EE severe neem + The verb be has two forms in the past: was/wasn’t and were/weren’t. Itwas cold yesterdoy. Were there many people at the party? Other past simple verbs are usually formed by adding ed to the infinitive, ‘open > opened + Many common verbs are irregular, and the past simple doesn’t end in -ed. eg. think > thought; take ~ took; put > put + We form negatives and questions with did and did't (did not) + the infinitive. I didn’t open the window. Did she lock the car? We use the past simple to talk about completed actions and things that happened in the past. lived in Russia. Did the river flood last winter? | didn’t go to a party last weekend. Past continuous + All verbs form the past continuous with the past tense of the verb be + present participle. I, He, She, Itwas You, We, They were |, He, She, It wasn’t (was not) sleeping. You, We, They weren't (were not) ery Was |, he, she, it eating? Were you, we, they sleeping? + We use the past continuous: + to talk about actions and situations in progress at a certain moment in the past. Itwas raining all night. + to describe the background to a story. We were travelling with some friends and visiting lots of great cities. to talk about actions in progress that are interrupted by a short action in the past simple. | was waiting fora bus when you texted. At the time the exom started, | was sitting in @ traffic jam. + We don’t use state verbs (verbs which describe what we like, think and feel) with the past continuous. believe, hate, know, like, love, mean, need, own, prefer, understand, want | didn't lke the film. | didn’t understand it. Practice ‘1 Complete the text. Use the past continuous form of the verbs. Thesun' ___(shine) and some teenagers 2 ___(Git)inthe park. One girl?___(sing) uietiy to her friends and two boys * (take) selfies. They? (not / play) loud music and they* ___(not/shout). However, some older people thought they ’ (not / behave) well and complained. ‘What : (we / do) wrong? asked the teenagers, utno one could tell them, 2. Choose the correct form of the verbs. 1 We watched / were watching a film on my ‘computer when it suddenly stopped / was stopping working. 2. didn't notice / wosn't noticing what time my sister came / was coming home because | played / was playing a video game in my room. 3 earned / was learning quite a few words of Spanish in the six months | travelled | was travelling in South America, 4 My brother went / was going to Africa last year and climbed | was climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. 5 Guess who we saw / were seeing when we drove / were driving to the funfair! 6 Did you text Were you texting when you walked / were walking across the road? Please don’t! it's dangerous! 7 How many nights did you sleep / were you sleeping in the open when you went / were going to that adventure camp? 8 lonly left the kitchen for a moment, but | came back to find that my toast burned / was burning 3 Complete the conversation. Use the past simple ‘or past continuous form of the verbs. Barbara: What? ___(you/do) in the hall cupboard forso long? Rhiannon: 1° ___(look) for my winter boots. Barbara: ' (you /find) them? Rhiannon: No, but 'm sure (put) them there last spring, remember when 12 (tidy) my room, 1¢ (decide) 1” (not / want) to keep them there in the summer. Barbara: | guess Alex (move) them. He *___ (use) that cupboard for his sports gear for a few months, u 3 ____(stop) going to the gym. Rhiannon: Well,/hopehe’__(not / throw) my favourite boots away! They a (cost) alot of money! GRAMMAR REFERENCE AND PRACTICE |