SIMPLE PAST Finished actions or situations in the past One thing happened after another
Say the sentence in the negative and interrogative form
CHECK IT OUT: AFF: There was a man... NEG: There wasn’t a man... INT: Was there a man...? AFF: The cat ate my breakfast . NEG: The cat didn’t eat my breakfast . INT: Did the cat eat my breakfast ? AFF: The dog chew ed up my slippers . NEG: The dog didn’t chew up my slippers . INT: Did the dog chew up my slippers ?
PAST CONTINUOUS Talk about activities in progress at the moment in the past Describe scenes in a story , for example Talk about an activity in progress when another interrupted it
AFF: You were talking to Suzie . NEG: You weren’t talking to Suzie . INT: Were you talking to Suzie ? Check it out!
WHILE / WHEN They have similar meanings, but they emphasize different parts of the sentence. Examples: I was studying when she called . While I was studying , she called.
“ WHILE ” (emphasizes the duration) - usually followed by past continuous. “WHEN” at or during the time that something happens We can use WHEN/WHILE to introduce the long action
When or while ? WHEN = to introduce the SHORT action When I got a text message , I was having class. WHILE / WHEN = to introduce the LONG action I got a text message while / when I was having class.