Unit 1

Past Simple, Past Continuous and ‘Used to’ form

Past Simple : Form

Positive:
I went to the cinema yesterday. She cooked pasta last Saturday
↓ ↓
Irregular verbs Regular verbs

↓ ↓
Always different Always end with –ED

Negative:
I didn’t go to the cinema yesterday. She didn’t cook pasta last
Saturday
↓ ↓
Irregular verbs Regular verbs
↓ ↓
Always didn’t + infinitive Always didn’t + infinitive

Questions:
Did you go to the cinema Did she cook pasta last Saturday
yesterday.
↓ ↓
Irregular verbs Regular verbs
↓ ↓

Always did + subject + infinitive Always did + subject + infinitive

Short answer to Questions:

Question Answer
Did you go to the cinema? Yes,I did / No, I didn’t
Did she cook pasta? Yes, she did/ No, she didn’t

Unit - 01 : Page 1 of 9
Past Continuous: Form

Positive:
I was reading a book while my friends were playing
football.
I / HE / SHE / IT WE / YOU / THEY
+ +
WAS WERE
+ +
-ING -ING

Negative:

I wasn’t reading a book while my friends weren’t

playing football.
I / HE / SHE / IT WE / YOU / THEY
+ +
WASN’T WEREN’T
+ +
-ING -ING

Questions:

readi playi footbal

He was a book You were
ng ng l
Becom Becom
es es
readi book playi footbal
Was he a Were you
ng ? ng l?
Answe Answe
rs rs
(positiv (positiv
Yes he was Yes we were
e) e)
(Negati wasn (Negati weren’
No he No we
ve) ’t ve) t

Unit - 01 : Page 2 of 9
When to Use - Past Simple:

• Something which started and finished in the past

o I drove Tom’s car yesterday.

Yesterday Now

PAST FUTURE

• When things follow each other in a sequence-

o I woke up, brushed my teeth, had breakfast and went to
work.

• To talk about exact times. The question ‘When?’ can normally be

answered or taken from the context
o Last Christmas we decided to go for a holiday. We went to
Scotland and spent 2 weeks there.

• We use the ‘used to’ form for something which was repeated in the
past but now is different.
o I used to go to the gym everyday last Summer.
o Steph used to travel a lot before she got married.

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When to use - Past Continuous
To talk about an action in progress at a particular time in the past-
Peter was working in his office at 18:00. - PARTICULAR TIME
Yesterday Now
Action in progress
(e.g. - was
working)
PAST 18:00 hrs FUTURE

The dog was barking very loudly all through the night. –
CONTINUOUS ACTION
Yesterday Now
Continuous Action
(e.g. – was
barking)
all through the
PAST FUTURE
night

When something happens during an action which was in progress.

This thing which happens stops/interrupts the action in progress-
o She was ice-skating when she broke her leg.
They were playing in the garden when it started to snow.
Something happens (e.g. Broke her leg)

FUTUR
PAST
- - - - - NOW - - - - - E
Action in progress (e.g. Was
ice-skating)

When two actions were in progress at the same time- He was preparing
dinner while his wife was taking a shower.
Action 1: was
preparing
+
Action 2: was taking
PAST NOW FUTUR
E

To give general descriptions mostly when telling/writing a story.

Unit - 01 : Page 4 of 9
The main events take the Past Simple.-
When I landed in Gatwick Airport, it was raining, many people were saying
goodbye in the Departures, others were running to catch their plane and my
friends were waiting for me in the Arrivals.

Exercise 1
Read the examples and mark ‘X’ Yes or No.

Statement Question Ye No
s
1 We were drinking wine when Joe Did we wait for Joe to
arrived. arrive?
2 We drank wine when Joe arrived. Did we wait for Joe to
arrive?
3 She used to play football. Does she play football
now?

Exercise 2
Fill in the blanks with the most appropriate tense.

When Vicky (1)________________(wake) up she (2)_________________(look) out

of the window and (3)________________(stretch). The sun

(4)____________________(shine) and everything (5)__________________(be)

very peaceful and quite. While Vicky (6)_________________(enjoy) the view,

she (7)___________________(remember) she (8)_________________(have)

something extremely important to do...

Exercise 2 A
Question Answer Ye No
s
1 Are actions (1), (2) and (3) in (mark ‘X’ Yes or No)
order?
2 Which tense do we have to use?

Unit - 01 : Page 5 of 9
3 Do we know when the sun began (mark ‘X’ Yes or No)
to shine?
4 Which tense do we have to use in
(4)?
5 Why are the verbs in (5),(7) and
(8) different from the other verbs?
6 What do you think Vicky had to do?

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Reading Task:
Now read Vicky’s conversation with her friend Ben to find out what
she had to do.

Ben: Hey Vick, how’s it going?

Vicky: I’m fine but I’m terribly busy! I woke up quite late and I forgot
all about tonight. Yesterday I wasn’t thinking straight and I had
some glasses of wine. Now I’m late for all all my appointments
and I have loads of things to do.
Ben: Oh my god! Did you call everyone to reschedule the
appointments?
Vicky: I was talking to the hairdresser just before I met you and I
called my sister earlier. She went to get the dress for me.
Ben: What about Andy? Did you call him?
Vicky: No,of course not! I didn’t want him to think that I forgot all
about the most important day of our lives. He was feeling so
excited yesterday. This wouldn’t help him at all. Well, I have to
rush now.
Ben: Yeah off you go.
Vicky: See you tonight at my wedding.
Ben: Sure. And don’t worry too much. The bride’s always late.

Did you guess what Vicky’s important thing was?

Unit - 01 : Page 7 of 9
Unit - 01 : Page 8 of 9
Exercise 3 - Read again and find:

a. 3 examples of irregular past simple

(answ
er)

b. 1 example of negative past continuous

(answ
er)

c. 1example of positive past continuous

(answ
er)

d. 1question in the past simple

(answ
er)

e. 1 example of negative past simple

(answ
er)

Unit - 01 : Page 9 of 9