PAST PROGRESSIVE (Continuous) TENSE

Simple, గతంలో జరుగుతున్న దాని గురించి చెప్పేటప్పుడు వాడాలి. అంటే గతంలో, ఒక రోజు కానీ, ఒక సమయంలో గానీ జరిగిన విషయం గురించి చెప్పేటప్పుడు వాడతాం.
This tense is also used for past actions which continued up to a point in the past.
  E.g He was working up to 2 am last night.

It is also used to talk about an action that was in progress at a point of time in the past.
  E.g. In 1970, I was studying B.Sc., in NG College, Nalgonda

When we talk about two actions that took place almost simultaneously, one of them is used in Simple Past and the other in Past Progressive.
  
  Action 1 Past tense 
                                                           Present
  Action 2  Past Progressive 
  
  When I studied (Action 1) in college, she was teaching (Action 2) Chemistry.
  When I saw (A 1) him in the park, he was talking (A 2) to a girl.
  
  కొన్ని వాక్యాల్లో రెండు actionsని అటు ఇటు మార్చుకోగలం. పైన ఇచ్చిన వాటిలో అలా చేయలేం.
 Use either Simple Past or Past Progressive Tense for the verbs given after the blanks.
 1. When we _____ (reach) home, the children _____(quarrel).
 2. The children _____ (make) noise when their grandfather _____(sleep) after lunch.
 3. Some students _____ (chat) while the lecturer _____(give) the class.
 4. The husband _____ (read) the newspaper merrily as his wife _____ (choke) in the kitchen.
 5. The child _____ (sleep) peacefully in the make-shift cradle while his mother _____ (work) in the farm.
 6. By the time we _____ (reach) the wedding hall, the workers _____ (clean) the vessels.
 7. While the teacher _____ (explain) some grammar items, that  girl _____(text) on her mobile.
 
 Key
   1) reached, were quarrelling
   2) were making, slept
   3) were chatting, gave
   4) read, was choking
   5) slept, was working
   6) reached, were cleaning
   7) explained, was texting
  
 
 Using Hand in English
 hand in hand = together
  Eg. The friends work hand in hand.

 give me a hand = help me
  Eg. Excuse me, will you please give a hand in lifting this?

 hand in = give
  Eg. He handed in his apology.

 hand over = transfer
  Eg. She handed over the charge on her transfer.

get a good hand = in cards, a good deal (మంచి ముక్కలు రావడం)
  Eg. We could see from his face that he got a good hand.

hands down = very easily
  Eg. New Zealand won all the one-day matches hands down recently.

to give a hand = cheat [మోసగించు].
  Eg. After winning the election, he gave a hand to his party just to get a ministerial berth.

to hand down = to deliver a verdict [తీర్పు]
  Eg. The Warangal Fast Track court handed down the verdict just in 45 days.

to hand on = transfer knowledge
  Eg. In Puttur (Chittoor) the treatment of fractured bones is handed on from generation to generation.
 
How to say sorry / apologize?
 Please, forgive me for my…
 I'm really ashamed of what I did.
 I'm really sorry about what I said.
 That was rude of me. I'm sorry.
 I hope you'll forgive me for…
 I do apologize for…
 Please excuse me my responding late.
 I beg your pardon.
 Forgive me for what I said earlier. I didn't mean to hurt you.
 
 How to accept apologies?
 (When they say "sorry')
 Don't mention it.
 That's OK.
 I quite understand.
 You couldn't help it.
 Forget about it.
 Don't worry about it.
 That's all right.
 It doesn't matter.