Simple Past Tense : Unit 13, I was doing (past continuous) and I did (simple past)

I was doing (past continuous) and I did (simple past)

Jack was reading              The phone rang                                He stopped reading                        He answered the phone
a book.

What happened?             The phone rang. (simple past)
What was Jack doing when the phone rang?
      He was reading a book.  (past continuous)
What did he do when the phone rang?
      He stopped reading and answered the phone.   (simple past)

Jack began reading before the phone rang. So:
When the phone rang, he was reading.

Simple past

Beginning                                                                  end (3 o’clock)                                                                 (4 o’clock)                                           We played                                     (complete action) We played tennis yesterday. (from 3 o’clock until 4 o’clock)

Beginning (3 o’clock)                                    we were playing (in the middle of an action) A: What were you doing at 3.30 yesterday? B: We were playing tennis.

-          Jack was reading the newspaper when the phone rang.
but Jack read the newspaper yesterday

-          Were you watching television when I called you?
but Did you watch the movie on television last night?

-          I started work at 9:00 and finished at 4.30. At 2.30 I was working.

-          When we went out, it was raining. (=it started raining before we went out)

-          I saw  Sue and Tom this morning. They were standing  at bus stop.

-          Ann felt  asleep while she was reading.

Simple Past Tense : Unit 12, I was doing (Past Continuous)

Now it is 6:00.
Ann is t me.
She is watching television

At 4:00 she was’t t home.
She was at the health club.
She wasn’t watching television.

Was/were –ing (doing/playing/working, etc) is the past continuous tense :

Positive			Negative				Question
I he She It	was-ing		I he she it	was not (wasn’t)	-ing		was	I he she it	-ing?
We You They	were-ing		we you they	were not (weren’t)	-ing		were	we they you	-ing?

-          “What were you doing at 11:30 yesterday?”      “I was working.”

-          “What did he say?”    “I don’t know. I wasn”t listening.”

-          It was raining, so we didn’t go out.

-          In 1990 they were living in Japan.

-          Today she’s wearing a skirt, but yesterday she was wearing pants.

-          I woke up early yesterday. It was a beautiful morning. The sun was shining and the birds were singing.

Am/is/are –ing (present)---------> was/were –ing (past) :

-          I’m working (now).                         I was working at 10:30 last night.

-          It isn’t raining (now).                     It wasn’t raining when we went out.

-          What are you doing (now)?        What were you doing at 3 o’clock?

Simple Past Tense : Unit 11, Was/were

Now Bill is not work.

At midnight last night he wasn’t at work.

He was in bed.
He was sleep.

Am/is (present)         was (past) :

-          I am tired (now).                              I was tired last night.

-          Is she at home (now) ?                  Was she at home yesterday morning?

-          The weather is nice today.          The weather wa nice yesterday.

Are (present)          were (past) :

-          You are late (now).                         You were late yesterday.

-          They aren’t  here (now).              They weren’t here last Sunday.

Positive			Negative			Question
I He She it	was		I he she It	was not (wasn’t)		was	I? He? She? It?
We You they	were		we you they	were not (weren’t)		were	We? You? They?

-          Last year she was 22, so she is 23 now.

-          When I was a child. I was afraid of dogs.

-          We were tired after the trip, but we weren’t hungry.

-          The hotel was very comfortable, and it wasn’t expensive.

-          Where were you at 3 o’clock yesterday afternoon?

-          Was the weather nice when you were on vacation?

-          Those shoes are nice. Were they expensive?

-          Why was he angry yesterday?

Short Answers
I/he/she/it          was Yes,                   we/you/they      were	I/he/she/it         wasn’t No,            We/you/they     weren’t

-          “Were you late?”    “No, I wasn’t.”

-          “Was Ted at work yesterday?”     “Yes, he was.”

-          “Were they at the party?”     “No, they weren’t.”

Simple Past Tense : Unit 10, I didn’t . . . Did you . . .? (Simple past Negative and questions)

We use did in simple past negative and questions:

Base form

Positive

Negative

Question

watch clean play do go have begin

I We You They He She it

watched cleaned played did went had began

I We You They He She it

did not (didn’t)

watch clean play do go have begin

did

I We You They He She It

watch . . .? clean . . .? play . . .? do . . .? go . . . ? have . . .? begin . . .?

Do/does (present)         did (past) :

-          I don’t watch televisionvery often.

-          I didn’t watch television yesterday.

-          Does she go out very often?

-          Does she go out last night?

We use did/didn’t + base form (watch/clean/do, etc)
I watched   but   I didn’t watch (not “I didn’t watched”)
he went     but   did he go? (not “did he went”)

-          I played tennis yesterday, but I didn’t win.

-          Don didn’t have breakfast this morning.

-          They went to a movie, but they didn’t enjoy it.

-          We didn’t do much work yesterday.

Note the word order in question with did :

Did + subject          +     base form
What How Where	Did did did did	Sue you the accident your parents	give do happen? go	you a birthday present? last night? on their vacation?

Short answer
I/we/you/they Yes,                              did               she/he/it	I/we/you/they No,                               didn’t             she/he/it

-          “Did you see Joe yesterday?”     “No, I didn’t.”

-          “Did it rain on Sunday?”     “Yes, it did.”

-          “Did Mary come to the party?”     “No, she didn’t.”

-          “Did your friends have a good vacation?”     “Yes, they did.”