UNIVERSIDAD PEDAGÓGICA Y TECNOLÓGICA DE COLOMBIA

VICERRECTORÍA ACADÉMICA
INSTITUTO INTERNACIONAL DE IDIOMAS
Guía para el desarrollo de clases virtuales

GUIDE ENGLISH III WEEKS TOPIC DUE DATE:

1 8104889 2-3 *Past continuous
*Past simple vs Past continuous

TEACHER:

OBJECTIVES

● To identify the structure and uses of the past simple and past continuous tense.
● To integrate the tenses studied in order to engage in short written or spoken interactions.
● To be able to describe and talk about personal or general past experiences or events using the past simple and past
continuous tense.

DEAR STUDENT:

Welcome to this new level! This guide presents a detailed explanation of two past tenses, the past simple tense, and the past
continuous tense. This topic will be very useful for you, especially when telling others about experiences you have had. So please, get
ready for this topic! Remember that your teacher will always help you out if you have any problems so do not forget about getting in
touch with them.

1. Introduction

Before starting with our main topic, we want to know how much you remember about the past simple tense. Answer the following
questions in relation to this topic.

QUESTION ANSWER

*Can you give me 5 regular verbs in English? liked, talked, watched, LOOK WANTED,

*Can you list 5 irregular verbs in English? KNOW, EAT UNDERSTAND sing

*When do we use the past simple tense?

*Tell me which of the following sentences is correct.

Option 1:

Where were you travel last summer?

 Option 2:

Where did you travel last summer?

*Do you know how to pronounce regular verbs in English?

Record and attach a short audio in which you pronounce the
following words.

Died – Studied – Loved – Looked – Worked – Used – Talked –

Played – Needed – Helped – Liked – Watched – Followed
Happened – Played – Believed

2. Appropriation

Can you complete the following jokes using the past simple or the past continuous tense? We will see if this topic is a piece of cake
for you or you need some help with it!

*Useful vocabulary*

To hit the bottle: To drink alcohol, especially to excess.

Cabriolet: An automobile with a folding top; a convertible coupe.
To dart: To move suddenly and rapidly
Naked: Having no clothing on the body; nude.
Spotted: to catch sight of.
Shrieks: A shrill, often frantic cry.
Nursery school: a school for young children, usually from three to five years old.

Joke 1

● Moira   to get the tomato ketchup out of the bottle. As she  ,

the phone   and her 4 year old daughter, Mia,   it saying, ‘Sorry,
mummy Moira can’t come to the phone at the moment because she’s hitting the bottle.’
Joke 2

● Chris  his 4 year old, Betsy, to the beach one summer when a woman in a

cabriolet in front   and  . She was absolutely naked and as

Chris    from the shock he    Betsy shout,’ Look, daddy, that
woman isn’t wearing a seat belt.’
 Joke 3

● Steve, age 6 years,   lost in a sports complex. Seeing a ladies’ locker room

[changing facility] in front of him he   in to ask for help. When he was spotted,

the room   into shrieks, with ladies grabbing towels and running for cover.

Steve    in amazement and then , ‘What’s the matter, haven’t you

ever seen a little boy before?’
Joke 4

● A nursery school teacher   her classroom of children while

they    Christmas scenes. She occasionally    around to see each

child's work. As she   to little Sarah who   diligently, she asked

what the drawing was. Sarah  , 'I'm drawing God.' The teacher   

and  , 'But no one knows what God looks like.' Sarah replied, 'They will in a minute'.

Look at the following explanation to help you identify the past simple tense or the past continuous tense.

