Ensayo

Simple Past
Beginner level



Julio 2010
Universidad Tecnológica de Nezahualcóyotl
Alberto Francisco Juárez Oliva.


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Simple Past


USE 1 Completed Action in the Past

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Use the Simple Past to express the idea that an action started and finished at a specific time in the past. Sometimes, the speaker may not actually mention the specific time, but they do haveone specific time in mind.
Examples:

• I saw a movie yesterday.


• I didn't see a play yesterday.


• Last year, I traveled to Japan.


• Last year, I didn't travel to Korea.


• Did you have dinner last night?


• She washed her car.


• He didn't wash his car.

USE 2 A Series of Completed Actions
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We use the Simple Past to lista series of completed actions in the past. These actions happen 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and so on.
Examples:

• I finished work, walked to the beach, and found a nice place to swim.


• He arrived from the airport at 8:00, checked into the hotel at 9:00, and met the others at 10:00.


• Did you add flour, pour in the milk, and then add the eggs?

USE 3 Duration in Past
[pic]The Simple Past can be used with a duration which starts and stops in the past. A duration is a longer action often indicated by expressions such as: for two years, for five minutes, all day, all year, etc.
Examples:

• I lived in Brazil for two years.


• Shauna studied Japanese for five years.


• They sat at the beach all day.


• They did not stay at the partythe entire time.


• We talked on the phone for thirty minutes.


• A: How long did you wait for them?
B: We waited for one hour.

USE 4 Habits in the Past
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The Simple Past can also be used to describe a habit which stopped in the past. It can have the same meaning as "used to." To make it clear that we are talking about a habit, we often add expressions such as:always, often, usually, never, when I was a child, when I was younger, etc.
Examples:

• I studied French when I was a child.


• He played the violin.


• He didn't play the piano.


• Did you play a musical instrument when you were a kid?


• She worked at the movie theater after school.


• They never went to school, they always skipped class.USE 5 Past Facts or Generalizations
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The Simple Past can also be used to describe past facts or generalizations which are no longer true. As in USE 4 above, this use of the Simple Past is quite similar to the expression "used to."
Examples:

• She was shy as a child, but now she is very outgoing.


• He didn't like tomatoes before.


• Did you live in Texas when youwere a kid?


• People paid much more to make cell phone calls in the past.


Past Continuous


FORM

[was/were + present participle “ing”]
Examples:
• You were studying when she called.
• Were you studying when she called?
• You were not studying when she called.

USE 1 Interrupted Action in the Past

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Use the Past Continuous to indicate that a longeraction in the past was interrupted. The interruption is usually a shorter action in the Simple Past. Remember this can be a real interruption or just an interruption in time.
Examples:
• I was watching TV when she called.
• When the phone rang, she was writing a letter.
• While we were having the picnic, it started to rain.
• What were you doing when the earthquake started?• I was listening to my iPod, so I didn't hear the fire alarm.
• You were not listening to me when I told you to turn the oven off.
• While John was sleeping last night, someone stole his car.
• Sammy was waiting for us when we got off the plane.
• While I was writing the email, the computer suddenly went off.
• A: What were you doing when you broke your leg?
B: I...