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PAST SIMPLE VS PAST CONTINUOUS

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OUTLINE GRAMMAR UNIT 1

1. PAST SIMPLE:

FORMATION AND USES

2. PAST CONTINUOUS:

FORMATION AND USES

3. CONNECTORS AND PATTERNS:

WHEN WHILE AS

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1 PAST SIMPLE

FORMATION

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I spoke English

I didn´t speak English

Did I speak English?

I worked here

I didn´t work here

Did I work here?

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USES

a) action in the past taking place once, never or several times (finished and completed actions)

He visited his parents every weekend.

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b) actions in the past taking place one after the other .

He came in, took off his coat and sat down.

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2 PAST CONTINUOUS

FORMATION

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I/he/she/it

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was reading

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wasn´t reading

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Was … reading?

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We/you/they

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were reading

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weren´t reading

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Were … reading?

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Structure

sub+was/were+v1+ing+object.

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I was cooking food for my mother.

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sub+was/were+not+v1+ing+object.

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I was cooking food for my mother.

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USES

a) Two actions happening at the same time

While he was reading, she was watching TV.

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b) An action going on at a certain time in the past.

Yesterday evening I was doing homework

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3 CONNECTORS AND PATTERNS

The connectors that are used with these tenses are:

When While As

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You have to study the following patterns to distinguish when to use past simple or past continuous.

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  • PATTERNS USING WHEN

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WHEN

PAST SIMPLE

PAST CONTINUOUS

PAST CONTINUOUS

WHEN

PAST SIMPLE

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When she came in, they were reading the newpaper

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They were reading the newspaper when she came in

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  • PATTERNS USING WHILE/AS

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WHILE

PAST CONTINUOUS

PAST CONTINUOUS

PAST CONTINUOUS

WHILE

PAST CONTINUOUS

WHILE

PAST CONTINUOUS

PAST SIMPLE

PAST SIMPLE

WHILE

PAST CONTINUOUS

While I was painting the room, my father was repairing the roof.

My father was repairing the roof while I was painting the room.

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While I was having a shower, the phone rang.

The phone rang while I was having a shower