The Past Tense
Lessons (1d): Past simple, past continuous
Past simple: "I looked", "I worked". A past event or action; it is finished.
Past continuous: "I was looking", "I was working". A past situation (interrupted).
Past simple. When we talk about the past, we usually use the past simple. We can use it to talk about a single event ("This morning I met John") or a past situation ("John worked with me from 2014 to 2016") or a past habit ("John and I went to the pub every Friday after work").
The rule is: Always use the past simple to talk about the past, unless there is a good reason to use another tense. The other past tenses are the Present perfect, the Past perfect and the past continuous.
Past continuous. Use the past continuous to talk about something which continued before and after a past event. For example “While I was walking to work, I met John.”
| Past simple: | For: | Past continuous: | For: | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| “We arrived in London at 3pm.” | An event or action in the past. | "It was raining (when we arrived)." | A situation in the past. | |
| "At 4pm we went to a cafe." | An event or action in the past. | "Lots of people were waiting in the cafe." | A situation in the past. | |
| "In 2015 he lived in Paris for 3 months." | An event or action in the past. | "He was working in the city centre" | A situation in the past. | |
| "He met his friend Sara..." | An event or action in the past. | "... while he was working there." | A situation in the past. |
The Past Simple
The past simple is mainly for:
- A single event in the past (it is finished). “Sara arrived at 9 o'clock” or “The French Revolution started in 1789” or "A cat walked into the room".
- A situation in the past (it is finished). "The cat sat on a chair and watched them (for an hour)." or “I went to Osaka University (for 3 years)” or "Britain was a member of the European Union from 1973 to 2020".
- A habit in the past. A usual, regular action. (It is finished). "Anna practised the piano every day".
To talk about something which is NOT finished, or was in a period which is not finished, don't use the past simple. Use the Present perfect. That’s a different lesson.
Complete these sentences:
- TO RUN: “When I lived in Milan, I _____________ around the park every morning before breakfast.”
- TO GO: “He was an art student. He ____________ to college in New York.”
- TO WATCH: “When they were little, the children usually _______________ television for two hours a day”.
The past simple is usually the infinitive (look, work) plus -ed (looked, worked).
However a lot of English verbs are irregular (run, ran; go, went, buy, bought). See Table of Irregular Verbs.
Past simple, positive and negative:
| POSITIVE | NEGATIVE |
|---|---|
| "I liked swimming." | "I didn't like swimming." |
| "She was a student." | "He wasn't a student". |
| "Antonio worked from Monday to Friday". | "He didn't work at the weekends". |
| "They wanted to visit London". | "They didn't want to visit London". |
| "They had a car". | "They didn't have a car". |
Past simple, questions and answers:
| QUESTION | ANSWER |
|---|---|
| "Did you see your friend?" | "Yes, we went into town." or "No, he was out". |
| "Did you go to university?" | "Yes, I went to the Sorbonne" or "No, I started work at 18, straight from school". |
| "Where did you find that T-shirt?" | "In Primark, in the town centre". |
| "How did you go to London?" | "By train." |
| "Didn't he know the shops are all shut on Sundays?" | "Yes, but he didn't know they're all shut on Mondays too." |
The Past Continuous
Use the past continuous to talk about something which continued before and after a past event, especially if it was interrupted by that past event. "Mary was watching TV when the telephone rang."
We make the past continuous with "was” or "were" plus the -ing form of the main verb.
