Use the Simple Past to express the idea that an action started and finished at a specific time in the past. Sometimes, the speaker may not actually mention the specific time, but they do have one specific time in mind. Examples: I saw a movie yesterday. I didn't see a play yesterday. Last year, I traveled to Japan. Last year, I didn't travel to Korea. Did you have dinner last night? She washed her car. He didn't wash his car. USE 2 A Series of Completed Actions
We use the Simple Past to list a series of completed actions in the past. These actions happen 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and so on. Examples: I finished work, walked to the beach, and found a nice place to swim. He arrived from the airport at 8:00, checked into the hotel at 9:00, and met the others at 10:00. Did you add flour, pour in the milk, and then add the eggs? USE 3 Duration in Past
The Simple Past can be used with a duration which starts and stops in the past. A duration is a longer action often indicated by expressions such as: for two years, for five minutes, all day, all year, etc.
2 Past Simple & Past Continuous Examples: I lived in Brazil for two years. Shauna studied Japanese for five years. They sat at the beach all day. They did not stay at the party the entire time. We talked on the phone for thirty minutes. A: How long did you wait for them? B: We waited for one hour. USE 4 Habits in the Past
The Simple Past can also be used to describe a habit which stopped in the past. It can have the same meaning as "used to." To make it clear that we are talking about a habit, we often add expressions such as: always, often, usually, never, when I was a child, when I was younger, etc. Examples: I studied French when I was a child. He played the violin. He didn't play the piano. Did you play a musical instrument when you were a kid? She worked at the movie theater after school. They never went to school, they always skipped class. USE 5 Past Facts or Generalizations
The Simple Past can also be used to describe past facts or generalizations which are no longer true. As in USE 4 above, this use of the Simple Past is quite similar to the expression "used to." Examples: She was shy as a child, but now she is very outgoing. He didn't like tomatoes before. Did you live in Texas when you were a kid? People paid much more to make cell phone calls in the past.
3 Past Simple & Past Continuous Past Continuous FORM [was/were + present participle ing] Examples: You were studying when she called. Were you studying when she called? You were not studying when she called. USE 1 Interrupted Action in the Past
Use the Past Continuous to indicate that a longer action in the past was interrupted. The interruption is usually a shorter action in the Simple Past. Remember this can be a real interruption or just an interruption in time. Examples: I was watching TV when she called. When the phone rang, she was writing a letter. While we were having the picnic, it started to rain. What were you doing when the earthquake started? I was listening to my iPod, so I didn't hear the fire alarm. You were not listening to me when I told you to turn the oven off. While John was sleeping last night, someone stole his car. Sammy was waiting for us when we got off the plane. While I was writing the email, the computer suddenly went off. A: What were you doing when you broke your leg? B: I was snowboarding. USE 2 Specific Time as an Interruption
In USE 1, described above, the Past Continuous is interrupted by a shorter action in the Simple Past. However, you can also use a specific time as an interruption. Examples: Last night at 6 PM, I was eating dinner. At midnight, we were still driving through the desert. Yesterday at this time, I was sitting at my desk at work.
4 Past Simple & Past Continuous IMPORTANT In the Simple Past, a specific time is used to show when an action began or finished. In the Past Continuous, a specific time only interrupts the action. Examples: Last night at 6 PM, I ate dinner. I started eating at 6 PM. Last night at 6 PM, I was eating dinner. I started earlier; and at 6 PM, I was in the process of eating dinner. USE 3 Parallel Actions
When you use the Past Continuous with two actions in the same sentence, it expresses the idea that both actions were happening at the same time. The actions are parallel. Examples: I was studying while he was making dinner. While Ellen was reading, Tim was watching television. Were you listening while he was talking? I wasn't paying attention while I was writing the letter, so I made several mistakes. What were you doing while you were waiting? Thomas wasn't working, and I wasn't working either. They were eating dinner, discussing their plans, and having a good time. USE 4 Atmosphere In English, we often use a series of parallel actions to describe the atmosphere at a particular time in the past. Example: When I walked into the office, several people were busily typing, some were talking on the phones, the boss was yelling directions, and customers were waiting to be helped. One customer was yelling at a secretary and waving his hands. Others were complaining to each other about the bad service. USE 5 Repetition and Irritation with "Always"
5 Past Simple & Past Continuous The Past Continuous with words such as "always" or "constantly" expresses the idea that something irritating or shocking often happened in the past. The concept is very similar to the expression "used to" but with negative emotion. Remember to put the words "always" or "constantly" between "be" and "verb+ing." Examples: She was always coming to class late. He was constantly talking. He annoyed everyone. I didn't like them because they were always complaining. While vs. When Clauses are groups of words which have meaning, but are often not complete sentences. Some clauses begin with the word "when" such as "when she called" or "when it bit me." Other clauses begin with "while" such as "while she was sleeping" and "while he was surfing." When you talk about things in the past, "when" is most often followed by the verb tense Simple Past, whereas "while" is usually followed by Past Continuous. "While" expresses the idea of "during that time." Study the examples below. They have similar meanings, but they emphasize different parts of the sentence. Examples: I was studying when she called. While I was studying, she called. Question Affirmative Negative Did you read the newspaper? Erica wrote a note Joseph didnt have many problems Did Bob ride his motorcycle Loren and Jessie went to Acapulco last week My brothers were not at home Yesterday Did the bride kiss her mother? He was worried about the test Silvia didnt break my best friend heart Did she cry all night long? He spoke English all the time They didnt come to school today Did it rain last night?
