past simple v. past continuous
TRANSCRIPT
Past simple v. past continuo
Grammar
Past simpleUses To refer to actions or situations in the past.
Form Verb + “ed”
Examples: want → wanted
earn → learned
stay → stayed
walk → walked
show → showed
Exceptions:
1. For verbs that end in "e" only add "-d".
Examples: change → changed
believe → believed
2. If the verb ends in a short vowel and a consonant double the final consonant.
Examples: stop → stopped
commit → committed
Form
3. verbs that end in a consonant and a "and" change the "y" with an "i".
Examples: study → studied
try → tried
Form
Structure
+ Subject + Main verb + Complements
Examples: She was a doctor. (Era doctora.) The keys were in the drawer. (Las llaves estaban en el cajón.)
Regular (+ed)Irregular
* Subject + To be + Main Verb + Complements
Examples: She was a doctor. (Era doctora.)
The keys were in the drawer. (Las llaves estaban
en el cajón.)
Structure
- Subject + Didn’t + Main Verb + Complements
Examples: I didn’t want to dance. (No quería bailar.)
They didn’t learn English. (No aprendieron inglés)
*Subject + To be + Main Verb + Complements
Examples: She wasn’t a doctor. (Ella no era doctora.)
Structure
Wasn’t Weren’t
- The keys weren’t in the drawer. (Las llaves no estaban en
el cajón.)
? Did + subject + Main Verb (infinitive) + Complements ?Examples: Did you want to dance? ( ¿Querías bailar ?)
Did they learn English? ( ¿ Aprendieron inglés?)
* To be (past tense) + Subject + Main Verb + Complements ?
Examples: Was she a doctor? (¿Era doctora?)
Were the keys in the drawer? (¿Estaban las
llaves en el cajón?)
Past continuousUses For actions that occurred at a specific time in the past.
Structure + Subject + Past tense of “to be” + V (gerund) + Complements
Examples: I was talking. (Estaba hablando.)
They were eating. (Estaban comiendo.)
- Subject + Past tense of “to be”+ "not" + V (gerund)
Examples: I wasn’t talking. (No estaba hablando.)
They weren’t eating. (No estaban comiendo.)
Structure ? Past tense of “to be” + Subject + V (gerund) + Complements) ?
Examples: Were you talking? (¿Estabas hablando?)
Were they eating? (¿Estaban comiendo?)
Particles While To indicate that while you were doing an action another person was doing something at the same time
Examples: I was talking while my mom was cooking (Yo estaba hablando mientras mi madre estaba cocinando)
While they were eating, they were watching the TV (Mientras estaban comiendo, estaban viendo la televisión)
Particles When It is used to say that an action was interrupted.
Example: They were eating when the phone rang.
(Estaban viendo la tele cuando el teléfono sonó.)
DifferencesPast simple Past continuous
To speak of a concrete action that began and ended in the past.
For actions that occurred at a specific time in the past.
I studied for the English exam.I didn’t study for the English exam.Did you study for the English exam?
I was studying for the English exam.I wasn’t studyng for the English exam.Were you studying for the English exam?
Exercices1) What (do) when I (call) you last night?
2) I (sit) in a cafe when you (call)
3) When you (arrive) to the party, who (be)there?
Laura Gantiva PoloHéctor Enri Vercher