Simple Past versus Past Continuous: um reforço!

Complete as frases com os verbos no Simple Past (ex. ate, swam, played, watched) ou no Past Continuous (ex. was eating, were playing):

Parte superior do formulário

	(talk, type) While Peter 1 on the phone, Mary 2 a letter.
	(have, ring) We 3 dinner when the phone 4 .
	(do, go) The students 5 the test when the fire alarm 6 off.
	(finish, go) As soon as Mark 7 his breakfast, he 8 out to play.
	(wear, see) She 9 a red dress when I last 10 her.
	(play, cook) While the children 11 , their mother 12 .
	(phone, hear) She 13 her mother as soon as she 14 the news.
	(leave, start) As soon as he 15 the house, it 16 to rain.
	(fall, walk) The old woman 17 while she 18 .
	(take, be) I 19 a lot of photographs when I 20 in Scotland.

Inglês: exercícios sobre o Past Continuous

Vamos lá! Tentem porque estes são bem simples!

Was or Were

Decide whether to use 'was' or 'were'.

1. Boris was were learning English.

2. They was were swimming in the lake.

3. Your father was were repairing the car.

4. I was were reading a magazine.

5. You was were packing your bag.

6. My friends was were watching the match on TV.

7. It was were raining.

8. The dog was were barking.

9. The children was were brushing their teeth.

10. Anne and Maureen was were singing a song.

Put the verbs into the correct form (past Continuous).

1. When I phoned my friends, they (play) monopoly.

2. Yesterday at six I (prepare) dinner.

3. The kids (play) in the garden when it suddenly began to rain.

4. I (practice) the guitar when he came home.

5. We (not / cycle) all day.

6. While Aaron (work) in his room, his friends (swim) in the pool.

7. I tried to tell them the truth but they (listen / not) .

8. What (you / do) yesterday?

9. Most of the time we (sit) in the park.

Test

Write the ing form of the verbs.

1. live →

2. stay →

3. run →

4. win →

5. cycle →

Complete the table in past Continuous.

positive	negative	question
It was raining.
	They were not playing.
		Was I listening?
	Caron was not eating.
You were singing.

Was or Were?

1. We was were dancing.

2. The dog was were barking.

3. The printer was were printing out a photograph.

4. The pupils was were writing a test.

5. Sue and Gareth was were walking up the hill.

Write sentences in past Continuous.

1. he / the car / wash →

2. she / home / go →

3. they / not / the match / watch →

4. you / in the shop / work →

5. I / not / a magazine / read →

Write questions in past Continuous.

1. she / on a chair / sit →

2. you / your bag / pack →

3. his head / ache →

4. we / tea / drink →

5. you / the bike / repair →

Ask for the information in the bold part of the sentence.

1. Jamie was doing a language course in London. →

2. Andrew was carrying a heavy box. →

3. The teacher was testing our English. →

4. At six o'clock, we were having dinner. →

Abraços e boa sorte!

Simple Past ou Past Continuous: escolha MUITO bem!

I (get) ready when my friends (arrive).

It (start) to rain when we (leave) the house.

- How fast (you, drive) when the other car (hit) you?

- I (call) Mary this morning.
- Oh, yeah? What (she, say) ?
- We (not, talk). She (take) a shower.

When Sara (get) home last night her mother (cook) dinner.

- I (drop by) your place this morning, bu you (not, be) there.
- I (walk) the dog. I (come back) around 11.

- (you, see) Sara this morning?
- No, I didn't.

I (watch) TV when the doorbell (ring).

Past Continuous: exercício bem simples hoje!

Write the correct verb form into the gap. Use the Past Progressive. Example: ___ she ______ a book? (to read) Answer: Was she reading a book?

1) Ashley on the computer? (to work) 2) they the bike? (to repair) 3) Melissa out a book? (to take) 4) you to music? (to listen) 5) Nicolas at a picture? (to look) 6) Emma and Bertha her friend? (to phone) 7) the girl the window? (to open) 8) he judo? (to do) 9) the friends home from school?(to come) 10) Tyler with the cooking? (to help)

Simple Past versus Past Continuous: chega de confusão!

Simple Past X Past Continuous

Form

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

Use

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

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 Continuous for the action already in progress.

Simple Past	Past Continuous
New action My mobile rang (when I was sitting in a meeting.)	Action already in progress While I was sitting in a meeting, (my mobile suddenly rang.)

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 Continuous
Just mentioning Colin played football yesterday.	Emphasizing progress Yesterday at six o'clock, Colin was playing football.

Certain Verbs

The following verbs are usually only used in Simple Past (not in the Continuous form).

• 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.

Signal words

Simple Past	Past Continuous
first then If-clause Type 2 (If I talked, …)	when while as long as

Abraços e bom estudo!