PAST SIMPLE TENSE PAST CONTINUOUS

USES

● It shows actions that happened in the past.
E.g. When I was at school, I really enjoyed my drawing
classes.
● It usually shows actions that have already finished.
E.g. The scientists working in the coronavirus vaccine found
different options to help the body fight the virus.
E.g. We were cleaning the house all morning.
● It usually shows actions that have also finished but
were “in progress” at some point in the past.
E.g. In 2019, the scientists working in the coronavirus
vaccine were trying to find a quick treatment that helped
us fight this virus.
● It shows activities that were in progress for some
time, and not just for a moment.
 GRAMMAR STRUCTURE
Affirmative sentences

● Remember that affirmative sentences would be all ● Remember that affirmative sentences would be all
of those in which we make statements: of those in which we make statements:

E.g. I really liked the meat, it was very tender and juicy. E.g. I was eating the meat quickly because I didn’t want to
share my fillet with Molly
● In the past simple tense, we need to use the verbs
in the sentences in the past tense. Remember that ● In the past continuous tense, we use the past
in English we have: tense of the verb to be (was/were) and a verb with
-ing
1. Regular verbs (cleaned, worked, studied,
loved, attended, waited, cooked, received, Tip: Remember that we always use subjects (I, you he, she,
learned etc.) it, we, you, they, names etc.) in our sentences.
2. Irregular verbs (Do 🡪 Did, Eat 🡪 Ate, Go 🡪
Went, Cut 🡪 Cut, Read 🡪 Read, Lose 🡪 Lost, E.g. Last week, Carlos was teaching his mom to learn how
To be (am/is/are) 🡪 Was/Were, Have/ Has 🡪 to drive a car.
Had etc.) E.g. I couldn’t go to the party because I was working.
E.g. Catalina was living in Cartagena two years ago.
When using your verbs in affirmative sentences, remember
we add only one verb in the past simple tense. **Some of the rules that we follow for -ing verbs are the
following**
Tip: Remember that we always use subjects (I, you he, she,
it, we, you, they, names etc.) in our sentences. - Verbs ending in -e (take, have, bite, joke, hide,
hope, vote etc.)
E.g. We visited our family last year.
E.g. Luis and Angela ate all the cake that was in the fridge. Take🡪 Taking Bite🡪 Biting Hide🡪 Hiding Have🡪
E.g. Sally had a problem with our friends because they were Having Joke🡪 Joking Hope🡪 Hoping Vote🡪 Voting
rude to the new teacher.
- Verbs ending in -ee (agree, see, disagree,
**Remember that we need to learn the tenses of the verbs guarantee etc.)
by heart (de memoria) because we cannot guess if a verb is
regular or irregular, check the list attached in this guide** Agree🡪 Agreeing See🡪 Seeing Disagree🡪 Disagreeing
Guarantee🡪 Guaranteeing

- Verbs with a vowel between two consonants (get,

 begin, hit, run, stop, put etc.)

Get🡪 Getting Begin🡪 Beginning Hit🡪 Hitting Run🡪

Running Stop🡪 Stopping Put🡪 Putting

- Verbs ending in -y (play, fly, study, cry, try etc.)

Play🡪 Playing Fly🡪 Flying Study🡪 Studying Cry🡪

Crying Try🡪 Trying

- Verbs ending in -ie (die, lie, tie, etc.)

Die🡪 Dying Lie🡪 Lying Tie🡪 Tying

IMPORTANT!!
Remember that some verbs are considered “stative” which
means that, as they are states, they cannot be temporary
and used with -ing. (E.g. Hate, like, love, prefer, want,
seem, taste, agree, disagree, believe etc.)
E.g. She was hating our ideas for the project last year.
(Incorrect ☹)
🡪 She hated our ideas for the project last year. (Correct 😊)
E.g. I was liking my new car that’s why I bought it (Incorrect
☹)
🡪 I liked my new car that’s why I bought it. (Correct 😊)
E.g. My friends were loving my tomato soup recipe.
(Incorrect ☹)
🡪 My friends loved my tomato soup recipe. (Correct 😊)

GRAMMAR STRUCTURE
Negative sentences

● When creating negative sentences in the past ● When creating negative sentences in the past
simple tense, remember that we have negative continuous tense, we use (was/were) and a verb
sentences with the verb to be or negative with -ing.
sentences with other verbs.
E.g. They weren’t listening to me.
 1. Negative sentences with the verb to be:
E.g. Camila was not happy with her exam results.
E.g. They were not French people.
E.g. He wasn’t 34 years old.
E.g. Dani and Peter weren’t at the hospital yesterday night.
E.g. She wasn’t bullying the new guy.
E.g. We were not playing with your sister at 10:00.
E.g. I was not walking to the hospital yesterday.

