrying a small bouquet. 新娘穿着粉红色的裙服，手上拿着一小束花。
He was sitting alone on the deck. 他一个人坐在甲板上。
Someone was following her. She was scared. 有人跟着她，她很害怕。
A small orchestra was playing. 一支小型管弦乐队在演奏。
They knew what they were working for. 他们知道在为什么而工作。
I didn’t know you were still waiting for me. 我不知道你还在等我。
I asked him to tell me what was troubling him. 我让他说出他的烦心事。
过去进行时还可以用在状语从句中：
He met the bride while he was studying in California. 他是在加州上学时遇到新娘的。
He lost his purse when he was strolling across a meadow. 他在草地上散步时把钱包丢了。
I got to know her when I was working in a pharmacy. 我在药房工作时认识了她。
While the water was heating, I began cooking. 烧水时我开始做饭。
2）过去进行时可以用来描绘一幅景象，作为描绘的开始：
A fire was burning and a cat was sleeping in front of it. A girl was playing the piano and singing softly to herself. Then there was a knock at the door. 炉火烧着，一只猫睡在炉火前。一个女孩在弹钢琴，轻声对自己唱着，这时有人敲门。
She was sitting at the window, watching the evening invade the avenue. Suddenly she heard someone calling her from downstairs, and she recognized the voice. She stood up quickly. 她坐在窗前，看着暮色渐渐笼罩大街。突然她听到楼下有人叫她。她听出了这声音，迅速站了起来。
在故事中间也可用过去进行时来描绘一幅景象：
At last we got to the top of the mountain. White snow covered everything. People were sitting in groups of three and four. Some were lying on their backs. When they saw us, they were very happy and shouted: “We thought you had lost your way!” 最后我们爬上了山顶。白雪覆盖着一切，人们三五成群地坐着，有的人仰面躺着。他们看到我们时非常高兴，高声叫到：“我们还以为你们迷路了！”
在小说中我们常可以看到这样的段落。
过去进行时的用法
1）过去进行时主要表示过去某时的一个动作正在进行，过去时间可以由一个状语表示出来：
What were you doing when I rang you up? 我给你打电话时你在干吗？
I was having a bath (at that time). (那时) 我在洗澡。
You were then working in the post office, weren’t you? 那时你在邮局工作，对吧？
I was writing a letter when she called. 她来时我正在写信。
I was busy yesterday. I was preparing for the exams. 昨天我很忙，我在准备考试。
At that moment, I wasn’t doing anything. 那会儿我什么也没做。
I was thinking of you all those years. 那些年我一直惦记着你。
有时候时间由上下文表示出来：
Jane was in town. She was doing some shopping. 简在城里，在买东西。
The bride was wearing a pink dress and carrying a small bouquet. 新娘穿着粉红色的裙服，手上拿着一小束花。
He was sitting alone on the deck. 他一个人坐在甲板上。
Someone was following her. She was scared. 有人跟着她，她很害怕。
A small orchestra was playing. 一支小型管弦乐队在演奏。
They knew what they were working for. 他们知道在为什么而工作。
I didn’t know you were still waiting for me. 我不知道你还在等我。
I asked him to tell me what was troubling him. 我让他说出他的烦心事。
过去进行时还可以用在状语从句中：
He met the bride while he was studying in California. 他是在加州上学时遇到新娘的。
He lost his purse when he was strolling across a meadow. 他在草地上散步时把钱包丢了。
I got to know her when I was working in a pharmacy. 我在药房工作时认识了她。
While the water was heating, I began cooking. 烧水时我开始做饭。
2）过去进行时可以用来描绘一幅景象，作为描绘的开始：
A fire was burning and a cat was sleeping in front of it. A girl was playing the piano and singing softly to herself. Then there was a knock at the door. 炉火烧着，一只猫睡在炉火前。一个女孩在弹钢琴，轻声对自己唱着，这时有人敲门。
She was sitting at the window, watching the evening invade the avenue. Suddenly she heard someone calling her from downstairs, and she recognized the voice. She stood up quickly. 她坐在窗前，看着暮色渐渐笼罩大街。突然她听到楼下有人叫她。她听出了这声音，迅速站了起来。
在故事中间也可用过去进行时来描绘一幅景象：
At last we got to the top of the mountain. White snow covered everything. People were sitting in groups of three and four. Some were lying on their backs. When they saw us, they were very happy and shouted: “We thought you had lost your way!” 最后我们爬上了山顶。白雪覆盖着一切，人们三五成群地坐着，有的人仰面躺着。他们看到我们时非常高兴，高声叫到：“我们还以为你们迷路了！”
在小说中我们常可以看到这样的段落。