Simple Past & Past Continous: BY Hana Dwi Ismannisa

SIMPLE PAST &
PAST CONTINOUS
BY
HANA DWI ISMANNISA
SIMPLE PAST
We use the past simple to talk about

actions and states which we see as
completed in the past.
We use the past simple to talk about actions and
states which we see as completed in the past.
We can use it to talk about a specific point in time.

She came back last Friday.
I saw her in the street.
They didn't agree to the deal.
It can also be used to talk about a period of time.

She lived in Tokyo for seven years.
They were in London from Monday to Thursday of last
week.
When I was living in New York, I went to all the art
exhibitions I could.
You will often find the past simple used with time expressions such
as these:
Yesterday
three weeks ago
last year
in 2002
from March to June
for a long time
for 6 weeks
in the 1980s
in the last century
in the past
FORMULA
VERBAL NOMINAL
SIMPLE (+) S + V2 + Obj/adv (+) S + was/were + Noun/ Adj/
PAST (-) S + did + not + V1 + Adv
Obj/Adv (-) S + was/were + not + Noun/
(?) Did + S + V1 + Obj/Adv Adj/ Adv
(?)
EXERCISE
A. Put the following sentences into simple

past tense. Use the verbs in parentheses!
1. They …… (use) this room to discuss their plans last
night.
2. 2. The man …… (reserve) two double rooms last
week.
3. Mr. Brown …… (return) from England last week.
4. My brother …… (apply) for a job last month and he
was accepted.
5. They …… (finish) work at 5.50 yesterday afternoon.
B. Put the following sentences into simple
past tense. Use the verbs in parentheses.
1. She … (take) the stamps from my drawer yesterday
morning.
2. 2. They … (spend) the night at one of my friend's
last night.
3. 3. My secretary … (bring) all the books home last
week.
4. 4. A friend of mine … (get) a job here a month ago.
5. 5. My boss … (give) me a good dictionary for my
birthday present.
C. Change the following sentences into
negative!
1. Mr. Skousens signed these two cheques last
Monday.
2. I met them at the airport two weeks ago.
3. The bank debited the amount from my account last
week.
4. We settled all the payments when I was abroad last
month.
5. I decided to contact your service manager
yesterday morning.
D. Change the following sentences into
Interrogative!
1. He promised to take me home last night.
2. Jane stopped working because she had got a better
job.
3. She often had lunch late because she was very busy.
4. My sister took a bus because her driver was ill.
5. She went home late because she had to work
overtime.
Past Continuous
We use the past continuous to talk about past events which went
on for a period of time.
We use it when we want to emphasize the continuing process of
an activity or the period of that activity. (If we just want to talk
about the past event as a simple fact, we use the past simple.)
While I was driving home, Peter was trying desperately to contact
me.
Were you expecting any visitors?
Sorry, were you sleeping?
I was just making some coffee.
I was thinking about him last night.
In the 1990s few people were using mobile phones.
We often use it to describe a "background action" when
something else happened.
I was walking in the street when I suddenly fell over.
She was talking to me on the phone and it suddenly went
dead.
They were still waiting for the plane when I spoke to them.
The company was declining rapidly before he took charge.
We were just talking about it before you arrived.
I was making a presentation in front of 500 people when
the microphone stopped working.
Past Simple or Past Continuous
Both the past simple and the past continuous refer to

completed actions in the past.
Most of the time when we are talking about such
actions, we use the past simple. This is by far the
most common way of talking about the past.
I lived there for 6 years.
I only found out a few moments ago.
I asked her but she didn't know anything.
The company made 100 people redundant last year.
Only use the past continuous when you want to
emphasize the continuity of the action.
Everybody was talking about it all evening.
They were really trying hard but couldn't do it.
I was thinking about you the other day.
Were you expecting that to happen?
When we use these two forms in the same sentence,
we use the past continuous to talk about the
"background action" and the past simple to talk
about the shorter completed action.
It was raining hard when we left the building.
I was reading the report when you rang.
He was going out to lunch when I saw him.
The company was doing well when I last visited it.
Formula
VERBAL NOMINAL
PAST (+) S + to be (was, were) + Ving + This formula’s same with
CONTINUOUS O/Adv present continuous tense.
(-) S + to be + not + Ving + O/Adv REMEMBER, just for
(?) To be + S + Ving + O/Adv ‘nominal’
Exercise
a. Put the following sentences into Past Continuous Tense. Use the
words in parentheses!
1. Jane … (eat) breakfast when her friends called yesterday morning.
2. The students … (talk), when the teacher entered the room.
3. While Jane … (clean) the apartment, her husband … (read) a magazine.
4. She … (cook) the lunch when her friends came to her house.
5. We … (have) lunch when you came to my office yesterday.
6. Jack … (paint) the house when you called him yesterday afternoon.
7. When you came to my house last night, I … (type) this report.
8. They (discuss) their next plans while we … (prepare) something yesterday
morning'
9. When he left me, I … (talk) to one of our customers.
10. I got a phone call from my father when I … (work) in the office yesterday
morning.
B. Supply the correct past forms of the verbs, Simple
Past or Past Continuous
1. I am sitting in class right now. I (sit)____was
sitting____in class at this exact same time yesterday.
2. I don't want to go to the zoo today because it is raining. The
same thing happened yesterday. I (want, not)
_________to go to the zoo because it (rain)
__________.
3. I (call) ____Roger at nine last night, but he (be, not)
______ at home. He (study) _____at the library.
4. I (hear, not) _________the thunder during the storm last
night because I (sleep)__________
5. It was beautiful yesterday when we went for a walk in the
park. The sun (shine) _________A cool breeze (blow)
_______The birds (sing) _________
6. My brother and sister (argue) _______ about
something when I (walk) ___________into the room.
7. I got a package in the mail. When I (open) _______ a
surprise.
8. While Mrs. Emerson (read) ________ the little boy a
story, he (fall) ____;_____ asleep, so she (close)
_____ the book and quietly (tiptoe) _____ out of the
room.
9. A: Why weren't you at the meeting?
B: I (wait) ______ for an overseas call from my
family.
10. A; (you, hear) ______what she just said?
B: No, I (listen, not)______I (think) about something
else.

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SIMPLE PAST &

We use the past simple to talk about

We can use it to talk about a specific point in time.

It can also be used to talk about a period of time.

A. Put the following sentences into simple

Both the past simple and the past continuous refer to

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