Past Continuous
What is the past continuous used for?
Long, continuous actions that were in progress at a specific time in the past. They typically started and ended in the past.
As a general rule, we use the past simple for _____ actions and the past continuous for ____ actions of a longer duration of time.
short, long
What is the present perfect tense used for?
The present perfect tense refers to an action or state that either occurred at an indefinite time in the past (e.g., we have talked before) or began in the past and continued to the present time (e.g., he has grown impatient over the last hour).
You must always use the ______ ______ when the time of an action is not important or not specified.
present perfect
Kate _______ (have) dinner and then she ______ (do) her homework.
Kate had dinner and then she did her homework.
The present perfect continuous has the same use as the ____ _____ _____. That is, to talk about things that began in the past but continue until the moment of speaking.
The present perfect ______ can be used (often with 'since' and 'for') to talk about unfinished actions that started in the past and are still true in the present.
simple or continuous?
simple
How do you form the past continuous in the affirmative?
subject + was/were + verb+ing
____ _______ describes actions that happened in a specific moment in the past while _____ _________ describes actions that were in progress in the past.
How is the tense formed (in the affirmative)?
have/has + the past participle
You must always use the _____ _____ when details about the time or place that an action occurred are given or requested.
past simple
While we _____ (clean) the house, we _______(break) some glasses.
While we were cleaning the house, we broke some glasses.
The difference is that the present perfect continuous is used for ______ or ________ actions.
longer, continuous
We don't use the present perfect ______ with stative verbs.
simple or continuous?
continuous
How do you form the past continuous in the interrogative and negative?
Interrogative: was/were + subject + verb+ing?
Negative: subject + wasn’t/weren’t + verb+ing
Although it doesn’t matter if you use past simple or past continuous tense, if you want to express a longer period of time then it’s better to use _____ ________; it also sounds better and makes more sense in English.
past continuous
done, said, gone, known, won, thought, felt, eaten, etc.
There is also a difference in _______ between the two tenses, which is often an important factor in choosing which tense to use.
attitude
I _____ (move) to London in 2010 and I ______ (live) here since then.
I moved to London in 2010 and I have lived here since then.
How is the present perfect continuous in the affirmative formed?
subject + have/has been + verb+ing
Sometimes there's really no difference in meaning between the two tenses. This is especially the case with verbs such as (name 3)
live, work, study
Give an example of the past continuous in the affirmative!
Bonus points for two!
In English, when it comes to the words when and while, there are specific rules you have to follow. With the past simple tense, you can only use _____. With the past continuous tense, you can only use ______.
when, while
The important thing to remember about the present perfect is that you can’t use it when you are being _______ about when it happened.
specific
Complete these present perfect sentences:
I ____ ____ in London. (live)
They ____ _____ Thai food. (eat)
_____ you _____ 'Othello'? (see)
We ____ ____ to Ireland. (be)
I have lived in London.
They have eaten Thai food.
Have you seen 'Othello'?
We have been to Ireland.
Several days ago, I _______(go) to the store and ________(buy) some vegetables.
Several days ago, I went to the store and bought some vegetables.
How is the present perfect continuous in the negative and interrogative formed?
Negative: subject + haven’t/hasn’t been + verb+ing.
Interrogative: have/has + subject + been + verb+ing?
The present perfect _____ can be used to emphasise the length of time that has passed. The present perfect _____ is generally neutral.
simple or continuous?
continuous, simple
Give an example of the past continuous in both the interrogative and negative.
Bonus points for two of each!
Make a sentence correctly combining past simple and past continuous phrases.
Ex. I was taking a shower. + My cat jumped onto the towel rack. = While I was taking a shower, my cat jumped onto the towel rack.
OR When my cat jumped onto the towel rack, I was taking a shower.
Give an example of a present perfect sentence in the affirmative.
Bonus points for an example in the interrogative and/or negative!
Complete these past simple sentences:
I _____ in London in 1989. (live)
They ___ Thai food last night. (eat)
Where ____ you ____ 'Othello'? (see)
When ____ you ___ to Ireland? (go)
I lived in London in 1989.
They ate Thai food last night.
Where did you see 'Othello'?
When did you go to Ireland?
Sam _________(learn /already) so much in this school. He _________ (not know) so many things 3 years ago.
Sam has already learnt so much in this school. He didn't know so many things 3 years ago.
Give an example of a present perfect continuous sentence in the affirmative, negative, or interrogative.
Bonus points for more than one sentence!
The present perfect _____ is often used when we're talking about how much or how many. This isn't possible with the present perfect ______.
simple or continuous?
simple, continuous