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PAST SIMPLE AND CONTINUOUS

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Created on July 4, 2024

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Transcript

English Grammar

PAST SIMPLE AND CONTINUOUS

PAST SIMPLE

What is it used for?

This tense is used to talk about past events, which keep no relationship with the present.

The action described in this tense is completely finished.

There is a specific date related to these events

EXAMPLES

Princess Diana died in 1997.
I celebrated my birthday last week.
Chelsea F. C. won the Premier League two years ago.
What time did you get up this morning?

FORMATION

There are two ways to conjugate a verb in past simple: 1. Regular verbs: Root + Suffix -ed 2. Irregular verbs: 2nd column of the list

Examples

  • I took my French lesson this morning
  • Sophie didn't know anything about the party
  • Did you bring your History homework?

Syntactic structure

NEGATIVE Subject + did not + Verb (infinitive) + Object/Complement/Adverbial

AFFIRMATIVE Subject + Verb (-ed/2nd column) + Object/Complement/Adverbial

INTERROGATIVE Did + Subject + Verb (infinitive) + Object/Complement/Adverbial

RULES FOR -ED

  1. Add -ed: general rule
  2. Add -d: when the verb finishes in -e
  3. Turn -y into -ied: after a consonant
  4. Double consonant: when the verb finishes in C-V-C

Examples

  • Protect>protected
  • Believe>believed
  • Study>studied
  • Stop>stopped

PAST CONTINUOUS

This tense is used in the following manner:

  1. Talk about an action in progress at a specific time in the past
  2. Description of an action in progress interrupted by another action in the past
  3. Description of two simultaneous actions in the past (with while)
  4. Description of the events taking place at the beginning of a story

EXAMPLES

What were you doing yesterday at 7 p.m.?
Sam and I were watching a film when the baby started to cry.
I was studying Law in New York while my sister was studying Biology in Oxford.
In 1989, I was living in London...

FORMATION

A verb is conjugated in past continuous in this way: Past form of To Be (Was/were) + Verb -ing

Examples

  • Peter was learning English in Kent last year
  • It was not raining yesterday morning
  • Was Anne doing anything when you called her?

Syntactic structure

NEGATIVE Subject + Was/were not + Verb -ing + Object/Complement(Adverbial

INTERROGATIVE Was/were + Subject + Verb -ing + Object/Complement/Adverbial

AFFIRMATIVE Subject + Was/were + Verb -ing + Object/Complement/Adverbial