Present simple Which verb tense tells us about the situation at the beginning of the story? I was feeling quiet pleased with my self

Past Simple And Continuous

[e-mail]

Unit 2, 2D

Read!

I was feeling quiet pleased with my self.

Then the problems started.

• Can you identify the tenses?

1

2

1: present continuous

: present simple

Which verb tense tells us about the situation at the beginning of the story?

I was feeling quiet pleased with my self.

Then the problems started.

Continuous

The context of the story

The events of the story

Rules!

• Use the past continuous for the context / events of the story.
• Use the past simple for the context / events of the story.
• Use the past continuous for a shorter / longer action.
• Use the past simple for a shorter / longer action.

So!

• The past simple  is used to talk about finished actions in the past.
• The past continuous  is used to describe an action in progress at a specific moment in the past.
• Compare these two questions?
•  What did you do yesterday?
• What were you doing at 18.30 yesterday evening?

(past simple)

(past continuous)

What did you do yesterday?

I did the shopping in the morning, then I cooked lunch. After that I watched TV for a while. In the evening some friends came over for dinner.

What were you doing at 18.30 yesterday evening?

I was reading a book.

The past continuous tense is also used to describe the background when we are narrating a story.

It was a lovely morning. Matthew got out of bed and opened his bedroom window. The sun was shining and some birds were chirping in the trees.

The past continuous  and the past simple are often used together when we talk about an action already in progress while a short action comes in the middle of it.

• While I was living in Rome, I met my wife.
• While I was laying the table, my husband was making dessert.

(two long simultaneous actions)

(a long action and a short action)

Test!

It are /was just before midnight on October 31st last year. Susan Lee was driven / was driving home after visiting her sister. The road was clear and she drove / was driving carefully. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a young man stepped out in front of her. He were wearing / was wearing a dark colored raincoat and carrying a backpack. Susan stepped hard on the brake pedal but it was too late. She getted / got out of the car but, to her surprise, there was nobody there. While she looks / was looking under the car, she felt a cold wind on her face and a strange presence that is sending / sent shivers down her spine. She was still looking under her car when a lorry stopped behind her. The lorry driver, a middle-aged man, walked up to her and asked her if she needed help to start her car so she told him what had happened. He wasn't / didn't seem surprised when Susan told him about the young man. In October 1978, there is / was a car accident on this road and a hitchhiker was fatally run over. You're not the first to have seen his ghost here', he said in a mysterious tone.

Complete the story. Use simple past or past continuous.

It was Friday again, the day for famous parties at Wellington High School. Students-----(dance)in the garden and everyone -----(enjoy) the pleasure of being away from boring lessons. When Sarah ----(come) to the party, the music had already started. Tim suddenly ---- (notice) Sarah and ---- (feel) shocked.

He had been looking for her for 2 years. They ---- (meet) each other at a holiday camp in 1999, but mysteriously Sarah -----(disappear) after a while. He had been thinking about her since then.

Complete the story. Use simple past or past continuous.

 At the party, Sarah ---------------- (talk) to one of her friends while most of the students --------------- (drink) as much as they could. Tim --------------------(decide) to talk to her and -------------- (wait) for her friend to leave. When he ------------ (go) next to her, she --------------------- (search for) something in her bag, so she  --------------------- (not see) him.

As soon as he -------------------(touch) her on the shoulder, she ----------------(raise) her head and couldn’t believe her eyes. She had never forgot him. At the end of the party, no one--------------(be) happier than Sarah and Tim as they---------------------(find) each other after 2 years.

was talking

were drinking

decided

waited

went

was searching

didn’t see

touched

raised

was

found

Thank you

[e-mail]