Simple Past Tense vsPast Continuous

Form of Past Continuous

Subject + was / were + verb+ing

Negation:Subject + was / were + not + verb+ing

Information Question:(WH) + Was / Were + subject + + verb+ing ?

Remember –ing spelling rules?Verb ending in... How to make the -ING form Examples

(Most verbs) Add -INGsay – sayinggo – going

walk - walking

1 vowel + 1 consonant

Double the consonant, then add -ING

swim – swimminghit – hittingget – getting

1 vowel + 1 consonant + E

Final –ie

Remove E, then add –ING

Change –ie to y, then add –ING

come – cominglose – losinglive – living

die – dyingtie – tying

Simple Past Tense

• Actions, events, states that started and finished in the past (…ago, last …, yesterday… )

• Regular verbs: -ed

• Irregular verbs: change spelling, memorize

Tell your partner – use past tense verbs!

• What did you do yesterday?

• What did you do Friday night?

• Where were you Saturday morning?

• What did you do to celebrate your last

birthday?

Past Continuous: Three Uses• Use 1:

Past actions that were in progress at a particular time in the past; actions that were not yet finished at a past time

Erika’s Schedule8 – 9: had breakfast9 – 10: finished her homework10 – 11: exercised11 – 12: cooked lunch12 – 2: shopped2 – 5: talked to a friend on the phone

At 8:30, Erika _________________ breakfast.

At 9:15, she ___________________ her homework.

At 10:50, she _____________________.

At 11:30, she ___________________.

At 1, she ____________________ lunch.

At 3, she ______________ to a friend.

Past Continuous, continued

• Use 2: • Two (or more) actions that were in progress in the

past at the same time (simultaneous actions)

• Use while • Examples: Sorry, I wasn’t listening to you while you were talking.

While I was reading, he was writing.

Past Continuous, continued

• Use 3: Describe and set the scene; tell what was happening or was

in progress when something else happened or interrupted a

past in-progress action

Using past and past continuous together

• Use past continuous to say what was in progress I was crossing

the street …

• Use simple past when the driver for the interrupting ran the red light. action

Other examples:

I was sleeping when the telephone rang

and woke me up.

He was driving too fast when he crashed

the car.

Tell a classmate – use past continuous verbs: I was _______ing• Where were you last Thursday at 8 p.m.?

What were you doing?• What were you doing Friday at 5 p.m.?

Where were you?

Who were you with?

• What were you doing Sunday morning at 7a.m.?

• What were you doing yesterday at this time?• What were you doing last week at this time?• What were you doing last year at this time?

Practice: Do you have a good memory?Are you a good witness?

• Directions: Look at the following picture for one minute. Try to remember as many details as you can, but don’t write anything.

Only one minute…

• Ready, go ….

One minute…

What do you remember?

1. How many people were there?2. Where were the people?3. What was hanging from the ceiling?4. What was the bank robber holding?5. What was the bank robber wearing?6. What color was his hair?7. What was covering the bank robber’s face?8. Was the bank robber right-handed or left-handed?9. What was the bank manager doing?10. What was the bank teller doing?11. Who was walking into the bank?12. What time was it?

A little practice1. The telephone ____________ (ring) when I ____________________ (take a shower).

2. I ____________ (eat) dinner when you __________________ (come) to visit.

3. It ____________ (begin) to rain while they _____________________ (walk) home.

4. We ____________ (see) an accident when we __________________ (drive) on the freeway.

5. The driver ___________________ (not pay) attention to the cars in front when he ____________________ (crash) into the red

convertible.

6. She __________________(chop) onions when she _____________________ (cut) her finger.

7. They _____________________(watch) TV when the electricity _____________________ (go) out.

8. A: What _____________________(you, do) yesterday at 5:00? I tried to call you but no one answered.

B: I didn’t hear the telephone. I __________________ (vacuum).

Final Tips …• Use while for two actions in progress at

the same time in the past: She was talking while he was driving.

• Use when when telling about sequence of events (one action that was in progress that was interrupted by another event in the past):

I was just leaving when you called.(first action in progress) (interrupting event)

Punctuation with When and While

• When and while at the front of a sentence, use a comma:

When you called, I was watching TV.

While he was washing the clothes, I was doing the dishes.

• When and while in the middle of a sentence, no comma

I was watching TV when you called.I was doing the dishes while he was washing the

clothes.