I Was Doing And I Did (Past Continuous And Simple Past)

The simple past tense is one of the most common tenses in English. Its form is the same with all subjects. It is usually formed by adding -ED to the verb.
With most verbs, the simple past is created simply by adding -ED. However, with some verbs, you need to add -ES or change the ending a little.
A.
-Eric was reading a book.
-The phone rang.
-He stopped reading.
-He answered the phone.
What happened?______The phone rang _________(simple past)
What was Eric doing when the phone rang?______(past continuous)
He was reading a book.______________________(past continuous)
What did he do when the phone rang?__________(simple past)
He stopped reading and answered the phone.____(simple past)
Eric began reading before the phone rang.
So when the phone rang, he was reading.
B.
Simple Past
A: What did you do yesterday morning?
B: We played tennis. (from 10-11:30)
we played
(complete action)
10:00 --------- > 11:30
- Eric read a book yesterday. (from beginning to end)
- Did you watch the movie on television last night?
- It didn’t rain while we were on vacation.
Past Continuous
A: What were you doing at 10:30?
B: We were playing tennis.
we were playing
(unfinished action)
10:00 ------------- >
- Eric was reading a book when the phone rang.
- Were you watching television when I called you?
- It wasn’t raining when I got up.
- I started work at 9 o’clock and finished at 4:30. At 2:30 I was working.
- It was raining when we went out. (it started raining before we went out)
- I saw Lucy and Steve this morning. They were waiting at the bus stop.
- Mi Ja fell asleep while she was reading.
14.1 Put the verbs in the past continuous or simple past.
Linda __broke__??(break) her arm last week. It _______ (happen) when she
_______ (paint) her room. She _______ (fall) off the ladder.
The train _______ (arrive) at the station, and Paula _______ (get) off. Two
friends of hers, John and Jenny, _______ (wait) to meet her.
Yesterday Sue _______ (walk) down the street when she _______ (meet) Jim.
He _______ (go) home, and he _______ (carry) a bag. They _______ (stop)
to talk for a few minutes.
14.2 Put the verb in the past continuous or simple past.