Transcript document - Esteban MONTESINOS

Simple Past vs.
Past Continuous
Simple Past (Examples)
Action that was completed in the past:
Tom went fishing last week.
I worked until 2:00 p.m. yesterday.
My family came to visit me last year.
*Time Expressions frequently used with
the simple past:
yesterday, last ______,
past dates (in 1990), _____ ago, etc.
Past Continuous (Examples)
Action that was in progress at a
particular point in the past:
At 2:00 yesterday, Tom was playing
soccer.
Sophia wasn’t home last night when I
called her. I think she was working.
Lisa and her husband were visiting us
last week.
Use the simple
past for:
Use the past
continuous for:
1) action that
happened in the
past and is . . .
1) action that was in
progress at a specific
point in the past
OR
over, done,
finished
2) focusing on an
action that continued
for a long time in the
past
Grammar
Structure:
Here are some reminders
about how to make the
simple past and past
continuous:
For regular verbs, simply use the –ed form of the
verb in a positive sentence.
When I was a child, I ___________ the piano.
Donna ______________ and _______________
in Paris when she was younger.
For irregular verbs, use the correct
past tense form in positive sentences.
Last week, I ___________ you a letter.
The students _____________ a speech in
English. They __________ a great job!
The Past Continuous:
Don’t forget that VERB BE is part of
this structure.
WAS
You, We, They WERE
I, He, She, It
Examples:
My mom was trying to call me last
night, but I wasn’t home.
The kids were studying last night at
9:00.
I was cleaning my house all day
yesterday.
Past Continuous (Negative)
For this tense, simply ADD the word
NOT after the verb BE.
They were arguing last night.
They were NOT arguing last night.
She was yelling at me.
She was NOT yelling at me.
Hum… I’m
terribly
sorry…
What were you
saying? I wasn’t
listening…
I was just
telling you
that…
What were you doing
last night at 10:25,
Ms. Jamieson?
I was dinning
out with my
friends
Important Note about
Past Continuous!
Some verbs are NOT typically used in
the continuous tense. Instead, we
prefer to use these verbs in the simple
tenses (simple present or past).
These verbs are called STATIVE (or
non-action) verbs. Here are some
examples:
want
like
love
hate
know
need
see
hear
believe understand have (possession)
forget remember
belong
Examples:
I liked Rome.
NOT:
I was liking Rome.
She had a headache.
NOT:
She was having a headache.
I knew the answer.
NOT:
I was knowing the answer.
Using both tenses together:
Sometimes we use both the simple
past and the past continuous
together to mean . . .
That one action (simple past)
interrupted a continuing action (past
continuous)
1.Dan burned his hand while he was
cooking dinner.
=in the middle of cooking dinner, he
burned his hand.
2. When Helen called, we were
having dinner.
=in the middle of eating dinner, Helen
called.
While / As +
Past
Progressive
* 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
* While I was writing the email, the computer
suddenly went off.
Mr. Bullock
was
climbing the
stairs when
he tripped
and fell…
Mr. Bullock
climbed the
stairs when he
tripped and
fell…
Did you hear or
see anything
strange last
night at 10:25?
Well, I was
trying to read
last night
around 10:15
when I saw a
strange light
at my window.
I was preparing to
go to bed when I
heard someone
screaming.
…when I
walked
into the
room.
Past Progressive
Mr.Bullock and Ms. Jamieson were
arguing about something…