GRAMMAR INFOGRAPHIC

The mystery of the past simple and the past continuous

What do they hide under their name?

The past simple of English verbs indicates past actions that have already finished while the past continuous is used to talk about actions that were in progress at a specific point in the past.

Let's look at the evidence...

In the cool of the evening, the whole family went out to drive.As she was running past the Tapestry Chamber, she fancied she saw some one inside.

Main clues they reveal

Past continuous

Past simple

Both together

How are they built?

Regular verbs

Verb + ed

Past simple

Iregular verbs

2nd column

Was/were

Past continuous

Verb with the -ing

*For simpler examples... CLICK HERE!

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In what situations do they find themselves together?

The use of the when and while particles helps us to suspect when to use one or the other. If we want to describe a continuous action that was already in progress (using past continuous) and was interrupted by a shorter action (using past simple); 'when' serves to delimit them and is almost always placed before the past simple --> He was running as fast as he could, when he heard somebody galloping after him. We use "while" with the past continuous to describe a continuous action that was in progress at the same time as another action --> while it was leaning up against the wall, the gleaming falchion had fallen from its hand.

PAST SIMPLE

The ‘past simple’ is used to talk about an action that ended in a time before the current one. The duration is not relevant. The time in which the action takes place, can be the recent past or the distant past. The ‘simple past’ is always used to refer to when something happened, so it is associated with certain time expressions that indicate: - Frequency --> Lady Canterville often got very little sleep at night. - A certain point in time --> Umney told us, the first day we arrived here. - Undetermined time --> Virginia played the piano when she was a child

PAST CONTINUOUS

Past continuous’ describes actions or events situated in a time prior to the present, whose beginning is in the past and which have not yet been completed at the time of speaking. In other words, it expresses an incomplete or unfinished action in the past.

USES: Describe the context in a story written in the past tense --> Right in front of him was standing a horrible spectre. Describe an incomplete action that was interrupted by another action or event --> As he was strolling towards the library, suddenly there leaped out on him.