Look at these examples to see how the past continuous and past simple are used.
When I woke up this morning, it was snowing.
I was sleeping when you called me.
Try this exercise to test your grammar.
- Grammar test 1
Read the explanation to learn more.
Grammar explanation
The past continuous and the past simple help us to show how two past actions or situations are connected.
Past simple
The past simple shows us that an action was in the past, not in the present. Regular past simple verbs have -ed at the end (e.g. called, played, arrived). Irregular verbs have a different form, usually with a different vowel sound (e.g. wake → woke, break → broke, feel → felt).
My parents called me yesterday.
I woke up early this morning.
Sam played basketball when he was at university.
We make the negative with didn't and the infinitive verb.
My parents didn't call me yesterday.
I didn't wake up early this morning.
We make the question form with did and then the subject and infinitive verb.
Did you wake up early this morning?
Did Sam play basketball when he was at university?
Past continuous
The past continuous shows us that the action was already in progress at a certain time in the past.
What were you doing at 8 p.m. last night? I was studying.
This means that I started studying before 8 p.m. and I continued after 8 p.m.
The past continuous can also show that an activity was in progress for some time, not just for a moment.
We were cleaning the house all morning.
We make the past continuous with was or were and the -ing form of the verb.
She couldn't come to the party. She was working.
Three years ago, we were living in my home town.
I tried to give him some advice, but he wasn't listening.
What were you doing this time last year?
Past continuous and past simple
When we use these two tenses together, it shows us that the past simple action happened in the middle of the past continuous action, while it was in progress.
While I was studying, I suddenly felt sleepy.
We often use these tenses to show an action interrupting another action.
I broke my leg when I was skiing.
As I was going to work, I saw an old friend.
We were watching television when the power went off.
Can you see a difference in the meaning of these two sentences?
When the guests arrived, Jane was cooking dinner.
When the guests arrived, Jane cooked dinner.
In the first one, Jane started cooking dinner before the guests arrived. We know that because it uses the past continuous. In the second sentence, the guests arrived first and then Jane started cooking.
Do this exercise to test your grammar again.
- Grammar test 2
Hi everybody! I have a question about a sentence that appeared in the page.
I broke my leg when I was skiing.
I have learned we use 'while' with past continuous and 'when' with past simple but in the example we have When I was skiing. We are supposed to use While not when. PLEASE HELP
I don't know what is the difference between while and when and if the sentence is correct I want to know why :( :(
Hello _diazkv1308,
It's true that while is most often used with continuous forms and when with simple forms but it's a tendency rather than a rule. While emphasises that an event happened during another, generally longer, event. When can mean this or it can mean that one event is triggered by another ('When she came home, I brought her a coffee'). While cannot be used in this way. Thus you can say that when and while can both be used for the first meaning, with while being more common, but only when can be used for the second meaning.
You can read a discussion of the subject here:
https://ell.stackexchange.com/questions/349245/when-vs-while-is-sentences
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello,
Is "study" an irregular verb? Some people think it is which can be confusing...
Thank you.
Hello aona,
'Study' follows a regular pattern and adds -s to form the present simple third person form and -ed to form the past tense. There is a spelling shift in which -y becomes ies (third person present simple) and -ied (past simple) but this is a regular pattern for all verbs ending with a consonant + y:
study (studies, studied)
carry (carries, carried)
apply (applies, applied)
Many other verbs follow this pattern.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Super exercises
Hello,
It's mentioned that we use present simple when telling a story. In the sentence below, I've noticed that the first sentence was past continuous - was walking down the street. Do we normally use past tense when we are opening up a story or is there any pattern which part should we use past continuous and present tense?
I was walking down the street the other day when suddenly this man comes up to me and tells me he has lost his wallet and asks me to lend him some money.
Thanks in advance!
Hello JemJem,
You're right that it is quite common to use the past continuous when beginning a story. The reason is that the past continuous is often used to describe backgrounde events against which the main events occur. This may be an activity, as in your example, or something like the weather (It was raining and puddles were spreading across the pavement...). The present simple is an option instead of the past simple for the main events when we are speaking in an informal way, such as relating an anecdote or telling a joke, The present simple can make the story seem more immediate and compelling but it is generally quite informal in style, as I said.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
If I write , I was trying to give him some advice but he didn’t care. Is it correct?
Hello Rona Niki,
I think the second part of the sentence does not sound very natural. I would suggest these:
As far as the first part of the sentence goes, whether 'I tried' or 'I as trying' is correct depends on the context in which the sentence occurs.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
No