7 Past Simple & Past Continuous Complete the dialogue using the Past Simple tense.
Robert: Hi Alice, what __________ you __________ (do) last weekend? Alice: I __________ (do) a lot of things. On Saturday, I __________ (go) shopping. Robert: What __________ you __________ (buy)? Alice: I __________ (buy) some new clothes. I also __________ (play) tennis. Robert: Who __________ you __________ (play)? Alice: I __________ (play) Tom. Robert: __________ you __________(win)? Alice: Of course I __________ (win)! Robert: What __________ you __________ (do) after your tennis match. Alice: Well, I __________ (go) home and __________ (take) a shower and then __________ (go) out. Robert: __________ you __________ (eat) in a restaurant? Alice: Yes, my friend Jacky and I __________ (eat) at 'The Good Fork' Robert: __________ you __________ (enjoy) your dinner? Alice: Yes, we __________ (enjoy) our dinner very much thank you. We also __________ (drink) some wonderful wine! Robert: Unfortunately, I __________ __________ (go NEGATIVE) out this weekend. I __________ __________ (eat NEGATIVE) in a restaurant and I __________ __________ (play NEGATIVE) tennis. Alice: What __________ you __________ (do)? Robert: I __________ (stay) home and __________ (study) for my test! Alice: Poor you!
2. WAS or WERE? 1. A man ___ walking his dog. 2. A lot of people ___ shopping. a. was a. was b. were b. were
3. Tom and Sarah ___ watching television. 4. Two teenage boys ___ fighting. a. was a. was b. were b. were
5. Sally ___ jogging with her friend this morning. 6. Another man ___ watching her. a. was a. was b. were b. were
7. The students ___ using the computer lab. 8. The young newly weds __ sleeping. a. was a. was b. were b. were
8 Past Simple & Past Continuous 9. A baby ___ crying. 10. A lot of people ___ working. a. was a. was b. were b. were 3. Fill in the blanks with the simple past or past continuous form of the verbs.
A: Hi, Mary. I ________________ (see/neg.) you at school last Monday. B: Hello, Bob. I ________________ (come/neg.) on Monday. I wasn't ________________ (feel) well, so I ________________ (decide) to go to the doctor. A: Oh! ________________ (be) it serious? B: No, the doctor ________________ (examine) me and ________________ (tell) me I ________________ (have) the flu. He ________________ (prescribe) some medicine and ________________ (tell) me to go home and rest. A: _________ you ________ (stay) home all day last Monday? B: No, only in the morning. I ________________ (have) to work in the afternoon, and guess what? A: What? B: When a friend ________________ (drive) me home, he ________________ (crash) his car. He ________________ (see/neg.) the red light. A: _________ anyone _________ (get) hurt? B: Thank God, nobody ________________ (do). A: I'm happy to hear that. Well, Mary, I have to rush now. While I ________________ (listen) to your story, I ________________ (remember) that my wife ________________ (ask) me to go to the mechanic to get our car. See you later. Take care.
