PAST SIMPLE PAST CONTINUOUS

1.Form: - Regular verbs: Infinitive form of the verb + ED Was / were + verb in –ing form
- Irregular verbs: See the list on page 156.

2.Spelling rules:
ED regular verbs Verb in -ing form
 -e: + d (eg. like-liked)  -e: no e + ing (eg. take-taking)
 consonant + y: no y + ied (eg. try-tried)  -ee: + ing (eg. see-seeing)
 vowel + y: + ed (eg. stay-stayed)  -ie: no ie + ying (eg. die-dying)
 consonant+short vowel+consonant: double  consonant+short vowel+consonant: double
consosnat+ED (eg. stop-stopped) consonant+ing
Words with one syllable: plan-planned (eg. run-running)
Words with 2 syllables and the 2nd one is stressed:
permit-permitted
Words with 2 syllables ending in –l: travel-travelled
3. Auxiliary verb: DID VERB TO BE IN THE PAST

4.Adverbs: yesterday, last night/week/month/year, etc While, as, when (not always)

5. Use:
 Completed actions in the past.  Something happening at a specific moment in the
Eg. I watched a very good film last week. past/ actions in progress.
 States in the past. Eg. Yesterday at 5 o’clock I was drinking tea.
Eg. I didn’t know what it was.  To describe the background in a story.
 To describe actions in a story. Eg. It was raining heavily.
Eg. Someone knocked at the door.
6. Stative verbs: Verbs that cannot be used in the continuous tense.
 Thinking: think, agree, believe, forget, know, realize, recognize, suppose, remember, understand, etc.
 Feeling: like, dislike, love, hate, prefer, enjoy, matter, depend on, want, etc.
 Possession: have got, own, belong, be, etc.
 Other verbs: consist of, contain, deserve, exist, mean, seem, promise, refuse, forgive, need, hear, etc.