Past Continuous and Past Simple
81
Read about the past continuous and past simple tenses and then do the exercise.
1. The most common use of the past continuoustense is to talk about something that was happening around a particular time in the past.
What were you doing at 8 o’clock last night? I was watching television.
I started watching television before 8 o’clock and I continued watching it after 8 o’clock.
In 1994 he was working in a small town in Poland.
At 6 o’clock on Saturday morning we were travelling to the airport.
2. We often use the past continuous and the past simple tense together. When this happens, the past continuous describes a longer, ‘background’ action or situation and the past simple describes the action or events.
When I woke up this morning it was raining and my father was singing in the kitchen.
I was walking home, whistling happily, when I saw two masked men run out of the bank.
Often, the ‘action’ described by the past simpletense interrupts the ‘situation’ described by the past continuous tense.
I broke my leg when I was skiing.
I was playing a computer game when the doorbell rang.
Notice that the past continuous describes ‘situations’ that go on for some time – ‘skiing’ and ‘playing’ but the past simple describes ‘actions’ that happen quickly – ‘broke’ and ‘rang’.
Notice too the important difference between these two sentences.
When they arrived, Jeff was cooking dinner. Jeff started cooking before they arrived.
When they arrived, Jeff cooked dinner. Jeff started cooking dinner after they arrived.
Tags
Verb: Tenses Aspects Moods ›Grammar: past progressive
Verb: Tenses Aspects Moods ›Grammar: past simple
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Home » Grammar » Basic grammar
Past Continuous and Past Simple
81
Read about the past continuous and past simple tenses and then do the exercise.
1. The most common use of the past continuous tense is to talk about something that was happening around a particular time in the past.
What were you doing at 8 o’clock last night? I was watching television.
I started watching television before 8 o’clock and I continued watching it after 8 o’clock.
In 1994 he was working in a small town in Poland.
At 6 o’clock on Saturday morning we were travelling to the airport.
2. We often use the past continuous and the past simple tense together. When this happens, the past continuous describes a longer, ‘background’ action or situation and the past simple describes the action or events.
When I woke up this morning it was raining and my father was singing in the kitchen.
I was walking home, whistling happily, when I saw two masked men run out of the bank.
Often, the ‘action’ described by the past simple tense interrupts the ‘situation’ described by the past continuous tense.
I broke my leg when I was skiing.
I was playing a computer game when the doorbell rang.
Notice that the past continuous describes ‘situations’ that go on for some time – ‘skiing’ and ‘playing’ but the past simple describes ‘actions’ that happen quickly – ‘broke’ and ‘rang’.
Notice too the important difference between these two sentences.
When they arrived, Jeff was cooking dinner. Jeff started cooking before they arrived.
When they arrived, Jeff cooked dinner. Jeff started cooking dinner after they arrived.
Tags
Verb: Tenses Aspects Moods ›Grammar: past progressive
Verb: Tenses Aspects Moods ›Grammar: past simple
HELP & SUPPORT
COURSES
Find a face-to-face or online course near you.
BACK TO TOP
© British Council
The United Kingdom's international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities.
A registered charity: 209131 (England and Wales) SC037733 (Scotland).
ICP#: 10044692
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By continuing to browse the site we understand this is acceptable to you. Learn about managing cookies.
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Skip to main content Search form Search You are here Home » Grammar » Basic grammar Past Continuous and Past Simple 81 Read about the past continuous and past simple tenses and then do the exercise. 1. The most common use of the past continuous tense is to talk about something that was happening around a particular time in the past. What were you doing at 8 o’clock last night? I was watching television. I started watching television before 8 o’clock and I continued watching it after 8 o’clock. In 1994 he was working in a small town in Poland. At 6 o’clock on Saturday morning we were travelling to the airport. 2. We often use the past continuous and the past simple tense together. When this happens, the past continuous describes a longer, ‘background’ action or situation and the past simple describes the action or events. When I woke up this morning it was raining and my father was singing in the kitchen. I was walking home, whistling happily, when I saw two masked men run out of the bank. Often, the ‘action’ described by the past simple tense interrupts the ‘situation’ described by the past continuous tense. I broke my leg when I was skiing. I was playing a computer game when the doorbell rang. Notice that the past continuous describes ‘situations’ that go on for some time – ‘skiing’ and ‘playing’ but the past simple describes ‘actions’ that happen quickly – ‘broke’ and ‘rang’. Notice too the important difference between these two sentences. When they arrived, Jeff was cooking dinner. Jeff started cooking before they arrived. When they arrived, Jeff cooked dinner. Jeff started cooking dinner after they arrived. Tags Verb: Tenses Aspects Moods ›Grammar: past progressiveVerb: Tenses Aspects Moods ›Grammar: past simple Elementary: A2 LearnEnglish Grammar HELP & SUPPORT Getting started Find out your English level Why register? House Rules Frequently asked questions COURSES Find a face-to-face or online course near you. BACK TO TOP Twitter Facebook Email Terms of use Accessibility Privacy and cookies Contact us Site map © British Council The United Kingdom's international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. A registered charity: 209131 (England and Wales) SC037733 (Scotland). ICP#: 10044692 This site uses cookies to help make it more useful to you. By continuing to browse the site we understand this is acceptable to you. Learn about managing cookies. Yes, I agree No, I want to find out more Skip to main content Search form Search You are here Home » Grammar » Basic grammar Past Continuous and Past Simple 81 Read about the past continuous and past simple tenses and then do the exercise. 1. The most common use of the past continuous tense is to talk about something that was happening around a particular time in the past. What were you doing at 8 o’clock last night? I was watching television. I started watching television before 8 o’clock and I continued watching it after 8 o’clock. In 1994 he was working in a small town in Poland. At 6 o’clock on Saturday morning we were travelling to the airport. 2. We often use the past continuous and the past simple tense together. When this happens, the past continuous describes a longer, ‘background’ action or situation and the past simple describes the action or events. When I woke up this morning it was raining and my father was singing in the kitchen. I was walking home, whistling happily, when I saw two masked men run out of the bank. Often, the ‘action’ described by the past simple tense interrupts the ‘situation’ described by the past continuous tense. I broke my leg when I was skiing. I was playing a computer game when the doorbell rang. Notice that the past continuous describes ‘situations’ that go on for some time – ‘skiing’ and ‘playing’ but the past simple describes ‘actions’ that happen quickly – ‘broke’ and ‘rang’. Notice too the important difference between these two sentences. When they arrived, Jeff was cooking dinner. Jeff started cooking before they arrived. When they arrived, Jeff cooked dinner. Jeff started cooking dinner after they arrived. Tags Verb: Tenses Aspects Moods ›Grammar: past progressiveVerb: Tenses Aspects Moods ›Grammar: past simple Elementary: A2 LearnEnglish Grammar HELP & SUPPORT Getting started Find out your English level Why register? House Rules Frequently asked questions COURSES Find a face-to-face or online course near you. BACK TO TOP Twitter Facebook Email Terms of use Accessibility Privacy and cookies Contact us Site map © British Council The United Kingdom's international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. A registered charity: 209131 (England and Wales) SC037733 (Scotland). ICP#: 10044692 This site uses cookies to help make it more useful to you. By continuing to browse the site we understand this is acceptable to you. Learn about managing cookies. Yes, I agree No, I want to find out more ShareThis Copy and Paste
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