Past Simple and Past Continuous

Past simple and past continuous

start

welcome

01. Past simple

05. -ed Spelling

09. -ing spelling

02. Form

06. PAst continuous

10. PAst Simple & past continuous activities

03. USES

07. form

04. -ED pronunciation

08. uses

Lesson 01

What's past simple?

Past Simple is a verb tense used to talk about actions, situations,... in the past.

Form

Affirmative: Sub + V + edEx: I + play + ed = I played She + cry + ed = She cried

Form

Negative: Sub + did + not + verbEx: I + did + not + play = I didn't play She + did + not + cry = She didn't cry

Form

Interrogative: Did + sub + V? Ex: Did + I + play? = Did I play? Did + she + cry? = Did she cry?

Past Simple uses

1. (Specific) Past events: Short, quickly finished actions and happenings or longer situations (very often used with a definite or specific expression of time) Ex: I met him two years ago. He spent all his childhood in Scotland.

2. Past habits: Set of repeated actions in the past. This meaning requires a phrase of frequency (always, often, usually, never, on Tuesdays, every month…) or a phrase of length of time (When I was a child, when I was younger, for two years, for five minutes, all day, all year, etc.) Ex: They went fishing every morning. When she was a child, she played tennis. Note: In this case used to + infinitive is also possible and often clearer. Ex: They used to go fishing every morning.

Past Simple uses

3. Story-telling: Ex: One day the Princess decided that she didn’t like staying at home all day, so she told her father that she wanted to take a job.

4. Unreal meaning: the event or state is not taking place; it’s imaginary, hypothetical or contrary to fact. Ex: I wish I knew the answer. If I had a dog, I would look after it properly. (2nd conditional)

The -ed ending in regular verbs

1. Most verbs have ed in the past tense. Most past participles also end in –ed. Ex: look - looked 2. If the verb ends in e, we add -d. Ex: hope - hoped 3. When a verb ends in a consonant + y, the y changes to -ied. Ex: hurry - hurried 4. Sometimes we double a final consonant. This happens when a one syllable verb ends with one vowel and one consonant (CVC) Ex: beg - begged

Three different pronunciations for words ending with "-ed"

For English past tense pronunciation of regular verbs, the "-ed" ending has the following three distinct pronunciations: /id/, /t/, /d/. /id/ Endings : Verbs ending with a /t/ or /d/ sound take on a /id/ Ex: want - wanted /d/ Endings: Voiced sounds (vowels n, m, b, g, v, z, l, r, y, w) take on a /d/ Ex: clean - clean (ed) /d/ /t/ Endings: Unvoiced sounds (p, k, f, gh, ch, sh, s) take on a /t/. Ex: laugh - laugh(ed) /t/

Lesson 02

What's past continuous?

Past Continuous is a verb tense used to talk about long actions in progess, situations happening at the same time,... in the past.

Form

Affirmative: Sub + was/ were +V + ingEx: I + was + play + ing = I was playing She + was + cry + ing = She was crying

Form

Negative: Sub + was/were + not + verb + ingEx: I + was + not + playing = I wasn't playing She + was + not + cry = She wasn't crying

Form

Interrogative: Was/were + sub + V + ing? Ex: Was + I + play + ing? = Was I playing? Was + she + cry + ing? = Was she crying? Were + you + jumping + ing? = Were you jumping?

Past continuous uses

I. Interrupted Action in the Past: The interruption is usually a shorter action in the Simple Past. Remember this can be a real interruption or just an interruption in time. Examples: I was watching TV when she called. When the phone rang, she was writing a letter. However, you can also use a specific time as an interruption. Examples: Last night at 6 PM, I was eating dinner. Yesterday at this time, I was sitting at my desk at work.II. Parallel Actions When you use the Past Continuous with two actions in the same sentence, it expresses the idea that both actions were happening at the same time. Examples: I was studying while he was making dinner. While Ellen was reading, Tim was watching television.

Past continuous uses

III. Repetition and Irritation with "Always" The Past Continuous with words such as "always" or "constantly" expresses the idea that something irritating or shocking often happened in the past. Examples: She was always coming to class late. He was constantly talking. He annoyed everyone.

The -ing ending

1. All verbs have -ing in their continuous tenses. Ex: look - looking 2. If the verb ends in e, the e drops and we add -ing. Ex: hope - hoping 3. When a verb ends in y, the y doesn't change. Ex: hurry - hurrying / play - playing 4. Sometimes we double a final consonant. This happens when a one syllable verb ends with one vowel and one consonant (CVC) Ex: beg - begging

Enjoy the past tenses!!