This document compares and contrasts the past simple and past continuous tenses in English. It lists the conjugations for the past continuous, provides examples of its use, and describes situations where either the past simple or past continuous would be used, such as for long actions in progress, short completed actions that interrupted other actions, or parallel actions occurring simultaneously in the past.

1. PAST SIMPLE VS PAST
CONTINUOUS

2. PAST CONTINIOUS
• I
• He
• She
• It
• We
• You
• They
WAS+ing
WERE+ing

3. PAST CONTINUOUS EXAMPLES
Affirmative: SB+was –ing+ complement
I was waiting for the bus.
We were copying i the exam.
Negative: SB+wasn’t/weren’t+complement
He wasn’t studying from the exam.

4. USES
• We use the past continuous to describe a
situation in the past
• To describe and image/photo

5. PAST SIMPLE VS PAST you
CONTINUOUS
• Past continuous
• Past simple
When+past
Simple
While+past
continuous
Long action in progress
Short action
Interrupted action
Parallel actions
was playing soccer while my brother was
taking photos
They expect you to come was my Aunt when she was about to get I met a friend from schoolThey expect you to come was my Aunt when she was about to get I met a friend from schoolThey expect you to come was my Aunt when she was about to get I met a friend from school
was my aunt when she was about to get I met a friend
from school They expect to come

6. Created by Pol Cervera