3 Sentence Summary of This Lesson:
- The past continuous "-고 있었다" describes actions that were ongoing at a specific moment in the past.
- Form it by adding "-고 있었다" to any verb stem, regardless of batchim.
- Examples: 먹고 있었다 (was eating), 자고 있었다 (was sleeping), 생각하고 있었다 (was thinking).
To say that you “were” in the middle of doing something or that something “was” ongoing at the moment, you would use the “past” continuous form, which is “-고 있었다.” This would be attached to a verb stem. Pretty much the same rule as present continuous, but with the addition of “었.”
e. g.)
먹다 → 먹 → 먹고 있다 → 먹고 있었다. (I was eating)
생각하다 → 생각하 → 생각하고 있다 → 생각하고 있었다. (I was thinking)
자다 → 자 → 자고 있다 → 자고 있었다. (I was sleeping)
Whether the preceding letter has a batchim or not, just add “-고 있었다.”
The past continuous, or 과거진행형, is used to describe an action that was happening at the moment.
e.g.)
→ 영미는 자고 있었어.
Youngmi was sleeping.
→ 뭐 하고 있었어?
What were you doing?
It is pretty straight forward!
If you ever get confused, be sure to check out our very own Verb Conjugator widget for answers.
Try the following exercise.
Conjugate the given verbs into the past continuous.
- 과자를 _____ (먹다).
Answer
먹고 있었어요.
- 그림을 _____(그리다).
Answer
그리고 있었어요.
- 책을 _____(읽다).
Answer
읽고 있었어요.
- 요리를 _____(하다).
Answer
하고 있었어요.
- 가방에 _____(넣다).
Answer
넣고 있었어요.
- 공원에서 _____(걷다).
Answer
걷고 있었어요.
- 이빨을 _____(닦다).
Answer
닦고 있었어요.
- 집에서 _____(쉬다).
Answer
쉬고 있었어요.
- 춤을 _____(추다).
Answer
추고 있었어요.
- 모기를 _____(잡다).
Answer
잡고 있었어요.
You can also make sentences of your own for practice and use our Grammar & Spelling Checker widget for corrections.
* For more practice exercises, visit the ‘Practice Hub’.
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