IES ATALAYA – I.M.L.

PAST SIMPLE & PAST CONTINUOUS

PAST SIMPLE: El pasado simple (past simple) se usa para expresar acciones y situaciones del pasado.

o We had dinner at 8:30 last night. Cenamos a las 8:30 anoche.

o She worked until late yesterday. Ella trabajó hasta tarde ayer.

 El pasado simple de los verbos regulares acaba en –ed. call → called stay → stayed
 Los verbos irregulares tienen cada uno su forma de pasado que hay que aprender junto con el
verbo y su significado. go → went fly → flew write → wrote

 FORMAS:

Afirmativa Negativa Interrogativa

Subject + verb-ed Subject + didn’t + verb (base form) [Wh-] Did + subject + verb (base form)

They played football He didn’t phone his mum Did you call your friends?

We went to the beach. He didn’t go to the beach Did you go to the beach?
 El verbo BE tiene dos formas de pasado simple: was / were.

Afirmativa Negativa Interrogativa

I / he / she / it was I / he / she / it wasn’t [Wh-] Was I / he / she / it ?

You, we, they were You, we, they weren’t [Wh-] Were you, we, they?
He was ill. He wasn’t ill. Was he ill?
They were at school. They weren’t at school. Were they at school?

 Las expresiones de tiempo que normalmente usamos con el past simple hacen referencia al
pasado. Se suelen colocar al final de la oración: last month (el mes pasado), four days ago (hace
cuatro días)…

PAST CONTINUOUS: Usamos el past continuous para expresar acciones que estaban ocurriendo en
un momento concreto del pasado.

El past continuous se forma con el verbo be (was / were)+ verbo en –ing.

o I was doing homework yesterday at 5. Estaba haciendo deberes ayer a las 5.

o He was playing tennis at 6 o´clock this evening. Él estaba jugando al tenis a las 6 esta tarde.

 FORMAS:

Afirmativa Negativa Interrogativa

I/he/she/it was + verb-ing I/he/she/it wasn’t + verb-ing [Wh-] Was I/he/she/it + verb-ing?

You/ we/they were+ verb-ing You/ we/they weren’t + verb-ing [Wh-] Were you/we/they+ verb-ing?
He was going to school. He wasn’t going to school. Was he going to school?
They were going at school. They weren’t going at school . Were they going to school ?
IES ATALAYA – I.M.L.

CONTRASTE ENTRE EL PAST SIMPLE Y EL PAST CONTINUOUS

 Es frecuente encontrar en una misma frase los dos tiempos, el Past continuous y el Past simple.
o The girl was speaking on the phone when her mum came home. La chica estaba hablando
por teléfono cuando su madre llegó a casa.
o Jane’s mum came home while she was speaking on the phone. La madre de Jane llegó a
casa mientras ella estaba hablando por teléfono

- Con el past continuous describimos una acción prolongada que estaba sucediendo:
The girl was speaking on the phone
- Con el past simple expresamos una acción breve que interrumpió una larga:
when her mum came home.
o Jane’s mum came home while she was speaking on the phone.

 Utilizamos when (cuando) delante del past simple y while (mientras) delante del past continuous.
IES ATALAYA – I.M.L.
1. Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verbs in brackets. Use the past simple or the past
continuous.

a. While I was waiting for the bus, I __________________my dad in his car. (see)

b. He was carrying the shopping when he __________________the apples. (drop)

c. While he __________________________TV, I made dinner. (watch)

d. My mum ___________________________ at the office when I called her. (work)

e. I _____________________________my homework when my friend called me. (do)

f. When I _____________________________Susan, she was wearing glasses. (meet)

2. Circle the correct words.

a. I was singing when / while the microphone broke.

b. They heard a big noise when / while they were watching a horror film.

c. When / while I was cleaning my bedroom, I found my watch under the bed.

d. When / while my sister arrived home, I was sleeping.

e. I was revising for the exam when / while the teacher arrived.

f. My dad found some good books when / while he was cleaning his office.

3. Correct the errors.

a. Was Bob swim in the morning? ____________________________________

b. Claire was sing in her bedroom. ____________________________________

c. We didn’t eating fruit yesterday. _____________________________________

d. What were you do yesterday at 8pm? _____________________________________

e. Did you doing homework when I phoned you? _____________________________________

f. You weren’t dance at the party at 1am. _____________________________________

g. While he ate his sandwich he was watching the game on TV. ____________________________________