2. Negative sentences with other verbs:

E.g. My children did not break your window.
E.g. The company didn’t pay the wages of the workers

**Remember in the past simple tense we use the auxiliary

did not or didn’t to make negative sentences. After this
auxiliary verb, we use the next verb in the present simple
tense**

GRAMMAR STRUCTURE
Questions

● When creating questions or interrogative
sentences in the past simple tense, remember that
we have questions with the verb to be or question
with other verbs.
1. Questions with the verb to be:
E.g. Were you happy when you met your dad?
E.g. Why was she sad?
E.g. Was he fat when he was a child?
● When creating interrogative sentences in the past
continuous tense, we use (was/were) and a verb
with -ing.
E.g. Was she lying to you?
E.g. Why were James and Alana arguing?
E.g. What were you doing yesterday at night?

2. Question with other verbs:

E.g. Did you find your cat?
E.g. When did the company call you?
E.g. What face did she make when she saw you?

**Similar to negative sentences, we use the auxiliary did to

make interrogative sentences. After this auxiliary verb, we
use the next verb in the present simple tense**

● Remember there are some questions that do not

 use the auxiliary verb did. Those questions are
special in English and highly depend on the verb or
information we want to learn when asking them.

E.g. Who painted the Mona Lisa?

(You cannot say Who did paint the Mona Lisa? ☹ because
as we don’t who the artist was, which means that we don’t
have a subject for the question, we can use the verb directly
in the past simple tense after using the word who)

E.g. What happened at the end of the film?

(You can’t say What did happen at the end of the film? ☹
because this verb can be used directly in its past form as,
once again, we don’t have a subject in our question, rather
we want to know about an action or situation that is
unknown)

E.g Which team won the championship?

(You can’t say Which team did win the championship? ☹
because the verb can be used directly in its past simple
form in the question and we don’t have a specific subject,
we want to know the result of something)

GRAMMAR STRUCTURE
Past simple and Past continuous used within the same sentence

● We can use the past simple tense and the past continuous tense within the same sentence. In this case, the past
simple tense shows an action that happen in the middle of other that was in progress (past continuous).

E.g. While I was taking a shower, the telephone rang.

E.g We were writing our final paper when the power went off.

*Note that in the previous sentences, we are using two expressions, while and when. They are frequently used to show
that an action was in progress when other interrupted it. These expressions can be used at the beginning or in the middle
of our sentences, make sure you use commas in the middle of the sentence if you use when or while at the beginning.
I suddenly felt sleepy while I was studying.
I broke my leg when I was skiing.
When she arrived home, I was cooking dinner.

**Remember that it is not necessary to use the present continuous and the past simple in the same sentence. Sometimes,
we can use both sentences in the past simple or the past continuous tense. It all depends on what we want to say**
I was doing the homework while my mom was talking to my teacher. (Past continuous - Past continuous)
They arrived when it started raining. (Past simple - Past simple)

3. Practice

a. Complete the following sentences using the verbs in brackets () in their appropriate form. Check the sentences before and
make sure they follow the rules for the past simple tense. If necessary, check the verb list attached. Remember that if a
verb is not in the irregular verb list, it is automatically a regular verb.

