YAEL'S ENGLISH BLOG

Tuesday 10th December

 

The English language has three basic tenses: past, present, and future. Within these verb tenses, there is a perfect form to indicate completed action, a progressive form to indicate ongoing action, and a perfect progressive form to indicate ongoing action that will be completed at some definite time.

 

Today we're going to work on two forms of the past tense : the simple past and the past continuous (past progressive). We will look at the cases in which we employ each of them, and then do a few exercise sentences. Let's begin!

 

 

 

The Simple Past Tense

 

Form -  VERB + ED or D if the verb ends with an e

 

I signed the new work contract this morning.

 

Uses of the Simple Past:

 

USE 1 One or a Series of Completed Actions in the Past

Use the Simple Past to express the idea that an action started and finished at a specific time in the past. We may also use it to list a series of completed actions in the past. These actions happen 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and so on. Sometimes, the speaker may not actually mention the specific time, but they do have one specific time in mind.

 

Examples:

• I saw a movie yesterday.
• I didn't see a play yesterday.
• Did you add flour, pour in the milk, and then add the eggs? 

USE 2 Duration in Past

The Simple Past can be used with a duration which starts and stops in the past. A duration is a longer action often indicated by expressions such as: for two years, for five minutes, all day, all year, etc.

Examples:

• I lived in Brazil for two years.
• Shauna studied Japanese for five years.
• They sat at the beach all day.

USE 3 Habits in the Past

The Simple Past can also be used to describe a habit which stopped in the past. It can have the same meaning as "used to." To make it clear that we are talking about a habit, we often add expressions such as: always, often, usually, never, when I was a child, when I was younger, etc.

Examples:

• I studied French when I was a child
• He didn't play the piano.
• Did you play a musical instrument when you were a kid?
• They never went to school, they always skipped class.

 

USE 4 Past Facts or Generalizations

The Simple Past can also be used to describe past facts or generalizations which are no longer true. As in USE 3 above, this use of the Simple Past is quite similar to the expression "used to."

Examples:

• She was shy as a child, but now she is very outgoing.
• Did you live in Texas when you were a kid?
• People paid much more to make cell phone calls in the past.

 

ADVERB PLACEMENT

The examples below show the placement for grammar adverbs such as: always, only, never, ever, still, just, etc.

Examples:

• You just called Debbie.
• Did you just call Debbie?

The Past Continuous

Form - was/were + present participle

 

I was driving down the street when I saw my mother on her bicycle.

 

Uses of the Past Continuous:

 

 

USE 1 Interrupted Action in the Past

 

Use the Past Continuous to indicate that a longer action in the past was interrupted. The interruption is usually a shorter action in the Simple Past. Remember this can be a real interruption or just an interruption in time.

Examples:

• I was watching TV when she called.
• When the phone rang, she was writing a letter
• What were you doing when the earthquake started?
• I was listening to my iPod, so I didn't hear the fire alarm.

 

USE 2 Specific Time as an Interruption

 

In USE 1, described above, the Past Continuous is interrupted by a shorter action in the Simple Past. However, you can also use a specific time as an interruption.

Examples:

• Last night at 6 PM, I was eating dinner.
• At midnight, we were still driving through the desert.
• Yesterday at this time, I was sitting at my desk at work.

NOTE

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.

USE 3 Parallel Actions

When you use the Past Continuous with two actions in the same sentence, it expresses the idea that both actions were happening at the same time. The actions are parallel.

Examples:

• I was studying while he was making dinner.
• Were you listening while he was talking?
• I wasn't paying attention while I was writing the letter, so I made several mistakes.
• What were you doing while you were waiting?

waiting to be helped. One customer was yelling at a secretary and waving his hands. Others were complaining to each other about the bad service.


USE 4 Repetition and Irritation with "Always"

The Past Continuous with words such as "always" or "constantly" expresses the idea that something irritating or shocking often happened in the past. The concept is very similar to the expression "used to" but with negative emotion. Remember to put the words "always" or "constantly" between "be" and "verb+ing."

Examples:

• She was always talking in class.
• He was constantly complaining. He annoyed everyone.
• I didn't like them because they were always gossiping.

IMPORTANT

 

Non-Continuous Verbs

These verbs are usually things you cannot see somebody doing. These verbs are rarely used in continuous tenses. They include:

Abstract Verbs

to be, to want, to cost, to seem, to need, to care, to contain, to owe, to exist...

Possession Verbs

to possess, to own, to belong...

Emotion Verbs

to like, to love, to hate, to dislike, to fear, to envy, to mind...

 

 

 

Now lets do a few exercises!



Englishpage.com Verb Excercise