Past Simple vs Past Continuous

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 4

Past Simple vs Past Continuous

CEN Grammar

What do you remember about the past simple?

What do you remember about the past continuous?

Learning Goals

1. I understand the difference between the past simple and past continuous.
   
   
2. I can see in the context which tense I have to use.
   
   
3. I can talk about short(er) and long(er) actions in the past.

Choose the correct forms:
My father ... (work) in the garden when the postman ... (arrive) with a package.

1. worked, was arriving
2. was working, arrived

Kies de juiste vormen:
Dad ... (enter) my room and saw I ... (clean) it, which made him very proud.

1. entered, was cleaning
2. was entering, cleaned

Kies de juiste vormen:
I __ (hear) she ___ (sing) under the shower.

1. heard, was singing
2. was hearing, sang

Kies de juiste vormen:
I ... (know) he ... (lie), because his face turned red

1. knew, was lying
2. was knowing, lied

Kies de juiste vormen:
James ... (tell) a story when all of the sudden someone ... (come) in the room.

1. told, was coming
2. was telling, came

Kies de juiste vormen:
Susan ... (play) the violin. Suddenly a string ... (break).

1. played, was breaking
2. was playing, broke

Kies de juiste vormen:
I ... (hear) a sound when I ... (study).

1. heard, was studying
2. was hearing, studied

2 different tenses, but

• Both are in the past
• It depends on two things:

1. What was happening / somebody doing (longer action)?
2. What was the interruption (shorter action)?

Wat gaan we bekijken?

• Het verschil tussen past simple en past continuous
• Hoe je kunt herkennen wanneer je welke moet gebruiken

I was taking a bath when my mother called.

When she was calling me, her doorbell rang.

While she was talking to me, she was walking to the door, because I heard footsteps.

The men outside were waiting on her to open the door.

Short

Long

Korte of lange actie?

was taking

called

was calling

rang

was talking

was walking

heard

were waiting

Which tense do we use?

Past Simple

Present Continuous

short(er) actions

long(er) actions

Past Simple vs Past Continuous

What is the context of the following sentences?

I was doing the dishes when all of the sudden I heard a noise.
They were working in the garden when a car crashed into them.
Jack was playing on his PS4 when it suddenly broke down.

His mother suddenly realized that he was lying.

Think about short(er) and long(er) actions!

• They are long(er) actions, so what somebody was doing (past continuous) that are interrupted by a short(er) action (past simple)

Past Simple vs Past Continuous

Komt deze dus vaak samen tegen in deze situaties :

1. Een lange actie die wordt onderbroken door een korte actie
    
2. Twee of meer lange acties die tegelijkertijd bezig zijn
    
3. Twee of meer korte acties die elkaar in relatief korte tijd opvolgen 

I understand when to use the past simple or continuous.

Yes

Not entirely, but I don't need any help.

Not entirely and would like some help.

I don't get it at all.

Which tense do we use here?
I ___ (wait) for the bus, but it did not come.

1. past simple
2. past continuous

Which tense do we use here?
My brother was not playing the violin when I ___ (enter) his room.

1. past simple
2. past continuous

Which tense do we use here?
___ you ___ (listen) to music when I called you?

1. past simple
2. past continuous

Which tense do we use here?
The old man ___ (die) in his sleep last night.

1. past simple
2. past continuous

Which tense do we use here?
My aunt and uncle ___ (not - kiss) each other when I saw them.

1. past simple
2. past continuous

Which tense do we use here?
James smelled his brother ___ (bake) a cake.

1. past simple
2. past continuous

I can see in a sentence when to use the past simple or past continuous.

Yes

Not entirely, but I don't need any help.

Not entirely and would like some help.

I don't get it at all.

Past Simple:

Do you remember?

How do we create the correct forms?

Kijk naar de werkwoorden. Wat valt op? Wat komt vaker terug?

Affirmative:

They lived there in 2010.

We talked all night.

She danced a lot as a kid.

Sandy made a cake.

We had a cat.

Jim knew her.

Negative:

They didn't live there in 2010.

We didn't talk all night.

She didn't dance a lot as a kid.

Sandy didn't make a cake.

We didn't have a cat.

Jim didn't know her.

Questions:

Did they live there in 2010?

Did you talk all night?

Did she dance a lot as a kid?

Did Sandy make a cake?

Did you have a cat?

Did Jim know her?

Past Simple

• Affirmative
  verb + (e)d / irregular form
  
  

• Negative

did not (didn't) + verb

• Questions

did + subject + verb

Remember To be

• Afirmative

was / were

• Negative

was not / were not

• Questions

was not / were not + subject

Spelling (regular verbs)

• study > studied
• party > partied
• copy > copied
• empty > emptied

Past Continuous:

Do you remember?

How do we create the correct forms?

Kijk naar de werkwoorden. Wat valt op? Wat komt vaker terug?

Affirmative:

She was working alone.

They were playing in the mud.

Mike was listening to music.

They were doing their chores.

He was sleeping outside.

Anna was talking to me.

Questions:

Was she working alone?

Were they playing in the mud?

Was Mike listening to music?

Were they doing chores?

Was he sleeping outside?

Was Anna talking to me?

Negative:

She was not working alone.

They were not playing in the mud.

Mike was not listening to music.

They weren't doing their chores.

He wasn't sleeping outside.

Anna was not talking to me.

Past Continuous

• Affirmative
  was/were + present participle (verb + ing)

• Negative
  was / were not + present participle (verb + ing)

• Questions
  was / were + subject + present participle (verb + ing)

Mind the spelling

• lie > lying
• die > dying
  but
• fly > flying
• cry > crying

Mind the spelling

• come > coming
• bake > baking
  
  
• stop > stopping
• run > running

Be careful!

Do not use any shortened forms in the following exercises!

Put the verb in the correct tense:
I ___ (try) to close the window when suddenly the handle broke.

Put the verb in the correct tense:
I ___ (heard) they were talking about me.

Put the verb in the correct tense:
______ (you - listen) to the radio when I entered your room?

Put the verb in the correct tense:
The old man ___ (die) in his sleep last night.

Put the verb in the correct tense:
What ___ (your sister - do) when I called you?

Put the verb in the correct tense:
She ___ (talk) to Mike when her phone rang.

Put the verb in the correct tense:
Our teacher ___ (grade) tests when suddenly he fell asleep.

Put the verb in the correct tense:
He ___ (work) in the garden when the accident happened.

Put the verb in the correct tense:
My aunt and uncle were kissing each other when I ___ (see) them.

I can talk about short(er) and long(er) actions in the past.

Yes

Not entirely, but I do not need any help.

Not entirely and I would like some help.

I don't get it at all.