Q&e - Past Continuous Vs Past Simple

Past Continuous vs Past Simple
Past continuous is often used to give background information about a past event before describing the
event itself. This is why past continuous is often called a “storytelling tense.” It can help set the
background of a story. The structure is: was/were + verb + ing.
E.g. I was driving when I heard the news
Note that “was driving” is in the past continuous, but “heard” is in the past simple, showing it is the
event to be focused on.
For they/we/you statements, “were” is used instead of “was.”

E.g. They were driving to school when they ran out of petrol.
1. Complete the sentences below with past continuous.

a) I ………………………………….. (clean) my house when the doorbell rang.
b) You ………………………………….. (sleep) while I did all the work!
c) Why ………………… he ……………………… (talk) so loudly?
d) I met my new colleagues while my boss ………………………………….. (give) me a tour of the
company.
e) My parents ………………………………….. (watch) the movie when I fell asleep.
f) I ………………………………….. (speed) when the police pulled me over.
2. Complete the sentences below with past simple and past continuous. Each sentence
should use past simple once and past continuous once.
a) I ………………………………….. (cook) when my girlfriend …………………………………….. (get) home.
b) We ………………………………….. (leave) work when our boss ……………………………….. (call) us back
c) She ……………………………….. (interrupt) me while I ……………………………….. (talk).
d) He ……………………………….. (not/pay) attention, so he ……………………………….. (make) a lot of
mistakes.
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Past Simple vs Past Continuous
e) The audience ……………………………….. (wait) outside when they ……………………………….. (announce)
the show was cancelled.
f) Greg ……………………………….. (find) his girlfriend, she ……………………………….. (sit) outside the pub.
g) I ……………………………….. (lose) my wallet while I ……………………………….. (wrestle) my brother.
h) I ……………………………….. (look) through some old files when I ……………………………….. (find) the
mistake.
i) I ……………………………….. (try) to send him a message when my battery ……………………………….. (run
out).
Past continuous is also used to talk about an action that was in progress at a specific time.
E.g. At 9pm last night I was talking on the phone with my wife.
3. Ask your partner what they were doing at the following times.
What were you doing….
E.g. I was eating lunch at 2pm yesterday
a) at 2pm yesterday? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
b) 10 years ago? …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
c) yesterday evening? ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
d) last Sunday at 8am? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
e) 8 months ago? ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
4. Read four people telling stories about “close encounters” with animals and choose
between past simple and past continuous.
Caleb Minchin: “I grew up in Australia so snakes are nothing new, but

when I was a teenager I …………………………………… (come) very close to being
bitten. I …………………………………… (walk) on a path in the bush when
I …………………………………… (come) across a fallen tree. I ……………………………………
(step) on the tree and …………………………………… (jump) off. As
I …………………………………… (come) down, I ……………………………………(look) down
and …………………………………… (see) a brown snake all curled up. I think
it …………………………………… (sleep), because usually snakes avoid people. My
foot …………………………………… (land) directly on it, but I managed to jump away
just as it tried to bite me. I …………………………………… (shake) for hours
afterwards.
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Tammy Dubious: “I ………………….………….. (make) dinner one night when
I …………………….……….. (notice) my dogs waiting at the door. Usually that
means they want to be let out, but that night they …………………………………
(act) differently, they …………………………………… (seem) nervous.
I ………………………………. (go) to the door and ……………………………… (look) outside. A
huge black bear ………………………… (stand) there, holding a bag of
marshmallows. He was only a few feet away, calmy watching us
through the glass.”
Ben Rollins: “This story is quite embarrassing. An

elk ………………………….…… (attack) me while I …………………………………… (take) a
photo of it. Me and some friends …………………………………… (hike) in the
woods when we …………………………………… (spot) a herd of elk. There were
signs around the forest saying not to get too close, but
they ………………………………… (seem) so peaceful. I ……………………………………
(walk) up to them, and as I …………………………………… (try) to take the photo,
the male ………………………………… (turn) towards me. He ……………………………………
(charge) me and …………………………………… (hit) me as I ……………………………………
(turn) to run. I …………………………………… (need) 10 stitches on my shoulder. I
got a great photo though.”
Mel Rawley: “Last year me and my sister …………………………………… (go) to

Canada for holiday. One day while we …………………………………… (walk) in a
park we …………………………………… (come) across a flock of geese. Where
we live geese are pretty friendly, but apparently Canadian geese
are notorious for being aggressive. Well my
sister …………………………………… (not/know) that, so she ……………………………………
(think) it would be funny to run towards the geese waving her
hands and yelling. That was a bad idea. The geese all attacked us,
and while we …………………………………… (try) to get away
I …………………………………… (fall) over and …………………………………… (break) my
arm. I hate Canadian geese now.”
5. Think of your own story about an animal, prepare a few sentences that include past
continuous, and tell your partner.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
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Past Continuous vs Past Simple

For they/we/you statements, “were” is used instead of “was.”

1. Complete the sentences below with past continuous.

Caleb Minchin: “I grew up in Australia so snakes are nothing new, but

Ben Rollins: “This story is quite embarrassing. An

Mel Rawley: “Last year me and my sister …………………………………… (go) to

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