1. Past Simple & Past Continuous
Achievers B1: Unit 1

2. Past Continuous & Past Simple
We often use the past continuous and the past simple together. The past continuous describes an action or situation that was in progress. We use it when we want to focus on a particular moment. The past simple describes a completed action. We don’t use the past continuous for a long action or situation if we don’t want to focus on a particular moment. We use the past simple instead.
Exs.
When I got home, my sister was playing the piano.
While I was making a cup of tea, I dropped the cup.
I studied all afternoon and then watched TV all evening.

3. Past Simple Affirmative: Regular Verbs
We form the past simple form of regular verbs by adding –ed.
play – played want – wanted open – opened
If a verb ends in + -y, the ending is –ied.
study – studied try – tried
If a one-syllable verb ends in consonant + vowel + consonant, we usually double the final consonant.
stop – stopped chat – chatted
Past Simple Affirmative: Irregular Verbs
Many common verbs have an irregular past simple form:
Exs.
Buy – Bought Bring – Brought Catch – Caught Do – Did Get – Got

4. Past Simple Negative & Questions
Structure: We use didn’t (did not) with the infinitive to make the negative form of the past simple.
Ex. They didn’t walk to school yesterday.
We use did with the infinitive to make questions.
Ex. Did they walk to school yesterday?
We make short answers with did or didn’t.
Ex. Yes, they did. / No, they didn’t.

5. Past Simple: Time Expressions
We often use the following past time expressions:
Past Time Expressions
Examples
In + years, months
I went to Spain in 2010.
On + days
I was sick on Monday.
At + times, midday, midnight
I woke up at 7am.
My friends had lunch at midday.
Last + night, week, weekend, month, year
We went on holiday last year.
Yesterday + morning, afternoon, evening
I watched a really good film yesterday evening.
Any period of time + ago
We met four months ago.

6. Past Continuous: Affirmative & Negative
We form the past continuous with was / were + -ing form of the main verb.
Number
Person
Affirmative
Negative
Singular
1st
I was watching TV.
I wasn’t watching TV
2nd
You were watching TV.
You weren’t watching TV.
3rd
He was watching TV.
She was watching TV.
She wasn’t watching TV.
Tomás wasn’t watching TV.
Plural
We were watching TV.
You and I weren’t watching TV.
We weren’t watching TV.
They were watching TV.
Pablo and Martina weren’t watching TV.

7. Past Continuous: Questions and Short Answers
Number
Person
Questions
Short Answers
Singular
1st
Was I watching TV?
Yes, I was. / No, I wasn’t.
2nd
Were you watching TV?
Yes, you were. / No, you weren’t.
3rd
Was he watching TV?
Was she watching TV?
Yes, she was. / No, he wasn’t.
Plural
Were we watching TV?
Yes, we were. / No, we weren’t.
Yes, you were. / No, we weren’t.
Were they watching TV?
Yes, they were. / No, they weren’t.

8. When & While
We use when and while to connect actions.
When: We normally use when with the past simple.
Ex.
I was swimming in the sea when someone stole my wallet.
When I got to the classroom, the teacher was talking to an inspector.
While: We normally use while with the past continuous. We use it for an action or situation in progress.
While we were walking home from school. I met my friend Nicolás on the street.
I texted my friend while I was waiting for the bus.

9. State Verbs
State verbs describe our opinions, thoughts, feelings and relationships. We usually use state verbs in simple tenses.
Common state verbs:
Agree Appear Believe Belong Contain Depend Disagree Dislike Doubt Enjoy Feel Fit Hate Hear Know Like Love Matter Mean Need Owe Own Prefer Promise Realize Recognize Remember Seem Sound Suppose Surprise Taste Think Understand Want Weigh Wish