A Lovely Day
Yesterday (1)___________ a lovely day. I (2)___________ on a picnic with my family. We (3)___________ to Oatly Park. The weather was warm and (4)___________. We (5)___________ on the grass under a tree and (6)___________ a delicious lunch. It was very pleasant. After lunch, we (7)___________ for a walk around the park and (8)___________. On the way home we (9)___________ at a cafe for afternoon tea. It (10)___________ delicious, too. We had a very nice day. These are the words to choose from: go sunny sit have drive go be be talk stop
READING COMPREHENSION
Out To Lunch All morning, all that Ted could think about was eating lunch. He got up late and did not get a chance to eat breakfast before the school bus arrived. Ted was hoping to have a Ham sandwich. Ham is Ted's favorite lunchmeat. Ted also enjoys apples, but doesn't like the yellow or green ones. At
9 Past Simple & Past Continuous lunchtime Ted ran to the cafeteria. When he got in line he asked for Ham sandwich, but they only had Tuna and Turkey. Ted is allergic to Tuna, so he asked for the Turkey. He ate the sandwich so fast that he gave himself the hiccups.
ANSWER THE QUESTIONS: 1. Why is Ted so hungry for lunch? a. He ate too much b. He didn't eat breakfast today c. He didn't eat lunch yesterday d. He didn't eat dinner yesterday
2. What is Ted's favorite lunch meat? a. ham b. turkey c. salami d. bologna
3. What color apple might you find in Ted's lunch box? a. yellow b. green c. red d. Ted doesn't like apples
4. Which lunch item should Ted never eat? a. ham b. turkey c. apples d. tuna.
Find Someone Who...
went to a movie this week ________ didn't take a bath today________ got up before 7:00 AM today________ didn't wear earrings today________ was born in May________ played basketball last week________ went to Acapulco last year________ kissed somebody today________ didn't have breakfast today________ ate a big breakfast today________ drank tea yesterday afternoon________ watched TV last night ________ A Terrible Day Yesterday (1)___________ a terrible day. I (2)___________ to a barbeque at a friend's place. I (3)___________ the bus to Fairfield but the bus was an hour (4)___________. Because I (5)___________ late, everyone had already started eating. So, there (6)___________ no food left. I was very (7)___________ On the way home, the bus (8)___________ a flat tire. Then I had to walk home but it (9)___________ to rain. I (10)___________ very wet. I had a terrible day yesterday. These are the words to choose from: arrive be get start take go have be late angry
10 Past Simple & Past Continuous Basic Verb List Regular Verbs - Infinitive Present 3 rd person Preterit/Past Participle To ask ask, asks asked asked To call call, calls called called To change change, changes changed changed To decide decide decides decided decided To end end, ends ended ended To help help, helps helped helped To land land, lands landed landed To like like, likes liked liked To love love, loves loved loved To look look, looks looked looked To move, moves moved move moved To need need, needs needed needed To play play, plays played played To show, show shows showed showed To study study, studies studied studied To talk talks talk talked talked To turn turn, turns turned turned To walk walk, walks walked walked To want want, wants wanted wanted
11 Past Simple & Past Continuous Irregular Verbs Infinitive Present 3 rd
person Preterit Past Participle be is am are was were been begin begin begins began begun break break breaks broke broken bring bring brings brought brought buy buy buys bought bought catch catch catches caught caught choose choose chooses chose chosen come come comes came come cost cost costs cost cost cut cut cuts cut cut do do does did done drink drink drinks drank drunk drive drive, drives drove driven eat eat eats ate eaten fall fall falls fell fallen feel feel feels felt felt fight fight fights fought fought find find finds found found fly fly flies flew flown forget forget forgets forgot forgotten freeze freeze, freezes froze frozen get get gets got gotten give give gives gave Given go go goes went gone have have has had had
12 Past Simple & Past Continuous hear hear hears heard heard hide hide hides hid hidden hit hit hits hit hit hurt hurt hurts hurt hurt keep keep keeps kept kept know know knows knew known leave leave leaves left left lend lend lends lent lent let let lets let let lose lose loses lost lost make make makes made made meet meet meets met met pay pay pays paid paid put put puts put put quit quit quits quit quit read read reads read read ride ride rides rode ridden say say says said said see see sees saw seen sell sell sells sold sold send send sends sent sent shake shake shakes shook shaken shut shut shuts shut shut sing sing sings sang sung sit sit sits sat sat sleep sleep sleeps slept slept speak speak speaks spoke spoken spend spend spends spent spent
13 Past Simple & Past Continuous spread spread spreads spread spread steal steal steals stole stolen stick stick sticks stuck stuck swim swim swims swam swum take take takes took taken teach teach teaches taught taught tell tell tells told told think think thinks thought thought throw throw throws threw thrown wake wake wakes woke woken wear wear wears wore worn win win wins won won write write writes wrote written
What did you do last weekend? __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________