Past Simple
Positive and Negative Sentences:
I arrived / didn't yesterday
Examplo:
you arrive
he ate / didn't eat I arrived yesterday
she went / didn't go I didn"t arrive yesterday
it
we
they
Questions:
Did I go? Examples:
you Did he go?
he Did they go?
she
it
we
they
Short Answers:
Yes, I did. No, I didn’t.
The form of the Past Simple is the same for all persons:
Examples:
I arrived. I didn’t arrive.
He arrived. He didn’t arrive.
They arrived. They didn’t arrive.
The Past Simple describes a past action that is now finished:
Examples:
We saw a ghost last night.
They came to Canada last month.
She lived there for five years.
He arrived four minutes ago.
The Past Simple is often used with finished time expressions:
Examples:
yesterday last week in 2009
this morning last month four years ago
last night last year three days ago
Spelling
The normal spelling rule to make the Past Simple is to add ~ed or ~d to a verb:
Examples:
work worked
start started
want wanted
love loved
hate hated
live lived
PAST CONTINUOUS
Past Continuous Form
was / were + verb~ing
Positive and Negative Sentences:
I was screaming. Examples:
He wasn’t
She
It She was screaming.
They were screaming.
We were screaming.
You weren’t
They
Questions:
What was I doing? Examples:
he
What was it doing?
she
it What were they doing?
What were we doing?
you
they
Short Answers:
Yes, I was. No, I wasn’t.
Past Continuous Use
The Past Continuous emphasizes the duration or progress of a past action.
Examples:
This morning, it was snowing.
I met a lot of interesting people while I was living in Vancouver.
I was so cold yesterday because I wasn’t wearing a jacket.
The activity was happening before and probably after a time in the past.
Examples:
When I woke up this morning, it was raining.
At 3am last night, of course, I was sleeping.
Why were you studying in the library when I called you?
Past Simple and Past Continuous
The Past Simple describes finished past actions. The Past Continuous describes
actions in progress.
Examples:
We ate a wonderful dinner last night.
We were eating a wonderful dinner when you called.
I slept for a long time last night.
I was sleeping at 3am.
It rained every day last week.
It was raining when school finished yesterday.
Sometimes, a Past Simple action can interrupt a Past Continuous action.
Examples:
I was taking a shower when she called.
They were studying when he arrived.
We were watching a movie when you sent us the email.
If we say two Past Simple actions, we are describing the order of events.
Examples:
I woke up and took a shower.
She opened the door and left.
What did you do when you heard the news?
She screamed when she saw the mouse.
If we say two Past Continuous actions, we are describing two actions that happen
together, at the same time. In this usage, weusually use the word, "while," but it
is also okay to use "when."
Examples:
I was sleeping while it was snowing outside.
The man was watching me while I was waiting.
Like we studied in Unit Two, state verbs cannot be used in the continuous.
Examples:
I had a dog when I was a child.
Last year, gas cost a lot of money.
3-3 Prepositions Of Time
At + Clock Time At + Holiday Seasons
at nine o’clock at Christmas
at midnight at Easter
at noon at New Year’s
at break time
In + Months / Years / In + Morning / In + Future Period
Seasons Afternoon / Evening of Time
in December in the morning in two years
in May in the afternoon in four days
in 1990 in the evening in three
minutes
in winter
On + Days On + Dates
on Monday on March 15th
on Christmas Day on December 25th
on Friday morning on January 1st
on New Year’s Day
No Preposition
yesterday two weeks ago
yesterday evening five minutes ago
last night every day
last month every other day
next year the day before yesterday
next week the day after tomorrow
tomorrow the week after next
today the week before last
