simple past vs. past progressive

1. Positive Negative Question
I / you /
he / she / it
we / they
I spoke.
I liked.
I did not speak.
I did not like.
Did I speak?
Did I like?
Form of Simple Past
For irregular verbs, use the past form (see list of irregular verbs, V2 column).
For regular verbs, just add “ed”.

2. Use of Simple Past
action in the past taking place once, never or several times
Example: He visited his parents every weekend.
actions in the past taking place one after the other
Example: He came in, took off his coat and sat down.
action in the past taking place in the middle of another action
Example: When I was having breakfast, the phone suddenly rang.

3. Positive Negative Question
I / he / she / it
was I was speaking. I was not speaking. Was I speaking?
you / we / they
were You were speaking. You were not speaking. Were you speaking?
Form of Present Progressive

4. Use of Past Progressive
puts emphasis on the course of an action in the past
Example: He was playing football.
two actions happening at the same time (in the past)
Example: While she was preparing dinner, he was washing the dishes.
action going on at a certain time in the past
Example: When I was having breakfast, the phone suddenly rang.

5. Simple Past Past Progressive
irregular verbs: see V2 columns of irregular
verbs on next slide
I spoke
regular verbs: verb + ed
I worked
past form of 'be' + ing form of verb
(was/were)+ verb –ing
I was speaking
you were speaking
he / she / it was speaking
we were speaking
they were speaking
Verb Forms/Structures
Simple Past vs. Past Progressive

6. V1 V2 V3 V1 V2 V3 V1 V2 V3 V1 V2 V3
Base
Form
Past
Simple
Past
Participle
Base
Form
Past
Simple
Past
Participle
Base
Form
Past
Simple
Past
Participle
Base
Form
Past
Simple
Past
Participle
awake awoke awoken draw drew drawn hurt hurt hurt sell sold sold
be was, were been dream dreamed or
dreamt
dreamed or
dreamt
keep kept kept send sent sent
beat beat beaten drive drove driven know knew known show showed showed or
shown
become became become drink drank drunk lay laid laid shut shut shut
begin began begun eat ate eaten lead led led sing sang sung
bend bent bent fall fell fallen learn learned or
learnt
learned or
learnt
sit sat sat
bet bet bet feel felt felt leave left left sleep slept slept
bid bid bid fight fought fought lend lent lent speak spoke spoken
bite bit bitten find found found let let let spend spent spent
blow blew blown fly flew flown lie lay lain stand stood stood
break broke broken forget forgot forgotten lose lost lost swim swam swum
bring brought brought forgive forgave forgiven make made made take took taken
broadcast broadcast broadcast freeze froze frozen mean meant meant teach taught taught
build built built get got got (sometimes
gotten)
meet met met tear tore torn
burn burned or
burnt
burned or
burnt
give gave given pay paid paid tell told told
buy bought bought go went gone put put put think thought thought
catch caught caught grow grew grown read read read throw threw thrown
choose chose chosen hang hung hung ride rode ridden understand understood understood
come came come have had had ring rang rung wake woke woken
cost cost cost hear heard heard rise rose risen wear wore worn
cut cut cut hide hid hidden run ran run win won won
dig dug dug hit hit hit say said said write wrote written
do did done hold held held see saw seen
IRREGULAR VERBS

7. Simple Past Exceptions Past Progressive
Exceptions when adding 'ed' :
 when the final letter is ‘e’, only add ‘d’.
Example: love – loved
 after a short, stressed vowel, the final
consonant is doubled
Example: admit – admitted
 final ‘l’ is always doubled in British English
(not in American English)
Example: travel – travelled
 after a consonant, final ‘y’ becomes ‘i’. (but:
not after a vowel)
Example: worry - he worried
but: play - he played
Exceptions when adding 'ing' :
 silent ‘e’ is dropped (but: does not apply for -ee)
Example: come - coming
but: agree – agreeing
 after a short, stressed vowel, the final consonant
is doubled
Example: sit – sitting
 final ‘l’ is always doubled in British English (not in
American English)
Example: travel – travelling
 final ‘ie’ becomes ‘y’.
Example: lie - lying

8. Simple Past Past Progressive
after another
She came home, switched on the computer and
checked her e-mails.
at the same time
Simon was playing on the computer while his
brother was watching TV.
Use: After another or at the same time?
Do you want to express that the actions in the past happened
one after another or at the same time?

9. Simple Past Past Progressive
new action
My mobile rang (when I was sitting in a
meeting.)
action already in progress
While I was sitting in a meeting, (my mobile
suddenly rang.)
Use: New action or already in progress?
If you want to express that a new action happened in the middle of
another action, you need both tenses: Simple Past the new action and
Past Progressive for the action already in progress.

10. Simple Past Past Progressive
just mentioning
Colin played football yesterday.
emphasizing progress
Yesterday at six o'clock, Colin was playing
football.
Use: Only mentioning or emphasizing progress?
Do you just want to mention that an action took place in
the past (also used for short actions)?
Or do you want to put emphasis on the progress,
e.g. that an action was taking place at a certain time?

11. Certain Verbs
The following verbs are usually only used in Simple Past
(not in the progressive form).
state: be, cost, fit, mean, suit
Example: We were on holiday.
possession: belong, have
Example: Sam had a cat.
senses: feel, hear, see, smell, taste, touch
Example: He felt the cold.
feelings: hate, hope, like, love, prefer, regret, want, wish
Example: Jane loved pizza.
brain work: believe, know, think, understand
Example: I did not understand him.
introductory clauses for direct speech: answer, ask, reply, say
Example: “I am watching TV,“ he said.

12. Simple Past Past Progressive
 when
 first
 then
 while
 as long as
 when
Signal Words