1. When I __woke______ up this morning, it was snowing. (Wake)

2. Last Christmas, we didn’t _____get_____ together with all of our family members because of covid 19. (Get)
3. She was sleeping when you __called____ her. (Call)
4. Did you _pay______ the bill? Thank you very much!! The drinks are on me next time. (Pay)
5. Camila __said____ she wanted to quit her job because she was not happy with it. (Say)
6. We __told________ her parents about her problems at school. She needs some help. (Tell)
7. They ____started______ their English class at 10:21 this morning. (Start)
8. Carlos ___Hurt_____ his ankle while he was running. (Hurt)
9. I _Noticed________ there is a new shopping center just around the corner, do you want to go shopping with me? (Notice)
10. Edgar ___was_______ not very happy with the new secretary. However, he had to get used to her because she had a
contract for a whole year. (To be)

b. The following sentences need a verb using the -ing form as they were all written in the past continuous tense. Look at the
verbs in brackets to complete the sentences, and check the rules before noting them down in their appropriate form:

1. While I was __walking________ home, I saw a giant bear escaping from the zoo. (Walk)
2. I don’t think he was __telling____ the truth because we saw him running after the interview. (Tell)
3. This time last year, I was also __having____ virtual classes. (Have)
4. The waiters were _Running___ up and down with hamburgers and pizzas. That place if really popular now! (Run)
5. At 6 p.m. yesterday, it was already __getting____ dark. (Get)
6. Lucy saw Alex when he was __driving_____ home after work. (Drive)
7. I saw you yesterday, where were you ___going_______? (Go)
8. What were you __doing_____ at around 8 a.m. this morning? (Do)
9. While I was washing_ the dishes, my mom was cooking_ dinner. (Wash/Cook)
10. My brother was _____listening_____ to loud music when his friends arrived home so he could not hear the doorbell.
(Listen)

c. Can you identify which tense goes in the blank space? Remember that your answer must be either in the past simple or past
continuous tense.

o They ___b__ the shop when I got there, so I couldn't go in and buy anything.
a) Already closed
b) Were already closing
o All the stress we ___A__ last year was terrible for our health. We learned to stop and take a moment to breathe.
a) Were facing
b) Faced

o The teacher told us to stop what we __b___.

a) Did
b) Were doing

o __a___ what you were looking for in the library yesterday?

a) Did you find

b) Were you finding

o When I heard the phone ring, I ___a__ it straight away.

a) Answered
b) Was answering

o I _____ to answer his question when he shouted at me.

a) Tried
b) Was trying

o We ___b__ our trip to the mountains because we could spend time together.
a) Enjoyed
b) Were enjoying

o While I arrived, my mom __b___ her favorite show on Netflix.

a) Watched
b) Was watching

o Nicolas ____a_ very hard to finish his projects for university last year. It was a difficult term, but he did it.
a) Worked
b) Was working

o Helen ___b__ all the afternoon so that everything would be ready for the Christmas party.
a) Cooked
b) Was cooking

d. Look at the following sentences and decide whether they should have a negative past simple or past progressive tense
form:

o Last year, I __didn’t try______ to go running every day because I had hurt my knee. So, I went running only a few days a
week because I missed doing exercise. (Try)
o Robert ____didn’t get______ his injury when he was dancing, he got it when he played football with his friends. (Get)
o Molly and her boyfriend __didn’t design_______ a crazy wedding cake. It was her mother who thought it would be cool.
(Design)
o In January 2019, Sophia __didn’t attend___ therapy every day. It wasn’t really good for her recovery. (Attend)
 o My sister ____was_________ isolated when people discovered she might have had the covid-19 virus. (To be)
o Lucy ____didn’t tell______ the truth in that meeting. One day, the boss will catch her lying. (Tell)
o The guy at the bar ____didn’t let_________ us in because the bar was already full. (Let)
o She ___didn’t cry_________ that bad when her boyfriend broke up with her. (Cry)
o To be honest, I __didn’t__ really __learn_____ much with virtual classes. I prefer interaction and the possibility to receive
face to face feedback from the teacher. (Learn)
o My father ___was_______ interviewed when the accident happened. (To be)

e. Look at the answers and write the best question for each one of them:

✔ Yes, it was a good movie.

