PAST SIMPLE vs. PAST PROGRESSIVE
| Past Simple | Past Progressive |
|---|---|
| FORM | FORM |
| - AFFIRMATIVE SENTENCES | - AFFIRMATIVE SENTENCES |
| Regular verbs: subject + base form + -ed | subject + was/were + base form + -ing |
| Irregular verbs: 2nd column of paradigm | - NEGATIVE SENTENCES |
| - NEGATIVE SENTENCES | subject + was/were + not + base form + -ing |
| Regular and irregular verbs: subject + did not + base form | - INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES |
| - INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES | was/were + subject + base form + -ing |
| Did + subject + base form | |
| USE | |
| USE | 1. Actions happening at a certain moment in the past |
| 1. Finished actions with time reference | > The mother was breastfeeding the baby at 4.30. |
| > Miss Frensill had her first child in 2015. | 2. Interrupted past actions |
| 2. Series of actions in the past | > The children were playing in the garden when their mother called them. |
| > They got married and moved to another town. | 3. An action in progress at the same time in the past |
| 3. Finished durations | > Mr Lucas was studying the graph while Mr Jonas was checking the report. |
| > Paula breastfed her son for three months. | TIME EXPRESSIONS |
| TIME EXPRESSIONS | while |
| yesterday, last + time expression, when, time expression + ago, how long ago? | While she was changing the baby, the phone rang. |
| > The child started walking two days ago. |
10 Complete the following sentences with the Past Simple or the Past Progressive of the verbs given.
1. The kids .................................... (swim) in the sea and their parents .................................... (watch) them.
2. The baby .................................... (sleep) for eight hours without interruption last night!
3. My sister .................................... (not breastfeed) her children because of a health problem.
4. The babysitter .................................... (look after) the baby when she .................................... (hear) a terrible noise from the kitchen.
5. The boy .................................... (kick) the ball and .................................... (run) towards his friends.
6. When my son was one month old, I .................................... (not sleep) for a whole week. It was a nightmare!
7. When Dad .................................... (get) home, Paula .................................... (draw) while her brother .................................... (read) a book.
8. My parents .................................... (divorce) two years ago.
9. The baby .................................... (open) his eyes and .................................... (start) crying.
10. My son .................................... (turn) 6 in February, so he’ll start school in September.