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LESSON PLAN

PAST SIMPLE-PAST CONTINUOUS

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Past Simple vs Past Continuous

Past Continuous

Past Simple

When vs While

table of contents

Let's practice! 1

Let's practice! 2

Used to / Would

PAST SIMPLE

USE

We use the past tense to talk about: -finished action that happened at a specific time in the past. I met my wife in 1983. -past routine/ habits / situation We swam a lot while we were on holiday. -several actions in the past that happened one after theh other I got home, showered and climbed into the bed. -main events in a story The man looked around, then walked quickly into the room.

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PAST CONTINUOUS

USE

We use the past continuous to talk about the past:

• action in progress at a certain time in the past:

- for something which happened before and after another action: The children were doing their homework when I got home. Compare: The children did their homework when (=after) I got home. - For something that happened before and after a specific time: It was eight o'clock. I was writing a letter. Compare: At eight o'clcok I wrote (=started writing) some letters.

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PAST CONTINUOUS

• two unfinished actions taking place at the same time

I was doing my homework while my borther was playing on the computer.

• for something that happened again and again:

I was practising every day, three times a day. They were always quarrelling.

• unfinished action interrupted by another action

Jack was walking to work when i started to rain.

• description or background information in a story.

We were alle sitting around and watching TV. Suddenly, there was a loud noise!

• We do not normally use the past continuous with stative verbs. We use the past simple instead:

When I got home, I really needed (NOT was needing) a shower.

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PAST SIMPLE VS PAST CONTINUOUS

When we use these two tenses together, it shows us that the past simple action happened in the middle of the past continuous action, while it was in progress. While I was studying, I suddenly felt sleepy. We often use these tenses to show an action interrupting another action. I broke my leg when I was skiing. As I was going to work, I saw an old friend. We were watching television when the power went off.

when vs while

WHEN can be followed by past simple I was watching TV when I heard the thunder!

WHEN can also be followed by past continuous When she was studying she fell asleep.

WHILE can be followed by past continuous I was cooking while my father was cleaning.

LET'S PRACTICE!

Question 1/5

I _________________ work at 9 a.m. this morning

was starting

started

CORRECT ANSWER!

We use the PAST CONTINUOUS to talk about actions happening in a specific time in the past.

LET'S PRACTICE!

Question 2/5

This time last year I _____________ at university.

studied

was studying

CORRECT ANSWER!

Remember: The past continuous is used when talking about an action happening at a specific moment in the past.

SLET'S PRACTICE!

Question 3/5

I ________________ your call because I was working.

missed

was missing

CORRECT ANSWER!

We use the past simple to .talk about an action that interrupts another action.

LET'S PRACTICE!

Question 4/5

The students were doing an exercise _________ the bell rang.

when

while

CORRECT ANSWER!

WHEN is used before past simple

LET'S PRACTICE!

Question 5/5

I saw an accident ____________ I was waiting ath the bust stop.

while

when

CORRECT ANSWER!

WHILE is used before past cotinuous.

USED TO / WOULD

USED TO

WOULD

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LET'S PRACTICE!

Question 1/5

I _________________ a really sporty person.

used to be

would be

CORRECT ANSWER!

WOULD can not be used in the negative form..

LET'S PRACTICE!

Question 2/5

In my first year at university, I _____ for an hour every morning before breakfast.

would run

have run

CORRECT ANSWER!

WOULD is used for repeated actions in the past...

LET'S PRACTICE!

Question 3/5

During that time, I ____ to spend at least two hours in the gym every day.

used to like

would like

CORRECT ANSWER!

WOULD can not be used to refer to past states...

LET'S PRACTICE!

Question 4/5

I ____ sugar in my tea because it wasn't on my diet plan.

didn't use to have

would have

CORRECT ANSWER!

WOULD can not be used to refer to past habits in the negative.

LET'S PRACTICE!

Question 5/5

But then I __ my arm and that was the end of my boxing career!

broke

would break

CORRECT ANSWER!

WOULD is used to talk about past habits. When talking about facts in the past, we use PAST SIMPLE.

¡oh, oh!

Wrong answer...

Try again!

STATIVE VERBS IN ENGLISH

These verbs are not usually used in the continuous tenses.

PAST CONTINUOUS FORM

Can you see a difference in the meaning of these two sentences? When the guests arrived, Jane was cooking dinner. When the guests arrived, Jane cooked dinner.

PAST SIMPLE FORM

USED TO

We can use USED TO to talk about past states that are not true any more. We can also use USED TO to talk about past habits (repeated past actions) that don't happen any more.

• As a child, I used to walk to school every morning.
• I used to have two dogs, but one of them died last month.
• I used to be afraid of darkness when I was younger

WOULD

We use WOULD to talk about a repeated action during a period of time in the past.

• As a child, I would walk to school every morning.
• I would drink two glasses of apple juice a day back then.
• Every evening, when I got home, I would leave my shoes at the door.

used to vs would

What's the difference?

We can use USED TO in every occasion to talk about past habits. WOULD for past habits is slightly more formal than USED TO. It is often used in stories. We don't normally use the negative or question form of WOULD for past habits. We cannot use WOULD TO to talk about past states. USED TO/ WOULD