Simple Past Vs Past Continuous
Simple past and past continuous tense are frequently used in every conversation in English but they can be confusing to many none native English learners specifically the beginner. Don't worry this post will help you get through these two tenses with ease by explaining the following key points.
- Use
- Positive form
- Examples
- Practice
- Practice keys
Simple Past
Use : action that happened and finished at a specific time in the past.
FormsPositive : Sub + V-ed + .......past time expression.Negative : Sub + didn't + base verb....Yes/No : Did + sub + base verb......?
Past time expressions
- yesterday,
- in 2000,
- when I was 2 years old
- Last : week, month, year...
- Ago : 2 hours ago, a week ago....
Example
- They visited Angkor Wat last year.
- They played soccer yesterday.
- He left a minute ago.
- She cried a lot when she was a baby.
Past Continuous
Use : Action that was happening at a specific time in the past.
FormsPositive : Sub + was/were + Ving.......Negative: Sub + wasn't/weren't + Ving.....Yes/No : Was/were + sub + Ving....?
Example
- This time yesterday, I was studying.
- She was sleeping at 10 last night.
- It was raining at 8 this morning.
- They were playing soccer at 2 yesterday.
Simple Past Vs Past Continuous
Past Continuous
- action happened first
- action is longer
Simple Past
- action is shorter
- action happened later and was interrupting
Example
- The rain came while they were playing soccer.
- When the teacher is writing, he dropped his marker.
- She was taking a shower when someone rang the bell.
- The police arrived while they were playing cards.
Practice
Practice keys
- She was cooking when her phone rang.
- While he was driving, one of the car’s tires went flat.
- When the teacher arrived, students were running around in the class.
- The plane was taking off when a bird struck.
- The light went out when my parents were watching TV.
Tags
easy grammar