Paulina Regulska

Past Simple and Past Continuous - when do we use progressive form in the past?

Learners:

Pre-intermediate students in middle school, age: 13-14 years old. The students know the rules of creating Past Simple and Past Continuous Tense in terms of structure. They also know when we use Past Simple. The lesson introduces situations when we should use Past Continuous.

1. Warm up activity (according to what the students already know)

Mimic game: Three volunteers are to show what they did yesterday. The rest of the class has to guess the activities in the past (they should use Past Simple).

2. Presentation of the new topic

• Presentation will begin with short revision of structures for both tenses and use of Past Simple - students should answer teacher's questions about it.

• Next, the teacher will write two sentences:” I did my homework yesterday”, “I was doing my homework when she came”. The teacher will ask students to think of the difference between them. She will help the students with additional questions, if there's a need.

• Then, the teacher will give the students handouts with listed rules of Past Continuous usage. She will shortly explain them and ask if there are questions.

• Then, the students will practice in the classroom using the handouts.

3. Summing up

The teacher will go over the most frequent problems from the exercises and once again shortly explain the difference between two tenses. She will also give students homework.

Rules of using Past Continuous are on Handout 1.

Exercises are on Handout 2.

Handout 1.

1. We use Past Continuous when the speaker sees the action as not completed.

Yesterday Karen and Jim cooked dinner. They started at 2 o'clock and finished at 4 o'clock. At 3 o'clock they were cooking.

“they were cooking” means they were in the middle of cooking, they began but not finished it at that time.

I started doing I finished doing now

I was doing

Examples:

This time last year I was living in Spain.

What were you doing at 10 o'clock last night?

I waved to Helen, but she wasn't looking.

2. We often use Past Simple and Past Continuous together to say that something happened in the middle of something else.

I was walking home when I met Jane.

I met Jane

I was walking home now

Examples:

Matt phoned when we were having dinner.

It was raining when I got up.

I saw you in the park yesterday. You were sitting on the grass.

I hurt my back when I was working in the garden.

**When we talk about actions that happened one after another we use Past Simple: I went home, I met Jane (when I got there).

3. Remember that some words are not normally used in continuous forms!

Handout 2.

1. Read the following sentences and answer if the highlighted part is seen as a completed action in the past. Then choose the right ending for the rule.

• When I was reading a book my sister came into the room.

• I ate dinner and went out with my friends.

• Chris was driving too fast when the police stopped him.

• My parents got married 20 years ago.

• Yesterday at 5 p.m. I was playing tennis with my Mark.

Choose:

Past Continuous is used when the speaker sees the action in the past as complete/incomplete.

2. Past Continuous is often used with Past Simple. Write sentences as in the example. Use your own ideas.

She was cooking dinner	when he called.
They were going to the cinema
Mariah was having a friend over
While I was doing my homework
When I visited her
It was snowing
We were having some friends over
The dog was running

3. Look at the pictures. What were these people doing yesterday at 10 a.m.?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………..

………………………………………………………………………………………..

………………………………………………………………………………………….

4. Choose the correct tense

Ally ………………………………………….(work) when her brother ……………………………………..(call) her and …………………………………..(tell) her about the good news. Their sister Sarah ……………………… (get) a job in London. She ……………………………………(not call) herself because she ………………………………… (talk) to their parents at that moment. Ally……………………………..(be) very happy. She …………………………………………(think) about her sister for a while and then she ………………………………(get back) to work.

Last night I …………………………….(not meet) with you because I ……………………………….(have) some friends over. They………………………………….(come) when I……………………………(leave) to see you. I ………………………………..(have to) stay home. I……………………………(try) to call you but you ………………………………….. (not answer).

When they ……………………………….(come) to Zakopane it ………………………….(snow) and it …………………..(be) cold. They ………………………………. (not call) because they ……………………………………….…(ski) all day.

5. Choose the correct tense

As I
(do) the washing-up I
(break) a glass.

We
(walk) in the wood when the storm
(begin).

John
(repair) his motorbike when his mother
(arrive).

What
(you do) when the telephone
(ring).

Tom
(watch) the match when the TV
(break) down.

Debbie
(sing) in the school choir many years ago.

Liz
(clean) the window when I
(see) her.

6. What were you doing at these times? Write sentences as in the examples. The past continuous is not always necessary.

(at eight o'clock yesterday evening) I was having dinner.

(at 5 o'clock last Monday) I was on a bus on my way home.

(at 10.15 yesterday morning) ……………………………………………………………………………………………..

(at 4.30 this morning)………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

(at 7.45 yesterday evening)………………………………………………………………………………………………..

(half an hour ago)……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

7. Put the verb into the correct form, past continuous or simple.

I…………………..(see) Sue in town yesterday, but she ………………………………(not see) me. She …………………………………..(look) the other way.

I …………………………(meet) Tom and Jane at the airport a few weeks ago. They ……………………………(go) to Paris and I ………………….(go) to Rome. We …………………………(have) a chat while we …………………………..(wait) for our flights.

I ……………………..(cycle) home yesterday when a man ……………………..(step) out into the road in front of me. I ………………… (go) quite fast, but luckily I …………………….. (manage) to stop in time and ……………………. (not hit) him.

8. Compete these texts using Past Simple or Past Continuous of the verbs in brackets.

Last Saturday Tom wanted to make two salads. He ………………………….(make) the first one in five minutes. He …………………………(make) the second one when his guests ……………………………..(arrive) and they …………………………(help) him to finish it.

The artist Gaudi ……………………….(design) several houses in Barcelona, Spain. Later he ………………..(start) work on a church. He ……………………….(work) on the church when he ………………..(die).

Last month a bank robber ……………………………(escape) while the police …………………………..(take) him to prison. Later they ………….(catch) him again and this time they ……………..(lock) him up without any problems.

Philip's football team were lucky last Saturday. After 20 minutes they ……………………(lose) but in the end they …………………….(win) the game by 4 goals to 2.

John Lennon ……………………..(sing) and ……………………(play) on many records with the Beatles. After that he ………………………………(record) several songs without the Beatles. He …………………………(prepare) a new record when Mark Chapman …………………………..(shoot) him.

9. A policewoman is interviewing Mary Croft about last Friday evening. Complete the sentences using the words in brackets in past continuous or simple.

Policewoman: What time did you get home from work?

Mary: About 6 o'clock.

Policewoman: And what………………………………(you/do) after you got home?

Mary: I read the newspaper.

Policewoman: Did anything happened while ……………………………..(read) the paper?

Mary: Yes, the phone ………………………(ring)

Policewoman: What ………………………………..(you/do) when your husband came home?

Mary: I was watching TV and I ……………………….(drink) a cup of coffee.

Policewoman: Did you and your husband stay home?

Mary: No, I………………………….(drink) my coffee. Then I put on my raincoat and we ………………………(go) out at 7 o'clock.

Policewoman: Why ……………………………(you/put) you raincoat on?

Mary: Because it ……………………….(rain), of course.

10. Write 3 more questions that the policewoman could ask Mary.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Bibliography:

Handout 1 is based on: English Grammar in Use, R.Murphy, Cambridge University Press, 2007

Exercises 1, 2, 3, 4, 10 are my own idea.

Exercises 6, 7 are adapted from English Grammar in Use, R.Murphy, Cambridge University Press, 2007

Exercise 5 is adapted from a web page www.e-ang.pl:

http://www.e-ang.pl/test,13,Past_simple_vs_past_continuous.html

Exercises 8, 9 are adapted from Grammar Spectrum 3, N.Coe, Oxford University Press, 2000

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