PAST SIMPLE

Past Simple Tense – What Did You Do?

We use the past simple tense when talking about things that we have done in the past. 

What did you do?

The past simple tense is written by adding “ed” or “d” to a REGULAR VERB or by using the past tense form of IRREGULAR VERBS ( third column of the irregular verbs list).

Regular Verbs

• arrive – arrived
• play – played
• work – worked

Irregular Verbs

• buy – bought    to buy-bought-bought
• go – went   to go-went-gone
• sit – sat    to sit-sat-sat

Examples:

• I went to the shop.
• Steve played football.
• They jumped out of the window.

Past Continuous Tense – What were you doing When…?

We use the past continuous tense when talking about things that we were doing in the past.

What were you doing When?

The past continuous tense is written with the PAST TENSE of the auxiliary VERB BE (was/were) and with the –ing (present participle) form of the main verb.

We can use past continuous tense to talk about an action or event in the past that was interrupted by something. The past continuous describes an unfinished or incomplete action in the past.

  We use the past simple tense to talk about the shorter action that interrupted what  we were doing.

We usually use when or while to connect the two actions in our sentences.

• I was walking to school when it started to rain.
• While they were sleeping last night somebody stole their radio.
• The computer shut down while I was writing a lesson plan.
• My car broke down while I was driving to Paris.