Units 5-6: Past Simple and Past Continuous — English Grammar in Use

1. Introduction

Units 5 and 6 shift our focus to events that have already happened. The Past Simple describes actions that were completed at a specific time in the past, while the Past Continuous describes actions that were in progress. Understanding these two units, covered here together, allows you to tell stories and explain series of past events fluidly.

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2. Unit 5: Past Simple

Grammar Rule

We use the Past Simple to talk about actions and situations that are completely finished. The action started and ended in the past.

• For regular verbs, the Past Simple ends in -ed (e.g., worked, played).
• Many common verbs are irregular and have special past forms (e.g., went, saw, did).
• We use the auxiliary verb did to form negatives and questions with the base verb.

Form Table

Subject	Positive	Negative	Question
I / You / He / She / It / We / They	played / saw	did not play (didn’t)	Did you play/see?

Key Examples

Positive

• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart lived from 1756 to 1791.
• I went to the cinema three times last week.
• She passed her examination because she studied very hard.

Negative

• We didn’t enjoy the holiday because it rained every day.
• He didn’t go to work yesterday.
• They weren’t able to come because they were busy.

Question

• Did you go out last night?
• What did you do at the weekend?
• Where did she buy that hat?

When to Use

Situation	Example
Completed actions at a specific time	I arrived early yesterday.
A sequence of past actions	I woke up, had breakfast, and left for work.
Past habits	When I was a child, we lived in a small house.

Common Mistakes

❌ Did you went out last night?
✅ Did you go out last night?

❌ I didn't saw him.
✅ I didn't see him.

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3. Unit 6: Past Continuous

Grammar Rule

We use the Past Continuous to say that somebody was in the middle of doing something at a certain time. The action or situation had already started before this time, but had not finished.

• It is formed using was/were + the -ing form of the verb.

Form Table

Subject	Positive	Negative	Question
I / He / She / It	was working	was not working (wasn’t)	Was he working?
We / You / They	were working	were not working (weren’t)	Were they working?

Key Examples

Positive

• This time last year I was living in Brazil.
• At 8 o’clock last night, I was having dinner.
• The sun was shining and the birds were singing.

Negative

• They weren’t looking where they were going.
• I waved to her, but she wasn’t looking.
• He wasn’t sleeping when I called.

Question

• What were you doing at 10 o’clock last night?
• Were you waiting for a long time?
• Why were they laughing?

When to Use

Situation	Example
An action in progress at a specific time in the past	At 8 PM last night, I was watching TV.
Two actions happening at the same time	While I was reading, she was cooking.

Common Mistakes

❌ I was walking home, when suddenly it was starting to rain.
✅ I was walking home, when suddenly it started to rain.

Comparison

We often use the past continuous and past simple together. We use the past continuous for the background action (the longer action) and the past simple for the action that interrupts it.

• Background: I was walking home…
• Interruption: …when I met Dan.
• Combined: I was walking home when I met Dan.

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📝 Quick Summary

Unit 5:

• Use the Past Simple (verb-ed or irregular form) for completed actions in the past.
• Don’t forget: Questions and negatives must use did and the base form of the main verb.

Unit 6:

• Use the Past Continuous (was/were + verb-ing) for past actions that were in progress at a specific time.
• Don’t forget: Use Past Continuous for the background ongoing event and Past Simple for the interrupting sudden event.