SIMPLE PAST vs PAST PROGRESSIVE

Form

Simple Past	Past Progressive (Past Continuous)
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
§   first §   then §   If I talked, …	§   when §   while §   as long as