Simple Past Vs Past Continuous Tense | Interactive lesson and practice on simple past and past progressive

 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

  Simple Past 

  Use : action that happened and finished at a specific time in the past. 

  Forms

  Positive : 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.

  Forms

  Positive : 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.

  📚 Grammar Lesson

  Simple Past vs Past Continuous

  Master the difference between these two important tenses!

  ⏰ Simple Past

  When to use:

  For completed actions in the past

  Structure:

  Subject + Verb(-ed)

  Examples:

  • • I walked to school yesterday
  • • She finished her homework
  • • They played football last week

  🔄 Past Continuous

  When to use:

  For ongoing actions in the past

  Structure:

  Subject + was/were + Verb(-ing)

  Examples:

  • • I was walking to school
  • • She was doing her homework
  • • They were playing football

  🔍 Key Differences

  Simple Past:

  • ✅ Complete action
  • ✅ Specific time
  • ✅ Finished event

  Past Continuous:

  • 🔄 Ongoing action
  • 🔄 Duration in past
  • 🔄 Background action

  📊 Timeline Example

  "While I was reading a book, the phone rang."

  📖 Reading (ongoing)

  →→→→→

  📞 Phone rang (interruption)

  Practice Time! 🎯

  Choose the correct tense for each sentence

  Score: 0 / 0

  🎉 Congratulations!

  You've completed the practice session!