Tenses - Past Continuous

Detective: "Can you account for your movements last night, Sir?"

Suspect: "As a matter of fact, detective, I was making love all evening."

Detective: "At your age Sir?"

Students need to know

This describes an action in progress at or during a time in the past. It is commonly found in combination with the Past Simple:

“I was having a bath when the phone rang.”

“Did you get out and answer it?”

“I tried, but I was so startled, I slipped and shattered my tibia.”

Can for Ability

"I can play 'Die Fledermaus" on the glockenspiel."

"I can't even say it."

What students need to know

We use "can" to talk about general abilities: "I can drive a tank." "She can sing the blues." It also works for  specific situations: "I can make the 10 o'clock meeting, but not the nine o'clock."

When referring to the past, we use "could": "Remember old Duke? He could play 'She'll be coming round the mountain' with his eyes closed." But this only goes for general abilities. For specific situations we need "was able to": "I didn't get up in time for the nine o'clock meeting, but I was able to make the 10 o'clock."

Present Continuous

Talking about "now"...

He's having a heart attack!

Well don't just stand there, call an ambulance.

I am calling an ambulance!

... or "around now"

Are you reading anything good at the moment?

No. I'm reading Joseph Conrad.