Past Simple vs Past Continuous
The Past Simple Tense The past simple tense is most often used for the following: - For actions that happened in the past - In reported speech How to form the past simple For actions that happened in the past The past simple is the most usual tense for talking about things that happened or have finished before now. Very often we use a word or expression of finished time with this tense. In the following example sentences the expressions of finished time are shown in bold:
Examples She came to Germany two years ago. It rained every day for a week on my vacation. Columbus discovered America in 1492. I played tennis at the weekend. I didn't see you yesterday. Were you in school? My mother went shopping on Saturday but she didn't buy anything. I felt embarrassed when the teacher asked an easy question but I didn't know the answer. The weather was bad this afternoon* so we didn't have a picnic as planned. How did you do that? Did you see the film on TV last night? Why didn't you do your homework?
In reported speech it is common to shift the tense back. So for example, if someone said something to you in the present tense, you would report it in the past tense. Look at these examples. In each case the first sentence is direct speech and the second sentence is in reported speech. The verbs in the past simple form are shown in bold.
Examples She said: "I live in Frankfurt. " She told me she lived in Frankfurt. * He said: "I can speak 5 languages. " He said he could speak 5 languages. The new girl said: "My father is a millionaire!" The new girl told me her father was a millionaire but I don't believe her! She said: "My mother doesn't like German food. " She said her mother didn't like German food. He said: "I don't feel well. " He said he didn't feel well. She asked: "Do you like ESL lessons? " She asked me if I liked ESL lessons. The teacher said: "Do you know the answer? " The teacher asked me if I knew the answer.
Regular verbs: The verbs "lived, started, died" are regular past forms. The rule is the following: Verb + ed Examples: The infinitive Live start die visit play watch phone marry The simple past lived started died visited played watched phoned married
PAST CONTINUOUS TENSE The past continuous describes actions or events in a time before now, which began in the past and is still going on at the time of speaking. In other words, it expresses an unfinished or incomplete action in the past.
FORMING THE PAST CONTINUOUS The past continuous of any verb is composed of two parts : the past tense of the verb "to be" (was/were), and the base of the main verb +ing. Subject They was/were base + ing watching Affirmative She was reading Negative She wasn't reading Interrogative Was she reading? Interrogative negative Wasn't she reading?
Examples:
Exercises A. Complete the sentences 1. On Saturday I ______ (play) computer games with my cousins. 2. My mum ______ (not cook) dinner last night. 3. I ______ (walk) to school because there weren´t any buses. 4. They ______ (not dance) at the party. 5. My brother ______ (travel) to Ireland last summer.
Answers 1. On Saturday I played computer games with my cousins. 2. My mum didn´t cook dinner last night. 3. I walked to school because there weren´t any buses. 4. They didn´t dance at the party. 5. My brother travelled to Ireland last summer.
B. Write the past simple of these verbs 1. copy _____ 2. revise _____ 3. cycle _____ 4. listen _____ 5. practice _____ 6. play _____ 7. like _____ 8. move _____ 9. shout _____ 10. start _____
Answers 1. copy copied 2. revised 3. cycled 4. listened 5. practiced 6. played 7. liked 8. moved 9. shouted 10. started
C. Write the questions in the correct order. 1. film? / like / you / Did / the / _________________ 2. you / many / did / ask? / How / people / _________________ 3. a / have / time? / they / Did / good / _________________ 4. did / weekend? / the / What / do / we / at / _________________ 5. she / DVD? / Where / that / did / buy / _________________ 6. party / on / your / go / Saturday? / he / Did / to /
Answers 1. Did you like the film? 2. How many people did you ask? 3. Did they have a good time? 4. What did we do at the weekend? 5. Where did she buy that DVD? 6. Did he go to your party on Saturday?
Put the verbs into the correct form (past progressive). When I phoned my friends, they (play)____ monopoly. Yesterday at six I (prepare)______ dinner. The kids (play)______ in the garden when it suddenly began to rain. I (practice)______ the guitar when he came home. We (not / cycle)_____ all day. While Alan (work)______ in his room, his friends (swim) _____ in the pool. I tried to tell them the truth but they (not / listen )____. What (you / do)_______ yesterday? Most of the time we (sit)_____ in the park. I (listen)______ to the radio while my sister (watch) TV. When I arrived, They (play) ______ cards. We (study) _______ English yesterday at 4: 00 pm.
Thank you for attention