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    Past Simple Past Continuous Used To

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    Paula Lilloy Fedele
    The document summarizes the past simple, past continuous, and used to tenses in English. It provides the forms and uses of the past simple and past continuous tenses, explaining that the past simple is used to describe actions that happened one after another or were just mentioned, while the past continuous emphasizes actions that were in progress. It also explains that "used to" is used to talk about past situations, states, or repeated habits that are no longer true.

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    Past Simple Past Continuous Used To

    Uploaded by

    Paula Lilloy Fedele
    235 views2 pages
    The document summarizes the past simple, past continuous, and used to tenses in English. It provides the forms and uses of the past simple and past continuous tenses, explaining that the past simple is used to describe actions that happened one after another or were just mentioned, while the past continuous emphasizes actions that were in progress. It also explains that "used to" is used to talk about past situations, states, or repeated habits that are no longer true.

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    The document summarizes the past simple, past continuous, and used to tenses in English. It provides the forms and uses of the past simple and past continuous tenses, explaining that the past simple is used to describe actions that happened one after another or were just mentioned, while the past continuous emphasizes actions that were in progress. It also explains that "used to" is used to talk about past situations, states, or repeated habits that are no longer true.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as ODT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as odt, pdf, or txt
    235 views2 pages

    Past Simple Past Continuous Used To

    Uploaded by

    Paula Lilloy Fedele
    The document summarizes the past simple, past continuous, and used to tenses in English. It provides the forms and uses of the past simple and past continuous tenses, explaining that the past simple is used to describe actions that happened one after another or were just mentioned, while the past continuous emphasizes actions that were in progress. It also explains that "used to" is used to talk about past situations, states, or repeated habits that are no longer true.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as ODT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as odt, pdf, or txt
    of 2

    UNIT 3: PAST SIMPLE, PAST CONTINUOUS AND USED TO

    PAST SIMPLE vs PAST CONTINUOUS


    Form
    Past Simple Past Continuous
    Irregular verbs: see 2nd column of irregular verbs. Past form of “be” + V-ing
    (I spoke) I/he/she/it was working
    Regular verbs: verb + ed (I worked) You/we/they were working
    Exceptions
    When adding “ed”: When adding “ing”:
    • when the final letter is e, only add d. • silent e is dropped (but: does not apply for -
    ee)
    Example: love - loved
    Example: come - coming
    • after a short, stressed vowel, the final but: agree - agreeing
    consonant is doubled
    • after a short, stressed vowel, the final
    Example: admit - admitted
    consonant is doubled
    • final l is always doubled in British English (not Example: sit - sitting
    in American English)
    • final l is always doubled in British English (not
    Example: travel - travelled
    in American English)
    • after a consonant, final y becomes i. (but: not Example: travel - travelling
    after a vowel)
    • final ie becomes y.
    Example: worry - he worried
    but: play - he played Example: lie - lying

    Use

    • After another or at the same time?

    Do you want to express that the actions in the past happened one after another or at the same
    time?

    Past Simple Past Continuous


    One after another At the same time
    She came home, switched on the computer and Simon was playing on the computer while his
    checked her e-mails. brother was watching TV.
    ▪ New action or already in progress?

    If you want to express that a new action happened in the middle of another action, you need both
    tenses: Simple Past the new action and Past Progressive for the action already in progress.

    Past Simple Past Continuous


    New action Already in progress
    My mobile rang (while I was sitting in a meeting.) While I was sitting in a meeting, (my mobile
    suddenly rang.)

    • Only mentioning or emphasising progress?

    Do you just want to mention that an action took place in the past (also used for short actions)? Or
    do you want to put emphasis on the progress, e.g. that an action was taking place at a certain time?

    Past Simple Past Continuous


    Just mentioning Emphasis progress
    Colin played football yesterday. Yesterday at six o'clock, Colin was playing
    football.

    USED TO
    We use “used to” to talk about:
    • Situations or states in the past which are not true now:
    My mother used to be a teacher
    • Repeated activities or habits in the past which do not happen now:
    She used to have lunch every day in a bar until she learned cooking.
    Important: We only use “used to” in the past.
    If we want to talk about habits in the present, we use the present simple with an adverb like usually,
    every day, etc.

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