past simple past continuous

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• havo
• Leerjaar 2

Past simple or 

Past Continuous

Look at the following sentences

My mother was working at the bank when she met my father.

My mother worked at the bank when she met my father.

1.My mother was working at the bank when she met my father.
2.My mother worked at the bank when she met my father.

What's the difference between these sentences?

Past Simple
When do we use it?

Past Simple (revision)

The simple past tense shows that you are talking about something that has already happened.

 (facts, habits, emotions in the past)

Verb + (e)d (or irregular verb)

Past Continuous
When do you think we use it?

Past Continuous

We use the Past Continuous when we talk about

an action that was already in progress at a certain time in the past.

Past tense of 'be' +  verb-ing

(was working)

Past Simple or Past Continuous?

I ....... an appointment at the dentist yesterday.

1. had
2. was having

She ................. t.v. when he rang the doorbell.

1. was watching
2. watched

Jake looked at the weather outside: it was grey, but it ........

1. didn't rain
2. wasn't raining

She ........... the colour pink when she was little.

1. loved
2. was loving

It ........... dark instantly, all the lights went out.

1. got
2. was getting

It ............... dark when I cycled home yesterday. By the time I was home the sun had set completely.

1. got
2. was getting

I know the difference between the Past Simple and the Past Continuous and I know when to use them.

😒🙁😐🙂😃

Homework

Do exercise 2,3,4 and 6 on page 20 of your Student book.

Do exercises 1,2,3 and 4 on page 135 of your Student book.

Optional:

Extra worksheets on both tenses can be found on Magister.