Past Simple and Past Continuous
Which tense do we use to talk about an activity in progress at a moment in the past?
Past continuous
Say an original sentence to describe a present habit.
Any sentence in present simple is acceptable.
Choose the best option:
We use the past perfect simple to talk about actions that happened (after/before) another action in the past.
before
Define these words:
- Notes
- Grades/Marks
Notes = the words you write in a class, to highlight and remember important information
Grades = the marks you receive in school or university
A cake
MAKE a cake
Why do we use past simple?
To talk about completed actions in the past.
To talk about past habits.
Complete the sentence with the best word:
There _________ be a waterslide close to his home.
a) often
b) used to
c) would
d) always
b) Used to
How do we form the past perfect continuous?
had + been + verb -ing
ex: had been studying
Give an example of a job promotion.
moving from one level in a job to another (it is usually accompanied by a raise, but not always)
the shopping
DO the shopping
Complete the sentence with the appropriate form of the verb. Please spell out your answer.
Last weekend, we (buy) a birthday present for our mom. I can't wait to give it to her!
we bought
Can we use present continuous to talk about present habits? If yes, why?
YES!
We use it with the words always, continually, forever and constantly to descibe habits that annoy or irritate us.
Which tense gives more importance to the duration of the action rather than the completion of the action in the past?
Past perfect simple OR continuous
Past perfect continuous
What is overtime?
Overtime refers to any hours worked by an employee that exceed their normally scheduled working hours. Usually there is higher pay for overtime work.
I have a bad cold. My doctor told me that I should drink alot of fluids and rest.
He ______ a __________.
MADE a suggestion
Describe the difference in meaning between these two sentences:
- She was playing cards while I cooked dinner.
- She played cards and I cooked dinner.
She was playing cards while I cooked dinner. = We did these activities at the same time.
She played cards and I cooked dinner. = Maybe these happened at the same time, and maybe not.
Is this sentence correctly or incorrectly written:
She used to live in Spain for 5 years.
Why or why not?
It is incorrectly written because it states "for 5 years". If we give a period of time, we must use past simple.
Correct sentence: She lived in Spain for 5 years.
Is this sentence correct? If not, correct it.
I had waited for 3 hours when the store opened on Black Friday.
I had been waiting for three hours [when the store opened] on Black Friday.
When the store opened = action in the past
I had been waiting, needs to be in past perfect continuous NOT past perfect, because we are calling attention to waiting for 3 hours (duration of time).
What is the word for the qualification we receive in university?
For example, I got my _______ in English.
degree
Sometimes I can't decide whether or not to eat oreos or chocolate chip cookies.
It's difficult for me to _____ a ___________.
MAKE a decision
Properly pronounce these 5 verbs in the past simple:
Look
cry
study
develop
visit
looked (t)
cried (d)
studied (d)
developed (t)
visited (id)
Complete the sentence with the best word:
As a teenager, she __________ have really bad acne.
used to have
(we cannot use 'would' with past states, only past actions)
Explain why this is correct or incorrect.
Everything was white because it had been snowing.
It's incorrect because we don't have any knowledge of the duration of time it had been snowing. Therefore, what's more important is that it had snowed...that the activity of snowing was complete. So, we use past perfect simple.
Everything was white because it had snowed.
Describe the difference between a trip and a voyage.
Give an example of each.
a trip can be very short, and a voyage describes a long journey.
I go to the gym everyday to lift weights, run on the treadmill, and do abdominales.
I ___ ___________.
DO exercise