2019-07-20 Past simple and past continuous – 6 Minute Grammar

Past simple and past continuous

In this session we’ve looked at the story of the Titanic disaster. We’ve learned how to talk about past events using the past simple and past continuous. It’s time for 6 Minute Grammar with Rob, Emma and Finn to help you understand these two past verb forms.

But what did Finn do last night? Listen to the programme to find out!

Rob
Hello. Welcome to 6 Minute Grammar with me, Rob.

Emma
And me, Emma. Hello.

Rob
In today’s programme we’re talking about the past simple and the past continuous tenses…

Emma
Yes, we’ll look at when we use each tense…

Rob
We’ll show you how to form the positive, negative and question forms of each one…

Emma
And as usual, we’ll finish with a quiz.

Rob
And first, here’s a quick reminder of the past simple. Hello Finn.

Finn
Hello Rob.

Rob
Could you give us an example please?

Finn
Last night I saw the film ‘Titanic’.

Rob
Ooh Titanic, what a movie! Finn saw it last night. So, we use the past simple for completed actions in the past.

Emma
And we had the past simple of the verb see, which is the irregular form saw.

Rob
And as we know, you just have to learn the irregular verbs.

Emma
But the good news is that lots of verbs are regular, and to make them into the past simple, you just add e and d to the infinitive, like this:

Finn
Hundreds of passengers jumped into the sea.

Rob
Jump – jumped. Simple. To make past simple negatives, we add didn’t to the infinitive, like this:

Finn
Sandra Bullock didn’t win an Oscar for Gravity.

Rob
Now let’s look at past simple questions. Emma, did you see the news last night?

Emma
Yes, I did.

Rob
So, for the question, it’s: did plus the subject plus the infinitive.

Emma
And the short answers are: Yes plus subject plus did: Yes, I did.

Rob
Or: No plus subject plus didn’t: No, I didn’t.

Emma
So that’s the past simple for completed actions in the past.

Rob
Now, to talk about past activities, we can use the past continuous. Here’s an example:

Finn
I was watching a movie on TV. It was raining. We were feeling very bored.

Emma
Now, we can use the past continuous to talk about an activity that was already happening when something else happened, like this:

Finn
Dad was cooking dinner when the police arrived. The children were watching TV when the officers came into the living room.

Rob
Ooh the police! Very dramatic! Yes, think about one activity interrupting the other – the activity that was already happening is in the past continuous – Dad was cooking dinner…

Emma
And the activity that interrupted it is in the past simple: the police arrived.

Rob
So you can put the past simple and continuous together to talk about activities and actions that happened one on top of another.

Emma
Remember those examples everyone – I’m going to test you later!

Rob
OK. To make the past continuous, it’s was or were plus an i-n-g verb.

Finn
Dad was cooking dinner. The children were watching TV.

Rob
Now to make the negative past continuous, you just put wasn’t or weren’t in front of the    -ing verb, like this: 

Finn
The baby wasn’t sleeping. The children weren’t playing games.

Rob
Wasn’t sleeping and weren’t playing. Wasn’t and weren’t are short forms of was not and were not.

Emma
Now for past continuous questions, it’s was or were, with the subject plus an i-n-g verb. And I’m going to demonstrate this by testing you on the examples we had before. Rob, was Mum cooking dinner?

Rob
No, she wasn’t: Dad was cooking dinner.

Emma
That’s correct: well done. Were the children playing games?

Rob
No, they weren’t.

Emma
Correct, well done again!

Rob
For past continuous short answers it’s: Yes plus subject plus was, or: No plus subject plus wasn’t.

IDENT
You’re listening to BBC Learning English dot com.

Emma
Right, time for a quiz. I’m going to say a sentence and you have to choose the right verb form to go in the gap. Ready? OK. Number 1. When the phone rang, we ____ a film. Is it a) watched or b) were watching? When the phone rang, we ____ a film.

Rob
It’s b) When the phone rang, we were watching a film.

Emma
Good, number 2: Cate Blanchett _____ an Oscar for Best Actress. Is it a) was winning or b) won? Cate Blanchett _____ an Oscar for Best Actress.

Rob
It’s b) Cate Blanchett won an Oscar for Best Actress.

Emma
And here’s the final question. Ready? When the police _____, Dad was cooking dinner. Is it a) arrived b) were arriving? When the police _____, Dad was cooking dinner.

Rob
When the police arrived, Dad was cooking dinner. Good old dad. Still cooking that dinner. What a hero!

Emma
So, well done if you got those right. And don’t forget there’s lots more about tenses on our website at www.bbc-story.com. Join us again for more 6 Minute Grammar.

Both
Bye!

Grammar Reference
Past simple and past continuous
Meaning and use

We use the past simple for something that happened and finished in the past. We use it when we say or know the time when something happened. It is often used in stories, when one thing happened after another.

Last year, we travelled by jeep across the Sahara.

When the car stopped, we all got out.

We use the past continuous for something that happened in the past but was not finished at a particular time. This can be an exact time in the past (12 o’clock, etc.) or the time when another thing happened.

It was 12 o’clock and we were standing in the midday sun.

Mick was checking the engine when the rescue helicopter arrived.

We also use the past continuous to describe a scene or situation in the past or for an action that continued for some time.

The stars were beginning to come out.

The dog was barking loudly.

Form

Past simple: positive

For regular verbs, the past simple ends in -ed. Irregular verbs have different forms. The past simple form is the same for all persons (I, you, he, she, etc).

Suddenly the jeep skidded and stopped.

Jake thought that we had a puncture.

Past continuous: positive

The past continuous is subject + was/were + -ing form. There are no short forms of was/were.

Fortunately, we were carrying a toolkit.

Past simple: negative
We make the negative past simple with didn’t + infinitive.

We didn’t stay inside the jeep because that was even hotter.

Past continuous: negative
We make the negative past continuous with wasn’t/weren’t + -ing form

Despite the heat, Jess and Debs weren’t wearing hats.

Past simple: question

The past simple question form is did + subject + infinitive for all persons. The short answers are Yes, I did. / No, I didn’t.

Did the helicopter land in the desert? Yes it did.

Past continuous: question

The past continuous question form is was/were + subject + -ing form. The short answers are Yes, I was. / No, I wasn’t.

How were you feeling when it arrived?

Take note: spelling changes
In the past continuous, all verbs end in -ing, but sometimes the spelling changes:

take – taking hit – hitting die – dying

Take note: verbs we don’t use in the past continuous
There are some verbs that we don’t usually use in the continuous form. They are often verbs related to the senses and thinking, for example: hear, see, smell, hate, know, understand, believe, notice, want, need, seem, wish.

WRONG: Were you knowing Jess when you were living in Madrid?

CORRECT: Did you know Jess when you were living in Madrid?

Spoken English
In the past simple and the past continuous, we usually use a contraction with the negative auxiliary verb:

didn’t (= did not) wasn’t (= was not)

We usually say the positive and negative auxiliary verbs quickly and without emphasis. We don’t usually pronounce the final ‘t’ in ‘didn’t’, ‘wasn’t’ or ‘weren’t’ in the flow of speech.

He wasn’t looking when his team scored a goal.

/hi wɒzn ˈlʊkɪŋ wɛn hɪz tiːm skɔːd ə gəʊl/

But when the word following the contraction begins with a vowel sound, we pronounce the final ‘t’:

They were delayed, so they didn’t arrive on time.

/ðeɪ wə dɪˈleɪd, səʊ ðeɪ dɪdnt əˈraɪv ɒn taɪm/