【A1-A2-Grammar】08 Past continuous and past simple-过去进行时和一般过去时

【A1-A2-Grammar】08 Past continuous and past simple-过去进行时和一般过去时

Do you know how to use the past continuous and past simple? Test what you know with interactive exercises and read the explanation to help you. 你知道如何使用过去进行时和一般过去时吗？通过互动练习测试您所掌握的知识，并阅读说明来帮助您。

Look at these examples to see how the past continuous and past simple are used.查看这些示例，了解如何使用过去进行时和一般过去时。

When I woke up this morning, it was snowing.今天早上我醒来时，下雪了。
I was sleeping when you called me.你打电话给我的时候我正在睡觉。

Try this exercise to test your grammar.尝试这个练习来测试你的语法。

Grammar test 1-语法测试1

Past continuous and past simple: 1

Choose the correct verb tense.

• Question

1. I _____ work at 9 a.m. this morning.
   started
   was starting
2. This time last year I _____ at university.
   studied
   was studying
3. Sarah hurt her ankle while she _____.
   ran
   was running
4. I _____ your call because I was working.
   missed
   was missing
5. While I was walking home, I _____ a new shop in the high street.
   noticed
   was noticing
6. At 6 p.m. yesterday it _____ dark.
   already got
   was already getting
7. I saw you driving down Green Street yesterday! Where _____?
   did you go
   were you going
8. When we saw the crime, we _____ the police.
   called
   were calling

• Answer

1. I _____ work at 9 a.m. this morning.
   ✔started
   was starting
2. This time last year I _____ at university.
   studied
   ✔was studying
3. Sarah hurt her ankle while she _____.
   ran
   ✔was running
4. I _____ your call because I was working.
   ✔missed
   was missing
5. While I was walking home, I _____ a new shop in the high street.
   ✔noticed
   was noticing
6. At 6 p.m. yesterday it _____ dark.
   already got
   ✔was already getting
7. I saw you driving down Green Street yesterday! Where _____?
   did you go
   ✔were you going
8. When we saw the crime, we _____ the police.
   ✔called
   were calling

Read the explanation to learn more.阅读说明以了解更多信息。

Grammar explanation语法解释

The past continuous and the past simple help us to show how two past actions or situations are connected.过去进行时和一般过去时帮助我们展示两个过去的动作或情况是如何联系在一起的。

Past simple一般过去时

The past simple shows us that an action was in the past, not in the present. Regular past simple verbs have -ed at the end (e.g. called, played, arrived). Irregular verbs have a different form, usually with a different vowel sound (e.g. wake → woke, break → broke, feel → felt).一般过去时向我们表明某个动作是过去发生的，而不是现在发生的。常规一般过去动词末尾有 -ed（例如，叫、玩、到达）。不规则动词有不同的形式，通常具有不同的元音（例如wake→wake、break→broken、feel→feeled）。

My parents called me yesterday. 我的父母昨天给我打电话。
I woke up early this morning. 我今天早上很早就醒了。
Sam played basketball when he was at university. 萨姆在大学时打篮球。

We make the negative with didn’t and the infinitive verb.我们用 did not 和不定式动词构成否定形式。

My parents didn’t call me yesterday. 昨天我父母没有给我打电话。
I didn’t wake up early this morning. 今天早上我没有早起。

We make the question form with did and then the subject and infinitive verb.我们用 did 来构成疑问句，然后是主语和不定式动词。

Did you wake up early this morning? 今天早上你起得很早吗？
Did Sam play basketball when he was at university? 萨姆在大学时打篮球吗？

Past continuous过去进行时

The past continuous shows us that the action was already in progress at a certain time in the past.过去进行时向我们表明该动作在过去的某个时间已经在进行中。

What were you doing at 8 p.m. last night? 昨夜晚上八点你在做什么？
I was studying. 我那时正在学习。

This means that I started studying before 8 p.m. and I continued after 8 p.m.这意味着我晚上8点之前就开始学习了。晚上 8 点后我继续。

The past continuous can also show that an activity was in progress for some time, not just for a moment.过去进行时也可以表明一项活动已经进行了一段时间，而不仅仅是一会儿。

We were cleaning the house all morning. 我们整个早上都在打扫房子。

We make the past continuous with was or were and the -ing form of the verb.我们用 was 或 were 以及动词的 -ing 形式使过去进行时。

She couldn’t come to the party. She was working. 她不能来参加聚会。她正在工作。
Three years ago, we were living in my home town. 三年前，我们住在我的家乡。
I tried to give him some advice, but he wasn’t listening. 我试图给他一些建议，但他不听。
What were you doing this time last year? 去年这个时候你在做什么？

Past continuous and past simple过去进行时和一般过去时

When we use these two tenses together, it shows us that the past simple action happened in the middle of the past continuous action, while it was in progress.当我们同时使用这两个时态时，它表明过去的简单动作发生在过去的连续动作的中间，并且正在进行。

While I was studying, I suddenly felt sleepy. 正当我学习的时候，我突然感到困了。

We often use these tenses to show an action interrupting another action.我们经常使用这些时态来表示一个动作打断另一个动作。

I broke my leg when I was skiing. 我滑雪时摔断了腿。
As I was going to work, I saw an old friend. 当我去上班的时候，我见到了一位老朋友。
We were watching television when the power went off. 我们正在看电视，突然停电了。

Can you see a difference in the meaning of these two sentences?你能看出这两句话的意思有什么不同吗？

When the guests arrived, Jane was cooking dinner. 客人到来时，简正在做饭。
When the guests arrived, Jane cooked dinner. 客人到来后，简做饭了。

In the first one, Jane started cooking dinner before the guests arrived. We know that because it uses the past continuous. In the second sentence, the guests arrived first and then Jane started cooking.第一个场景中，简在客人到来之前开始做饭。我们知道这一点是因为它使用了过去进行时。第二句话，客人先到了，然后简然开始做饭。

Do this exercise to test your grammar again.做这个练习来再次测试你的语法。

Grammar test 2-语法测试2

Past continuous and past simple: 2

Choose the correct verb tense.

• Question

1. I _____ my new job yesterday.
   started
   was starting
2. What _____ at around 8 a.m. this morning?
   did you do
   were you doing
3. While I was washing the dishes, I suddenly _____ a brilliant idea.
   had
   was having
4. He didn’t hear the phone ring. He _____ to really loud music.
   listened
   was listening
5. They _____ the shop when I got there, so I couldn’t go in and buy anything.
   already closed
   were already closing
6. The teacher told us to stop what we _____.
   did
   were doing
7. _____ what you were looking for in the library yesterday?
   Did you find
   Were you finding
8. When I heard the phone ring, I _____ it straight away.
   answered
   was answering

• Answer

1. I _____ my new job yesterday.
   ✔started
   was starting
2. What _____ at around 8 a.m. this morning?
   did you do
   ✔were you doing
3. While I was washing the dishes, I suddenly _____ a brilliant idea.
   ✔had
   was having
4. He didn’t hear the phone ring. He _____ to really loud music.
   listened
   ✔was listening
5. They _____ the shop when I got there, so I couldn’t go in and buy anything.
   already closed
   ✔were already closing
6. The teacher told us to stop what we _____.
   did
   ✔were doing
7. _____ what you were looking for in the library yesterday?
   ✔Did you find
   Were you finding
8. When I heard the phone ring, I _____ it straight away.
   ✔answered
   was answering