Look at these examples to see how the past continuous and past simple are used.
When I woke up this morning, it was snowing.
I was sleeping when you called me.
Try this exercise to test your grammar.
- Grammar test 1
Read the explanation to learn more.
Grammar explanation
The past continuous and the past simple help us to show how two past actions or situations are connected.
Past simple
The past simple shows us that an action was in the past, not in the present. Regular past simple verbs have -ed at the end (e.g. called, played, arrived). Irregular verbs have a different form, usually with a different vowel sound (e.g. wake → woke, break → broke, feel → felt).
My parents called me yesterday.
I woke up early this morning.
Sam played basketball when he was at university.
We make the negative with didn't and the infinitive verb.
My parents didn't call me yesterday.
I didn't wake up early this morning.
We make the question form with did and then the subject and infinitive verb.
Did you wake up early this morning?
Did Sam play basketball when he was at university?
Past continuous
The past continuous shows us that the action was already in progress at a certain time in the past.
What were you doing at 8 p.m. last night? I was studying.
This means that I started studying before 8 p.m. and I continued after 8 p.m.
The past continuous can also show that an activity was in progress for some time, not just for a moment.
We were cleaning the house all morning.
We make the past continuous with was or were and the -ing form of the verb.
She couldn't come to the party. She was working.
Three years ago, we were living in my home town.
I tried to give him some advice, but he wasn't listening.
What were you doing this time last year?
Past continuous and past simple
When we use these two tenses together, it shows us that the past simple action happened in the middle of the past continuous action, while it was in progress.
While I was studying, I suddenly felt sleepy.
We often use these tenses to show an action interrupting another action.
I broke my leg when I was skiing.
As I was going to work, I saw an old friend.
We were watching television when the power went off.
Can you see a difference in the meaning of these two sentences?
When the guests arrived, Jane was cooking dinner.
When the guests arrived, Jane cooked dinner.
In the first one, Jane started cooking dinner before the guests arrived. We know that because it uses the past continuous. In the second sentence, the guests arrived first and then Jane started cooking.
Do this exercise to test your grammar again.
- Grammar test 2
Hello Kirk!
I have a doubt, a practice book considers the following sentence to be wrong:
"Nick *was lying* down on the grass for a while, next to some tourists who *fed* the ducks."
And this one is correct:
"Nick *lay* down on the grass for a while, next to some tourists who *were feeding* the ducks."
The differences are the tenses of the two verbs in both sentences.
But I cannot see why the wrong one is wrong... I've already checked the theory in several sources
Hello cuntur,
Generally, the past continuous describes an event which provides a background against which another, more important event occurs. Presumably, Nick is the hero of our little story and we are more interested in his action than that of the tourists. That would imply that the act of feeding the ducks is the background for the main action, and we do not have any information (or interest) in how long the feeding continued. In such a context the past continuous is appropriate.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Oh!! Excellent and thank you very much for your time and answer. Now I see the point.
PD: This was my first message posted on a forum. I didn't see your reply at first. And I sent the question again in another place or way I guess. Sorry! Anyway it is concluded, thanks.
Hello everyone! I just want to ask if this sentence is correct:
The situation here is:
At the airport I started checking in. Then my friend started waiting for me until I finished.
So I expressed about what happened by this sentence:
My friend waited while I was checking in.
As I know the past simple happens and finishes during the past continuous. In the sentence above the past simple happened during the past continuous but finished with it. And maybe my friend waited for me even after I finished checking in...
So I am confused about this because I saw this example in my book!
Please help me clarify this
Hi AboodKh9,
The past simple does not specify when the action ends. The action may end during the past continuous action, for example:
Or it may end at the same time as the past continuous action.
This may not be an important difference. If it is important, it would be best to add a phrase to clarify the intended meaning (e.g. "but he left ..." and "the whole time" in the examples above).
I hope that helps.
Jonathan
LearnEnglish team
Sir i have doubt on this sentence as my understanding 1st option is correct-(Already Closed) please guide me i am confusing in simple past and continuous past
Choose the correct verb tense.
They _____ the shop when I got there, so I couldn't go in and buy anything.
already closed
were already closing
Hi NITISH1617,
If you say They closed the shop when I got there (past simple + "when" + past simple), the time is not correct. It does not mean that the two actions happened at the same time. It means that "They closed the shop" happened a very short time after the "when" action. In other words: "first I got there, and then they closed the shop". So, the word "already" does not make sense here, because it means that closing the shop happened first.
If the meaning is that they closed the shop first, i.e., before I got there, it should be in the past perfect: They had already closed the shop ... . For more information about this, have a look at our Past perfect page.
They were already closing the shop when I got there means that when I got there, they were in the middle of doing that action. For example, I arrived at 6 pm but they had started closing the shop a few minutes earlier, and they were still doing it at 6 pm when I arrived. The action of closing the shop did not happen in a moment. Instead, it lasted some time (e.g. a few minutes), and it was ongoing at the moment I arrived.
Does that make sense?
Jonathan
LearnEnglish team
Hi! I would like to ask why do we say: "They lived in Germany when they were young" and not (for example) "The were living in Germany when they were young?" Thank you!
Hi Elena SP,
This is a question of context and speaker's intention or view because both forms are grammatically possible.
They lived in Germany when they were young tells us that Germany was their home; it was a permanent (as far as they knew) place for them.
They were living in Germany when they were young tells us that Germany was always seen as a temporary location; even if they stayed for a long time it was never really considered a permanent location for them.
This sense of an action being temporary is one of the core meanings of the continuous aspect. It's often subjective and dependent on how the speaker sees a particular situation rather than any objective fact.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello!
Could you please clarify the following:
As far as I understand, if there is a certain event in the past which is not continuous by default both Past Simple and Past Continuous could be used. Is that correct? For example, are all of these sentences sound correct:
1. I was getting out of a car yesterday at 8 p. m.
2. I got out of a car yesterday at 9 p. m.
3. I was going to bed last Sunday at 10 p. m.
4. I went to bed last Sunday at 10 p. m.
As far as I understand, both getting out of a car and "commute" to bed before sleep take up to one minute.
I'm very very grateful for your precious contribution to my English knowledge (and you are doing this for many people) and thank you for answering this question beforehand!!!