Form
Simple Past
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Past Progressive (Past Continuous)
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irregular verbs: see 2nd column of irregular verbs
I spoke
regular verbs: verb + ed
I worked
|
past form of 'be' + ing form of verb
I was speaking
you were speaking he / she / it was speaking we were speaking they were speaking |
Exceptions
|
|
Exceptions when
adding 'ed' :
- when the final letter is e, only
add d.
Example: love - loved
- after a short, stressed vowel, the final
consonant is doubled
Example: admit - admitted
- final l is always doubled
in British English (not in American English)
Example: travel - travelled
- after a consonant, final y becomes i.
(but: not after a vowel)
Example: worry - he worried
but: play - he played |
Exceptions when
adding 'ing' :
- silent e is dropped (but:
does not apply for -ee)
Example: come - coming
but: agree - agreeing
- after a short, stressed vowel, the final
consonant is doubled
Example: sit - sitting
- final l is always doubled
in British English (not in American English)
Example: travel - travelling
- final ie becomes y.
Example: lie - lying
|
Use
After another or at
the same time?
Do you want to express
that the actions in the past happened one after another or at the same time?
Simple Past
|
Past Progressive
|
after another
She came home, switched on the computer
and checked her e-mails.
|
at the same time
Simon was playing on the computer while
his brother was watching TV.
|
New action or already
in progress?
If you want to express
that a new action happened in the middle of another action, you need both
tenses: Simple Past the new action and Past Progressive for the action already
in progress.
Simple Past
|
Past Progressive
|
new action
My mobile rang (when I was sitting in a
meeting.)
|
action already in progress
While I was sitting in a meeting, (my
mobile suddenly rang.)
|
Only mentioning or
emphasising progress?
Do you just want to
mention that an action took place in the past (also used for short actions)? Or
do you want to put emphasis on the progress, e.g. that an action was taking
place at a certain time?
Simple Past
|
Past Progressive
|
just mentioning
Colin played football yesterday.
|
emphasising progress
Yesterday at six o'clock, Colin was
playing football.
|
Certain Verbs
The following verbs
are usually only used in Simple Past (not in the progressive form).
- state: be, cost, fit, mean, suit
- Example: We were on holiday.
- possession: belong, have
- Example: Sam had a cat.
- senses: feel, hear, see, smell, taste, touch
- Example: He felt the cold.
- feelings: hate, hope, like, love, prefer, regret, want, wish
- Example: Jane loved pizza.
- brain work: believe, know, think, understand
- Example: I did not understand him.
- introductory clauses for direct speech: answer, ask, reply, say
- Example: “I am watching TV,“ he said.
Signal words
Simple Past
|
Past Progressive
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§ first
§ then
§ If I talked, …
|
§ when
§ while
§ as long as
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