🡪 Was it a good movie?
✔ I didn’t really like his joke. It was quite chauvinistic.
🡪What do you think of his joke?
✔ The most difficult part of living in Tunja was getting used to its weather.
🡪 what is the most difficult part of living in Tunja
✔ No, we had to go to five different stores, and we couldn’t find the cookies.
🡪 did you find the cookies?
✔ My grandfather was a really tall guy.
🡪 what was your grandfather like?
✔ They were playing with their cousin when they broke the vase.
🡪 what were they doing when they broke the vase?
✔ No, Paula did not need to buy a new car.
🡪 Did Paula buy a new car?
✔ I was so angry with him because all this time he was lying to me.
🡪 Why were you so angry?
✔ She was not reading her assignments for university; I was doing it for her!
🡪 was she reading her assignments for university?
✔ I thought bungee jumping would be a great idea for our summer vacation.
🡪 What did you think about Bungee Jumping?

**If needed, check out these links for further explanations on how to use each of these grammar topics**

- Past simple: https://youtu.be/q3JE4ElweDE

- Past continuous: https://youtu.be/etvW0FOD_so
- Past simple vs past continuous: https://youtu.be/VLj-Dbz-CWk
Did you know that some of the products or services that we have today were at some point invented by accident? Listen to audio 1
(Chocolate chip cookies), audio 2 (Penicillin), audio 3 (Coca-Cola ®) and complete the blank spaces with the verbs you hear in the
audio.
CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
Nearly one hundred years ago, a lady
a. _called__ Ruth Wakefield b. _was
making cookies when she c. ran out
of cooking chocolate. Cooking
chocolate melts and d. __makes____
the cookies all brown and chocolatey.
She e. didn’t give up and f. used a
different type of chocolate instead, g.
called ‘semi-sweet’ chocolate. But it
h. didn’t melt. Mrs Wakefield i.
_had_____ accidentally j. _invented_
the chocolate chip cookie! She k. sold
the recipe to Nestlé in exchange for a
lifetime supply of chocolate chips.
PENICILLIN Coca-Cola®
In 1928, Alexander Fleming a. John Pemberton a. ______ to make a
cure for headaches when he b.
______ bacteria in Petri
______ Coca-Cola®. For eight years it
dishes. Bacteria are tiny living c. ______ only d. ______ in chemist
things – some of them make shops. But it e. ______ so popular
people ill. One of the dishes that it f. ______ in bottles and g.
______ available everywhere. It
accidentally b. ______ some
eventually h. ______ the best-selling
mould in it. He c. ______ that fizzy drink in the world. The recipe is
the bacteria d. ______ close still a closely guarded secret, but you
can always i. ______ your own fizzy
to the mould. The mould is
drinks if you j. ______ to experiment
now used as a medicine, e. a little.
______ ‘penicillin’. It can kill
bacteria. You may have taken
some if you’ve ever been
poorly with an infection. You
f. ______ actually make
penicillin yourself, but you
can investigate the growth of
bacteria and moulds in Petri
dishes.
Taken and adapted from www.britishscienceweek.org

Based on the previous activity, answer the following questions:

Try to answer the questions with what you understood from each of the texts, do not copy and paste sections from them.

1. What was Ruth Wakefield doing when she invented the chocolate chip cookies?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2. How did Alexander Fleming invent penicillin?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
3. What was Coca-Cola® originally used for?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
4. From the previous three accidental discoveries, which one surprised you the most? Why?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
5. When you were a child, what was a “discovery” you made without other people telling you about it?
(Think of the first time you learned how to tie your shoelaces, think of the first time you learned to use a sharpener, etc. or
inventions you thought were revolutionary and necessary for you or other people)
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. If you had the chance to invent or create something new, what would it be?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Do you ever wake up, get dressed, go to work or university, and wonder what kind of impact the things you use every day have on
the planet? If you don’t, it is important to remember that the planet would be a better place if we can be a little more mindful of
how our consumption habits impact others and the planet. In order to do so, we will take a look at two elements we use every day
and have a big impact on the planet:

