Past Simple

Past Simple (Past Indefinite) - Use the Simple Past to express the idea that an action started and finished at a specific time in the past. Sometimes, the speaker may not actually mention the specific time, but they do have one specific time in mind.

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Use of Simple Past:

1. action in the past taking place once, never or several times
2. actions in the past taking place one after the other
3. action in the past taking place in the middle of another action
4. if sentences type II (If I talked, …)

AFFIRMATIVE

I/he/she/it/we/you/they

1. He visited his parents every weekend.
2. He came in and took of his coat.

NEGAVITE

I/he/she/it/we/you/they + did + «not» + verb

1. I did not see him yesterday.
2. We did not work hard last week.

QUESTION

Did + I/he/she/it/we/you/they + verb 

1. Did Tim work hard?
2. Did you eat ice-cream? 

We use Past Simple with the following prepositions:
 

EXERCISES

Сomlete these sentenses with one of the following verbs in the correct form.

1. Last year I (go) __________ to England on holiday.
2. It (be) __________  fantastic.
3. I (visit)  __________  lots of interesting places. I (be)  __________  with two friends of mine .
4. In the mornings we (walk)  __________  in the streets of London.
5. In the evenings we (go)  __________  to pubs.
6. The weather (be)  __________  strangely fine.
7. It (not / rain)  __________  a lot.
8. But we (see)  __________  some beautiful rainbows.
9. Where (spend / you)  __________  your last holiday?

Put the sentences from simple present into simple past.

1. We move to a new house. → 
2. They bring a sandwich. → 
3. He doesn't do the homework. → 
4. They sell cars. → 
5. Does he visit his friends? → 

Write sentences in simple past.

1. Janet / miss / the bus → 
2. she / tidy / her room? → 
3. Nancy / watch / not / television→ 
4. she / read / a book → 

Write negative sentences in simple past.

1. We went to the park yesterday. →
2. They cleaned the house last Saturday. →
3. He ate all the cookies. →
4. I came home at half past seven in the evening. →
5. She did her homework. →

Past Continuous

The past continuous is to talk about something that was happening around a particular time in the past.

Use of Past Continuous:

1. puts emphasis on the course of an action in the past
2. two actions happening at the same time (in the past)
3. action going on at a certain time in the past

AFFIRMATIVE

Was/Were + Ving

1. In 1994 he was working in a small town in Poland.
2. I was walking home, whistling happily, when I saw two masked men run out of the bank.

NEGAVITE

Was/Were + not +Ving

1. I was not having a party on Sunday last week.
2. She was not telling boring stories all the time.

QUESTION

Was/Were +I/he/she/it +Ving

          We/you/they

1. Was it raining or snowing in the morning?
2. Was Kate or Tom playing here in the evening?

EXERCISES

Put the verbs into the correct form (past continuous).

1. When I phoned my friends, they (play) __________  monopoly.
2. Yesterday at six I (prepare) __________  dinner.
3. The kids (play) __________  in the garden when it suddenly began to rain.
4. I (practice) __________  the guitar when he came home.
5. We (not / cycle) __________ all day.
6. While Alan (work) __________  in his room, his friends (swim) __________  in the pool.
7. I tried to tell them the truth but they (not / listen ) __________  .
8. What (you / do) __________  yesterday?
9. Most of the time we (sit) __________  in the park.
10. I (listen) __________  to the radio while my sister (watch) __________  TV.
11. When I arrived, They (play) __________  cards.
12. We (study) __________  English yesterday at 4:00 pm .

Yesterday at 6 pm your family were doing different things. Write positive sentences in past progressive.

My mother / read / a novel →

My father / watch / a movie →

My elder sister / writing / in her diary →

My two brothers / listen / to the radio →

My little sister and I / not / watch / a movie →

We / talk / about school →

Complete the text with the correct form of verb.

Fill in the blanks with the simple past or past continuous form of the verbs. 

1. James __________  [enter] the classroom while the teacher __________  [explain] the tenses.
2. We __________  [wait] for Jane, when suddenly Louis __________  [come] around the corner.
3. I __________  [cycle] through the park, when I __________  [hear] a strange noise.
4. I __________  [fall] asleep while I __________  [watch] TV last night.
5. He __________  [pass] her a message when the teacher __________  [not look).
6. When my uncle __________  [work] in the garden, an old friend __________  [pass] by to see him.
7. Robert __________  [fall] off the ladder when he __________  [pick] cherries.
8. While we __________  [drive] to Florence the car __________  [break] down.
9. When the girls __________  [arrive), the boys __________  [swim).
10. While the parents __________  [have] breakfast, their children __________  [take] the bus to school.