Lesson | Smrt English

We can use the Past Simple and Past Continuous to talk about actions in the past that are finished.

Past Simple

Past Simple verbs in English can have two possible forms: regular (-ed) or irregular. We use the auxiliary verb 'do' to make negatives and questions. Here are the uses of the Past Simple.

Actions that are completely finished and have no connection to the present time.

I saw the movie before going out for dinner yesterday.

Repeated actions.

We went to a different museum every weekend in Barcelona.

Past Continuous

The Past Continuous is used for actions that were in progress at a particular time. Here are the uses of Past Continuous:

With time expressions: at 2 o’clock / when I got up / in the morning, etc.

In the morning, it was raining heavily.

With the Past Simple.

When I woke up, the sun was shining and the birds were singing.