a. Cell Phones

It breaks our hearts to say this, but our cell phones are not the most planet-friendly devices out there. While they might look clean
and sleek on the outside, the minerals on the inside of our phones are responsible for environmental destruction and social unrest
across the world. Tin, the mineral used to create the glue that holds together all the parts of smartphones is responsible for mass
deforestation and environmental damage on Bangka Island. Minerals such as gold, tungsten, and tantalum are also responsible for
extreme social conflict in the Congo. Mining for these finite minerals has also caused significant damage to the native habitat of the
world’s remaining chimpanzee population. The average person upgrades their cell phone every 18 months which means about 130
million devices are discarded every year. Although virtually all electronics can be recycled and their precious mineral centers can be
recycled, around 85 percent of smartphones and other electronics end up in landfills.
 b. Synthetic Clothing

We love synthetic clothing because it stretches, it’s easy to clean and it is affordable. The only problem is, these garments are made
up of millions of tiny plastic fibers. Most people don’t realize this, but every time we wash our clothes made of nylon, polyester, or
acrylic, plastic microfibers are released from the item. According to Peter Ross, vice president of Ocean Wise in Vancouver, British
Columbia, “There are estimates of anywhere from a few thousand fibers in a single load of laundry to as much as 10 or 12 million
fibers per load of laundry.” Like microbeads, these plastics sneak past water treatment plants and are dumped into the ocean. Fish
and other marine life ingest microfibers and the plastic is allowed to move up the food chain. According to ecologist Mark Browne,
“Ingested and inhaled fibers carry toxic materials and a third of the food we eat is contaminated with this material.” There might not
be a perfect solution to this major problem yet, but you can help reduce your participation in this microplastic problem by shopping
for clothing with natural fibers.

1. Production

After reading the previous article, the activity for this week requires you to include the following:

- Look for and mention (1) more item or invention that contributes to global warming. Give a short description of this item,
for instance, mention who and when it was invented. Additionally, mention why and how this element contributes to
polluting the planet.
- Look for (1) item or invention that help us fight against global warming or help us to diminish its impact. Give a short
description of this item, mention who and when it was invented. Additionally, mention why and how it contributes to
creating a more sustainable planet.

Tools for this task:

https://www.storyjumper.com/
https://voicethread.com/

For this assignment, you need to use one of the tools suggested. In any of these web pages, you have the possibility to
include both text and audio to present your activity. Both skills, speaking and writing will be evaluated, make sure you
include them in your final product. In total, you will describe two inventions. Try to keep your presentation no longer than
2:00 mins and max. 3:00 mins explaining the inventions chosen. Try to use the past simple and past continuous tense in
your presentation. If you can’t reach the time limit given, give details, explanations or examples from your personal
experience or your personal opinion to send your final task using the parameters established.
 SELF-ASSESSMENT FORMAT

CRITERIA SCORE (0.0 - 5.0)

1. Do I understand the structure and uses of the past

simple and the past continuous tense?

2. Did I create my final presentation using what I know

of the language instead of using a translation tool?

3. Before recording my final task, did I look for the

pronunciation of some of the words I didn’t know how to
pronounce?

4. Did I look for information on the topic chosen or

talked about information I know to create the audio
assigned?

5. Does the final activity last the time assigned and

includes the elements required by the teacher?

Do you feel that you could not understand this topic and need extra practice on it?

Go to the following links to practice a little bit more this topic:

https://agendaweb.org/verbs/past-continuous-past-simple-exercises.html

https://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/past-simple-past-continuous-exercise-1.html
https://www.superprof.es/apuntes/idiomas/ingles/gramatica-inglesa/verb-tense/exercises-past-simple-and-past-continuous-ii.html

https://www.esl-lounge.com/student/grammar/2g50-past-simple-or-past-continuous-worksheet.php