PAST SIMPLE or

PAST CONTINUOUS

The Joy of TeachingIt was ten to twelve in a beautiful Autumn morning. The English teacher

came into the classroom. He was wearing a black shirt and grey trousers. He

was carrying his textbook, the registry notebook, his laptop, a big and heavy

sound system. The pupils were chatting and making a lot of noise. He was

used to it. He switched on the computer, turned on the projector, roll called

38 names and started to teach the differences between the Past Simple and

the Past Continuous. He taught how to use the auxiliary “did” while some

pupils were talking aloud about their weekend. He heard two girls gossiping.

They were making fun of his chalk stained trousers. Then he wrote the

spelling rules of –ing forms, but he saw some students were using their

mobile phones. One of them was laughing at some dumb picture on the

screen. Next, he gave the students some photocopies with exercises to be

done during the class. Five minutes later, he realised no one was doing the

exercises. All of the students were chatting, drawing on the photocopies,

browsing the textbook or even exchanging stupid notes .

Then he shot them. Each and every one.

When the police and the ambulances arrived, he was calmly explaining the

Past Continuous to a silent, peaceful class in a beautiful Autumn morning at

IES ALBERO

The pupils weren’t listening. He was used to it.

One morning I shot an elephant in my pyjamas. How he got into my pyjamas I'll never know. Groucho Marx

I never killed a man, but I read many an obituary with a great deal of satisfaction.

I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying that I approved of it.

Mark Twain

The Simple PastThe Simple Past

The Simple PastThe Simple Past We use the simple past to indicate exactly when an action or event took

place in the past.

I visited my sister yesterday.We went out to dinner last night.

a finished action in the past My parents met in 1987. They got married

in 1992. I was born in 1996.

actions that follow each other in a story Mary walked into the room and stopped.

a past situation or habit When I was a child, we lived in a small

house by the sea.

Use

Time expressions

last night, last week, last year, last...

two days ago, 25 years ago, a long time ago…

yesterday, yesterday morning…

In 1962, in September 1996, in the 19th century…

On Monday…

At 11.30 last night…

When I was a child…

PAST SIMPLE

Verbs can be:

REGULAR: I played tennis yesterday. My sister studied in

Harvard University. Our teacher lived in Australia.

IRREGULAR She ate a salad last night. My mum bought a new car. I wore a mini skirt to the party.

If the base verb ends in: do this:

And add For example:

consonant + vowel + consonant

and a stressed syllable

double the final consonant

-ing-ed

stop > stopping > stopped

begin > beginningtap > tapping > tappedBut, for example:open > opening >

opened(because no stress on last

syllable of open)

consonant + -e remove the -e-ing-ed

phone > phoning > phoned

dance > dancing > danced

make > makingrake > raking > rakeddye > dying > dyed

-iechange the -ie to -y -ing

lie > lyingdie > dying

nothing -dlie > lieddie > died

Forming the simple past tense (REGULAR VERBS)

We add -ED al verbo:BOIL BOILED WORK WORKEDFILL FILLED WATCH WATCHED

Some exceptions: Verbs ending in E add –D

LIVE LIVED DANCE DANCEDDATE DATED BAKE BAKED

Verbs ending in consonant + Y: -iedTRY TRIEDCRY CRIED

Verbs ending in CVC, double consonant.TAP TAPPED (RAIN RAINED)COMMIT COMMITTED

PAST SIMPLE: affirmative, negative or interrogative

AFFIRMATIVE: He painted the wall We woke up very early

NEGATIVE: He didn’t paint the wall We didn’t wake up very early

INTERROGATIVE: Did Peter paint the wall?Yes, he did/No, he didn’t Did we wake up very early? Yes, we did/No, we

didn’t.

Wh- questions

Wh- + did + Subject + Verb + Comp

Where did your parents go last Saturday?

Why did your boyfriend kiss that girl?

When did you arrive home last night?

How many exams did you do last week?

Who did you see at the party?

Who saw you at the party?

Past continuous

“I wasn't kissing her, I was whispering in her mouth.” Chico

Marx

The Past ProgressiveThe Past Progressive The past progressive is used to talk about an

activity that was in progress at a specific point of time in the past. The emphasis is on the duration of the activity in the past.

I was studying for an exam while my mother was cooking dinner.

We were walking in the park around 7 p.m. last night.

The Past ProgressiveThe Past Progressive The past progressive is often used with the

simple past to show that one action was in progress when another action occurred.

I was taking a bath when the doorbell rang.They were eating dinner when the neighbors

stopped by for a visit.

