The past continuous is often used together with the simple past. In these sentences, we need to use time clauses. Time clauses tell us what happened first and what happened after. The most common time clauses are:
- while
- when
- as
- after
- before
There are many ways to use time clauses.
Talk about the Order of Past Events
Sometimes, we use time clauses to talk about two things that happened in the
| Simple Past (1st Event) | Simple Past (2nd Event) | Full Sentence |
|---|---|---|
| We took the dog for a walk | after we finished dinner. | We took the dog for a walk after we finished dinner. |
| Hiro picked me up | when it was time to leave. | Hiro picked me up when it was time to leave. |
| After the movie was over, | we turned all the lights back on. | After the movie was over, we turned all the lights back on. |
| They got together to surprise him | before he arrived home. | They got together to surprise him before he arrived home. |
Notice that when the time clause is in the first column, there needs to be a comma (,) before the second part of the sentence.
In all these sentences, the two things in the two columns are both completed. This is important because the simple past is used for things that are completed.
Talk about Interrupted Events
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