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30/10/2014 Simple Past vs. Past Progressive

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Simple Past – Past Progressive

Form

Simple Past Past Progressive

irregular verbs: see 2nd column of irregular verbs

I spoke

regular verbs: verb + ed

I worked

past form of 'be' + ing form of verb

 

I was speaking

you were s peaking

he / she / it was s peaking

we were speaking

they were speaking

Exceptions

Exceptions when adding 'ed' :

when the final letter is e, only add d .

Example: love - loved

after a short, stressed vowel, the final consonantis doubled

Example: admit - admitted

final l  is always doubled in British English (not in American English)

Example: travel - travelled

after a consonant, final y  becomes i . (but: notafter a vowel)

Example: worry - he worried

but: play - he played

Exceptions when adding 'ing' :

silent e is dropped (but: does not apply for -ee)

Example: come - coming

but: agree - agreeing

after a short, stressed vowel, the final consonantis doubled

Example: sit - sitting

final l  is always doubled in British English (not in American English)

Example: travel - travelling

final ie becomes y .

Example: lie - lying

See also explanations on Simple Past and Past Progressive

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?

Simple Past Past Progressive

after another 

She came hom e, switched on the computer and checked

her e-mails.

at the same time

Simon was playing on the computer while his brother was

watching TV.

New action or already in progress?

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.

Simple Past Past Progressive

new action

My mobile rang (when I was sitting in a m eeting.)

action already in progress

While I was sitting in a meeting, (my mobile suddenly

rang.)

Only mentioning or emphasising 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?

Simple Past Past Progressive

 just mentioning

Colin played football yesterday.

emphasising progre ss

Yesterday at six o'clock, Colin was playing football.

Certain Verbs

The following verbs are usually only used in Simple Past (not in the progressive form).

state: be, cost, fit, mean, suit

Example: We were on holiday.

possession: belong, have

Example: Sam had a cat.

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• Start › Cram Up › Grammar › Simple Past, Past Progressive

7/21/2019 Simple Past Vs

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/simple-past-vs 2/2

30/10/2014 Simple Past vs. Past Progressive

http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/simpas-paspro#exercises 2/2

senses: feel, hear, see, smell, taste, touch

Example: He felt the cold.

feelings: hate, hope, like, love, prefer, regret, want, wish

Example: Jane loved pizza.

brain work: believe, know, think, understand

Example: I did not understand him.

introductory clauses for direct speech: answer, ask, reply, say

Example: “I am watching TV,“ he said.

Signal words

Simple Past Past Progressive

first

then

If-Satz Typ II (If I talked, …)

when

while

as long as

Exercises on Simple Past and Past Progressive

one after another or at the same time: Exercise 1, Exercise 2

new or already in progress: Exercise 3, Exercise 4

 just mentioning or emphasising progress: Exercise 5, Exercise 6

mixed exercises: Exercise 7, Exercise 8

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Changed: 25th Oct 2014 19:28

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