What is the difference between the past continuous tense. The simple past and the past continuous are two tenses commonly used to make general statements about the past. Its a short quiz consisting of ten questions on simple present, present continuous, and simple past tense. It is used to talk about two actions in the past that happened at the same time and were continuous. Simple past and past continuous tense english practice. Click here to download this exercise in pdf with answers. The time of the action can be in the recent past or the distant past and action duration is not important. The past continuous is another tense that is commonly taught to beginners, usually after theyve learned the past simple. Test your grammar skills about past continuous tense. We often use these tenses to show an action interrupting another action. These actions may have been interrupted, going on at the same time, or been constant in a negative way. We use the past continuous tense to say that something was going on around a particular time in the past.
Today shes wearing a blue dress, but yesterday she was. I was walking down the street when i saw the sale sign. Or what about the simple past tense form of the verb, cost. Complete the following sentences using the correct form of the past progressive tense of the verbs provided. Often, to describe the background in a story written in the past tense, e. The past continuous tense is used to show actions as they were happening in the past. Past continuous tense choose the correct form of the past continuous tense. Mozart was born in 1756, the son of a professional musician. English grammar, tenses page 5 of 38 present continuous tense i am singing we often use the present continuous tense in english.
The past continuous tense i was sleeping free english. Before the exercise,there is a small tip about these thre. When we use the past continuous tense, we use it as these sentences. Past continuous is used to describe action that were in progress still happening not finished at a certain time in the past. When we use these two tenses together, it shows us that the past simple action happened in the middle of the past continuous action, while it was in progress. Past simple or past continuous worksheet 1 answers. Peter visited his friends in florida two months ago. Past continuous tense describes an action happening at some point in the past but this can be a bit tricky for the students to use in normal everyday english. Use the past simple to talk about an event which happened at some point in time in the past. Here are some of the ways in which we change verbs into the simple past tense. Test comprising exercises with present simlpe, present continuous.
As i was walking in the streets of holland, i met an old friend of mine. Note that we use the past continuous tense for the background action and the simple past tense for the action that happens in the middle. Test your knowledge of the past continuous tense with this helpful practice quiz and worksheet. We also use it in conjunction with the past simple when talking about interruptions i was doing my homework when the phone rang. Past continuous past perfect timeline the past continuous expresses an action at a particular moment in the past. Try making the past continuous or past progressive tense this exercise includes the positive and negative forms. Past continuous and past simple grammar beginner to. Explanations and examples along with tests and exercises online to practise englis grammar.
In this lesson we look the structure and use of the present continuous tense, follwed by a quiz to check your understanding. However, the most common use is together with the past simple when something happened. The action started before that moment but has not finished at that moment. The past continuous can be used by itself to express what happened at a precise moment in the past. When the teacher came in, they were studying english. I was talking to my friend while i was washing the dishes. The past continuous is made from the past tense of the verb be and the ing form of a verb. The past continuous tense, also known as the past progressive tense, refers to a continuing action or state that was happening at some point in the past.
Tenses are formed by using certain forms of verbs, particularly in their conjugation patterns which include past, present, and future. Past continuous tense is used to mention an ongoing action of the past. Check the answers to this exercise on past continuous tense. Complete the text with the past simple, past continuous or past perfect simple form of the verbs in brackets.
We usually add ed to most verbs to change their form. Please make sure you subscribe to the free grammar updates here. Learning english online simple present or present progressive test 2. This is a 10question quiz on past continuous tense. The simple past tense is only used to say that something happened at some time in the past. This pairing shows that something happened in the middle of something. Scribd is the worlds largest social reading and publishing site. We use the past continuous to talk about longer actions in progress at some point in the past, and we use past simple to talk about shorter finished actions in the past. There are two principal past tenses used to make general statements about the past. February 5, 20 complete the following sentences using appropriate simple past or past continuous forms. Read on for detailed descriptions, examples, and past continuous exercises. Past continuous verlaufsform englische grammatik ef. The car came out of the side road and then the van drove into the back of it. Simple past vs past continuous free download as powerpoint presentation.
The past perfect continuous tense is used to describe an action that began and was still in progress in the past before another past action started. In other words, the past continuous speaks about what was going on when something important happened. It expresses past actions having an ongoing nature. Finally, click here to download this exercise in pdf with answers. Guide to past simple and past continuous verb tenses.
Multiple choice questions and complete the sentences exercise about past tenses. How to teach the past continuous tense busy teacher. Its pretty simple to differentiate between these three tenses, but some extra exercise will always benefit you in your english grammar test, writing, or anywhere it is required. Write information questions in the past continuous tense tense. Past continuous exercise 1 perfect english grammar. The past continuous tense is formed by combining the past tense of to be i. Past tense simple is used to describe actions that happened in the past. The past continuous describes actions or events in a time before now, which began in the past and were still going on when another event occurred it is used. Simple present and simple past past present now read these sentences. English esl past simple and past continuous worksheets.
In this combination, the simple past tense interrupted the past progressive tense action. We were playing when my brother ran away and caught a bus. Singular plural 1st person i was walking we were walking 2nd person you were walking you were walking 3rd person he, she, it was walking they were walking. Although it has its nuances, we usually use it talk about actions that were in progress at a specific time in the past. An action in the past which overlaps another action or a time. Underline the subject and the verb ing in these statements. The past continuous tense i was sleeping free english grammar lesson the past continuous tense is most often used for actions happening. As she sewed, she looked up at the snow and pricked her finger with her needle. The action in the past continuous starts before and often continues after the other shorter action or time. It contains information about the usage, form and the spelling rules of past simple. Examples they were not playing football at 9am this morning. An action, that continued for some time in past, are expressed in past progressive tense. The two tenses however can be used together in a sentence to indicate an action happened while another was in progress.
Once upon a time in mid winter, when the snowflakes were falling like feathers from heaven, a beautiful queen sat sewing at her window, which had a frame of black ebony wood. This is a free multiplechoice quiz that you can do online or print out. Fill the blanks with the correct form of the given verb. Unlike the simple past tense which shows an action had been completed, the past continuous tense shows an action in progress. The past continuous also called past progressive is a verb tense which is used to show that an ongoing past action was happening at a specific moment of interruption, or that two ongoing actions were happening at the same time. Past simple or past continuous worksheet 1 grammarbank. The past continuous tense, also known as the past progressive tense, describes continuous events that happened in the past.
In this lesson, learn how to form the past continuous tense and when you. In this lesson im going to show you how to form a past continuous and when to. Although they are both past tenses their uses are quite different. The past continuous tense is also used to talk about an action which was in progress when another action commenced. Using the past continuous or past progressive tense download this explanation in pdf here. Take this quiz to test your grammar skills on using past continuous tense in affirmative and negative sentences.
It is very different from the simple present tense, both in structure and in use. This file is for teachers who want to give a detailed but clear explanation about past simple tense. Simple past vs past continuous grammatical tense verb. It was raining when we came out of the shopping centre. To talk about a shorter action that happened in the middle of a longer action, we use the simple past. This video lesson is totally dedicated to this very concept and will definitely help students in a broader way. We were playing volleyball with mary when you called me. The simple past is the basic form of past tense in english.
Past continuous tense past tells us that it has already happened continuous tells us that it was an ongoing action. Online quiz to test your understanding of the past continuous tense in english. Definition of the simple past tense the simple past tense, sometimes called the preterite, is used to talk about a completed action in a time before now. The present continuous tense is used for an action that is still continuing now.