Past Continuous and Past Simple 2.4
When do we use the Past Continuous and when do we use the Past Simple? When she was climbing a mountain, she fell. We use the Past Continuous to describe an activity that was in progress in the past or to describe a scene in the past. Copyright © 2 020 by Pearson Education Wider World 3 We use the Past Continuous and Past Simple to talk about an activity that was in progress when something else happened. At 6 p.m I was playing games. It was raining.
There are seven examples of the Past Simple. Look ! How many Past Simple verbs can you find in the text. How many Past Continuous verbs ? Last summer I was lying on the beach with my friend Jake when suddenly someone shouted ‘Run!’ We looked at the sea. A tsunami was coming towards us! We started to run, but while we were running, the tsunami hit us. Luckily, we came near a tree while the water was carrying us, and we grabbed onto it. That tree saved our lives! Copyright © 2 020 by Pearson Education Wider World 3 There are four examples of the Past Continuous.
Copyright © 2 020 by Pearson Education Wider World 3 Past Continuous At seven o’clock, I was talking to friends online. How do we make the Past Continuous ? We use the Past Continuous to describe an activity that was in progress in the past or to describe a scene in the past. It was snowing. They were doing their homework. They weren’t playing games. She was swimming. She wasn’t running. Was he sleeping ? Yes, he was. No, he wasn’t. Were we making too much noise ? Yes, you were. No, you weren’t.
Past Simple or Past Continuous ? Copyright © 2 020 by Pearson Education Wider World 3 I was walking in the forest Anne called me while I was doing my homework. We use the Past Continuous and Past Simple to talk about an activity that was in progress when something else happened. We use the Past Continuous to talk about the activity in progress, and the Past Simple to talk about the event that happened. when I suddenly saw a bear.
When you _______________ ( call ), I _______________ ( take ) a shower. The weather was perfect last Christmas : it ____________________ ( snow ) and the sun ____________________ ( shine ). A: What ____________________ ( you /do) at ten o’clock last Wednesday ? B: I’m not sure. I ____________________ (not sleep ). I think I ____________________ ( watch ) a film on television. A: ____________________ ( you / play ) games on your mobile when the teacher ____________________ ( come ) into the classroom ? B: No, I ____________________! I ____________________ ( look ) for some information about Asia on the internet. Complete the sentences with the Past Simple or the Past Continuous form of the verbs in brackets. were you doing was snowing was shining wasn’t sleeping was watching Practice Time Copyright © 2 020 by Pearson Education Wider World 3 called was taking Were you playing came wasn’t was looking