Past continuous, positive and negative:
| POSITIVE | NEGATIVE |
|---|---|
| "I was living in Berlin last year". | "I wasn't living in Munich". |
| "You were working hard (when I arrived)". | "You were not listening to music". |
| "She was making coffee". | "She wasn't working". |
| "They were talking in English". | "They weren't just sitting there!" |
Past continuous, questions and answers:
| QUESTIONS | ANSWERS |
|---|---|
| "Were you living in Berlin when you met Tony?" | "Yes, near the Ku’damm." |
| “Were you working hard?” | “I was, Tony wasn't.” |
| "Were you watching TV when the electricity went off?” | “Yes, I was. The electricity was off in the whole town for 2 hours.” |
| “What were you doing when you heard about 9/11?” | "I have no idea, it was 2001, I was only four years old." |
| “Why were you laughing when you arrived?” | "Jeni texted me a really funny picture. Look!" |
To be and the past continuous
We don't often use the past continuous of to be. We don’t say “I was being cold when I arrived” or “I was being happy until I saw the newspaper”. We can use the past simple of to be (“I was cold when I arrived” or “I was happy until I saw the newspaper”) or we can use a different verb: "I was feeling cold when I arrived" or "I was feeling happy until I saw the newspaper."
I was going to...; I was hoping to...; I was planning to...
We sometimes use the past continuous to say that a person wanted to do something but did not do it. It’s usually the past continuous of go, hope or plan plus the to- infinitive of the main verb. For example, "Alexander the Great was planning to cross the River Ganges but his men did not want to."
a) "I _________________________ you yesterday, but I didn't have time" (to go + to call)
b) "He _________________________ an X-Box but the shop didn't have any." (to hope + to buy)
c) "They _________________________ work at 5.30, but they were very busy until 7.00." (to plan + to finish)
Of course, you could use the past simple of want, intend or mean:
a) "I _________________ you yesterday, but I didn't have time" (to want + to call)
b) "I _________________ an X-Box but the shop didn't have any." (to intend)
c) "I _________________ work at 5.30 but I was very busy until 7.00." (to mean)
Compare: Past Simple vs. Past Continuous
Sometimes there is a big difference:
"The students were working when the teacher arrived." The students were already working before (s)he arrived. "The students worked when the teacher arrived." The students started to work when (s)he arrived.
"What were you doing when you heard the news?" Were you working, walking, eating, watching TV?
"What did you do when you heard the news?" What was your reaction to the news? Did you quickly telephone all your friends?
"Joseph Haydn was writing his Paris Symphonies when Mozart visited." That's fine.
"Joseph Haydn wrote his Paris Symphonies when Mozart visited". No, not unless it was a very long visit! You could say "Haydn started to write his Paris Symphonies when Mozart visited."
"I was watching TV when the electricity went off". That's fine.
"I watched TV when the electricity went off." No - you don't start to watch TV when there is no electricity.
“In August 1914, the lights were going out all over Europe.” The lights went out slowly.
“In August 1914, the lights went out all over Europe.” All the lights went out at approximately the same time.
Often there is no real difference:
People often use the past continuous when it is possible to use the past simple - just for a change. These sentences mean almost exactly the same:
"I lived in Berlin last year" and "I was living in Berlin last year".Of course, if you want to say "I was living in Berlin last year when I met Barack Obama" then you need a past continuous.
"You worked hard this morning" and "You were working hard this morning."
Possibly the second version means "...when I saw you" or "...when I telephoned you", or possibly not.
Exercise: Past Simple or Past Continuous?
Last year I ____________________ (to go) to Greece for my holidays.
I ____________________ (to decide) to fly because it is much quicker than going by train or car.
On the morning I left London, it _________________ (to rain), but when I __________________ (to step) off the plane at Athens airport it was a beautiful day.
The sun ____________________(to shine) and a cool wind ________________ (to blow) from the sea. It ___________________ (to be) lovely.
I ____________________ (to take) a taxi to my hotel. While I _________________ (to sign) the hotel register, someone ____________________ (to tap) me on the shoulder. I _________________ (to turn round). It was a friend I hadn’t seen for ten years. He __________________ (to stay) at the same hotel.
That evening we ________________ (to go) for a walk. The town was still very busy.
The market traders _________________ (to sell) souvenirs and the foreign tourists _______________ (to try) to bring down the price with the help of a Greek phrase book.
We ____________________ (to watch) them for a while and then went back to our hotel.