Form

Subject + Was / were + verb + -ing They were driving to Paris. We weren’t waiting for a long time. What were they doing? Our teacher was wearing a blue jacket. My mum wasn’t sleeping when I arrived. Why were you crying when I saw you…?

If the base verb ends in: do this:

And add For example:

consonant + vowel + consonant

and a stressed syllable

double the final consonant

-ing-ed

stop > stopping > stopped

begin > beginningtap > tapping > tappedBut, for example:open > opening >

opened(because no stress on last

syllable of open)

consonant + -e remove the -e-ing-ed

phone > phoning > phoned

dance > dancing > danced

make > makingrake > raking > rakeddye > dying > dyed

-iechange the -ie to -y -ing

lie > lyingdie > dying

nothing -dlie > lieddie > died

PAST CONTINUOUS: affirmative, negative or interrogative

AFIRMATIVA: He was painting the wall We were waking up very early

NEGATIVA: He wasn’t painting the wall We weren’t waking up very early

INTERROGATIVA: Was he painting the wall? Were we waking up very early?

Use to express activities in progress before, and

probably after, a particular time in the past I was sleeping when you phoned me. It was 3

a.m!!!

for descriptions Lynn looked beautiful.She was wearing a green

dress. She was dressed to kill!

to express an interrupted past activity When the phone rang, I was having a shower.

to express an incomplete activity I was reading a book during the flight.

PAST SIMPLE AND PAST CONTINUOUS

WHEN + AN ACTION THAT INTERRUPTS ANOTHER LONGER ACTION John was watching TV when his friend arrived.

When the teacher came into the classroom, everybody was dancing.

I was smoking when my mum entered my bedroom.

WHILE + LONGER ACTION IN THE PAST CONTINUOUS While / as I was talking on the phone, the doorbell rang .

My friends arrived while my dad was sleeping a siesta. He shouted at them!

Past simple or continuous?

Sometimes both tenses are possible. The Past Simple focuses on past actions as complete facts.

The Past Continuous focuses on the duration of past activities

Compare :

A: I didn’t see you at the party last night. B: No. I stayed at home and watched the football

match. A: I didn’t see you at the party last night. B: No, I was watching the football at home.

I lived in New York for two years. I met my girlfriend there. When I was living in Manhattan I found a job as a teacher.

My sister studied History in Cambridge University. She met most of her friends while she was studying there.

When you tell a story, important facts are expressed in the Past Simple, general situation and descriptions in the Past Continuous.

-It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining and flags were flying high everywhere. Obama felt confident. He spoke to the people in the stadium. They were looking at him anxiously.

- Peter saw Susan at the party. She was wearing a beautiful blue dress. Everybody was dancing and having a good time.

An old pirate was sitting in the bar. He was smoking

a pipe and drinking a glass of rum. He was wearing

an eye patch and he had a parrot on his shoulder

and a wooden leg. Instead of his right hand he had a

metal hook. A young sailor was chatting with the pirate

and he asked him about his adventures at sea.

     ‘So, how did you lose your leg?’, the young man asked the

pirate.     

‘Arrr! ,’ said the pirate, ‘You see, some sharks were circling

the ship when I fell overboard. Luckily, my men pulled me back

onto the ship before the sharks ate me completely, but one of the

sharks got

my leg.’

 

    ‘And how about the hook on your hand? How did you lose

your hand?’

     ‘I was boarding a ship when another sailor cut off my

hand with a sword.’

     ‘That’s amazing! What a life full of adventures!’ said the

young man. ‘And how about your eye? How did you lose

that?’

      ‘I was eating a grapefruit when the juice went into my

eye.’

      ‘But I don’t understand. How did you lose your eye from

the grapefruit juice?’

     ‘Arrr!’ said the pirate, ‘it

was my first day with the new

hook.’

A SPOOKY STORY

It was just before midnight on October 31st

last year. Susan Lee was driving home after

visiting her sister. The road was clear and

she was driving carefully. Suddenly, out of nowhere,a

young man stepped out in front of her. He was wearing a

dark coloured raincoat and carrying a backpack. Susan

stepped hard on the brake pedal but it was too late. She

got out of the car but, to her surprise, there was nobody

there. While she was looking under the car, she felt a cold

wind on her face and a strange presence that sent shivers

down her spine.

She was still looking under her car when a lorry stopped

behind her. The lorry driver, a middle-aged man, walked up

to her and asked her if she needed help to start her car so

she told him what had happened. He didn’t seem surprised

when Susan told him about the young man. 'In October

1978, there was a car accident

on this road and a

hitchhiker was fatally run over.

You're not the first to have seen his

ghost here', he said in a mysterious

tone.