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Form
Simple Past Past Progressive
past form of 'be' + ing form of verb
irregular verbs: see 2nd column of irregular verbs
I spoke
I was speaking
you were speaking
regular verbs: verb + ed
he / she / it was speaking
we were speaking
I worked
they were speaking
Exceptions
Exceptions when adding 'ed' : Exceptions when adding 'ing' :
when the final letter is e, only add d. silent e is dropped (but: does not apply for -
ee)
Example: love - loved
Example: come - coming
after a short, stressed vowel, the final but: agree - agreeing
consonant is doubled
after a short, stressed vowel, the final
Example: admit - admitted consonant is doubled
Use
After another or at the same time?
Do you want to express that the actions in the past happened one after another or at the
same time?
If you want to express that a new action happened in the middle of another action, you
need both tenses: Simple Past the new action and Past Progressive for the action already
in progress.
Do you just want to mention that an action took place in the past (also used for short
actions)? Or do you want to put emphasis on the progress, e.g. that an action was taking
place at a certain time?
Certain Verbs
The following verbs are usually only used in Simple Past (not in the progressive form).
Signal words
So, during the time I was eating (let's say from 6:30-7:00 p.m.)
somebody called my house (let's say they called at 6:49p.m.) One
thing happened (simple past) during the period of time another thing
was happening (past progressive.)
Here is another example: They saw an old man as they were walking
down the street.
You can think of walking as a video. You see the movement. You see
the time passing. Think of saw as a photo. It is one point of time. You
don't think of the time passing.
2. Jon and Bill were washing the car when they (see) their
friend Alex.
Read about the past continuous and past simple tenses and then do the exercise.
1. The most common use of the past continuous tense is to talk about something that
was happening around a particular time in the past.
What were you doing at 8 o’clock last night? I was watching television.
2. We often use the past continuous and the past simple tense together. When this
happens, the past continuous describes a longer, ‘background’ action or situation and
the past simple describes the action or events.
When I woke up this morning it was raining and my father was singing in the kitchen.
I was walking home, whistling happily, when I saw two masked men run out of the bank.
Often, the ‘action’ described by the past simple tense interrupts the ‘situation’
described by the past continuous tense.
Notice that the past continuous describes ‘situations’ that go on for some time –
‘skiing’ and ‘playing’ but the past simple describes ‘actions’ that happen quickly –
‘broke’ and ‘rang’.
When they arrived, Jeff was cooking dinner. Jeff started cooking before they arrived.
When they arrived, Jeff cooked dinner. Jeff started cooking dinner after they arrived.
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action finished in the past action was in progress at a special time in the
(single or repeated) past
series of completed actions two actions were happening at the same time
in the past (the actions do not influence each other)
2. Form
3. Examples
3.1. Affirmative sentences
Simple Past Past Progressive
You did not play football. You were not playing football.
3.3. Questions
Simple Past Past Progressive
4. Spelling
Simple Past Past Progressive
5. Use
Both tenses are often used in one sentence: