Colegio Madre M Rosa Molas

Unidad 7 Leccin 3 (2 ESO)

FICHA 9 A
PAST SIMPLE versus PAST CONTINUOUS
1.

El past continuous se utiliza para una accin que est en curso en un momento determinado del
pasado.
At 8 oclock last night she was watching TV.
El past simple se utiliza para una accin terminada en un momento determinado del pasado.
He finished his homework at 7 oclock.

2.

El past continuous se utiliza para dos o ms acciones que estn ocurriendo simultneamente al
mismo tiempo en el pasado (acciones simultneas).
They were dancing while he was playing the guitar.
El past simple se utiliza para accin que ocurrieron una detrs de la otra (secuencia de acciones).
He slipped, fell over and broke his ankle.

3.

El past continuous se utiliza para una accin pasada que est en curso cuando otra accin la
interrumpe. En past continuous se expresa la accin interrumpida y en past simple se expresa la
accin que interrumpe.
He was painting the bedroom when suddenly he fell off the ladder.

El past continuous se utiliza para describir el escenario en el que ocurrieron los hechos de una
historia.
We were walking in the woods. I was raining hard...
El past simple se utiliza para acciones pasadas que no volvern a ocurrir.
Shakespeare wrote a lot of plays.
(Shakespeare est muerto. El no escribir ningn libro ms)
4.

OJO! Hay una serie de verbos que no pueden ir en gerundio y por lo tanto slo se pueden conjugar en
past simple: appear (=seem), believe, belong, cost, feel, forget, hate, have (=possess), know, like, love,
mean, need, prefer, realise, remember, see, seem, smell, sound, suppose, taste, think, understand, want,
etc.
1. Simple Past or Past Continuous.
1. Sally______________(make) dinner when I arrived.
2. A: What (you/do) ________________when the accident occurred?
B: I (try) __________________to change a light bulb that I had burnt out.
3. After I (find)______________ the wallet full of money, I (go)_____________immediately to the
police and (turn) ______________it in.
4. The doctor (say) ___________that Tom (be) _______________too sick to go to work and that he
(need) _____________to stay at home for a couple of days.
5. Sebastian (arrived) _____________at Susans house before 9:00 and she wasnt still there. She
(study) _________________at the library for her final examination in French.
6. Sandy is in the living room watching television. At this time yesterday, she (watch)
________________television. Thats all she ever does!!!
7. A: I (call) _______________you last night after dinner, but you (be/ not)_____________there.
Where were you?
B: I (work) _______________ out at the fitness center.
8. When I (walk) ___________________into the busy office, the secretary (talk) _____________on
the phone with a customer, several clerks (work) _______________busily at their desks, and two
managers (discuss) _____________quietly methods to improve customer service.
9. The Titanic (cross) _____________the Atlantic when it (strike) ___________ an iceberg.
10. When I entered the bazaar, a couple of merchants (bargain) ___________busily and (try)
________________to sell their goods to nave tourists.

Colegio Madre M Rosa Molas

Unidad 7 Leccin 3 (2 ESO)

11. The firemen (rescue) _______________the old woman who (be) ___________trapped on the
third floor of the burning building.
12. Samantha (live) _______________in Berlin for more than two years. In fact, she (live)
______________there when the Berlin wall came down.
2. Read the sentences. Indicate if the verb tense are mixed up or correct.
1. While Jane was walking down the street, someone robbed her purse.
2. While John studied at the university he was getting As in every subject.
3. I was driving to a meeting when my car broke down.
4. Sarah attended a conference when she was meeting the President.
5. James was seeing lions while he travelled through the African jungle.
6. The men were fishing for tuna when they caught a big shark.
7. The workmen were digging the foundation for the building when they found dinosaur bones.
8. When I last was seeing Phil he worked for a software company.