The document provides information on the simple past and past continuous tenses in English: 1. The simple past is used to indicate a specific time when an action began or finished, while the past continuous emphasizes that an action was ongoing at a specific time in the past. 2. Examples are given to illustrate the difference between the simple past ("I ate dinner") and past continuous ("I was eating dinner"). 3. Guidance is provided on when to use each tense depending on whether actions happened consecutively or simultaneously in the past.

1.  
Unit 5: Lesson 4
A picture story

2.  In the Simple Past, a specific time is used to show when an
action began or finished.
 In the Past Continuous, a specific time only interrupts the
action.
Examples:
 Last night at 6 PM, I ate dinner.
I STARTED EATING AT 6 PM.
 Last night at 6 PM, I was eating dinner.
I STARTED EARLIER; AND AT 6 PM, I WAS IN THE PROCESS OF EATING
DINNER.

3. Simple Past Past Progressive
irregular verbs: see 2nd column of past form of 'be' + ing form of verb
irregular verbs I was speaking
you were speaking
I spoke he / she / it was speaking
regular verbs: verb + ed we were speaking
they were speaking
I worked
Exceptions
•Exceptions when adding 'ed' :when the final letter is e, •Exceptions when adding 'ing' :silent e is dropped (but:
only add d.Example: love - loved does not apply for -ee)Example: come - coming
•after a short, stressed vowel, the final consonant is but: agree - agreeing
doubledExample: admit - admitted •after a short, stressed vowel, the final consonant is
•final l is always doubled in British English (not in American doubledExample: sit - sitting
English)Example: travel - travelled •final l is always doubled in British English (not in American
•after a consonant, final y becomes i. (but: not after a English)Example: travel - travelling
vowel)Example: worry - he worried •final ie becomes y.Example: lie - lying
but: play - he played

4. 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 at the same time
She came home, switched on the computer Simon was playing on the computer while
and checked her e-mails. his brother was watching TV.

5.  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 action already in progress
My mobile rang (when I was sitting in a While I was sitting in a meeting, (my
meeting.) mobile suddenly rang.)

6.  Only mentioning or emphasizing 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 emphasising progress
Colin played football yesterday. Yesterday at six o'clock, Colin was playing
football.

7.  state: be, cost, fit, mean, suit
Example: We were on holiday.
 possession: belong, have
Example: Sam had a cat.
 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.

8. Simple Past Past Progressive
•first •when
•then •while
•If-Satz Typ II •as long as
(If I talked, …)

9. Comprehension Quiz
• Hello everybody! My name is Past Simple Boy because I am
very nostalgic and I always talk about the past. This is an old
picture of me. I was eighteen in this picture. It was thirteen
years ago.
• I studied at University at that time. I lived with my friends
Paco and Javi in a big and old flat. We didn't study much and
we enjoyed our life. Every weekend we went to the disco
and met new girls. I remember I had a girlfriend called
Margarita.
• I finished my studies in 1995. A year later I started to work
as a Language teacher in a Secondary school. Life is not
too bad, but those days were fantastic!
• Do you know about your parents' life when they were young?

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