Use Past Simple or Past Continuous Tense?

                                                                                                   អានជាភាសាខ្មែរ

In this lesson, you are assumed that you have known the forms of the two tenses.Also compare this lesson to the past simple and the past continuous tense.

Read this text to get to know more about the two tenses.

Well, when I was `teaching my students around 4.30 pm, my mother called me. She told me that my ailing grandmother was getting worse and worse, which made my relatives worried. In no time, I left my class to ask permission from the school director and left for my home. While I was riding home, she called me again to tell me that my grandma passed away. I found it very shocking.

The sentences in italic are called past.......................

The underlined sentences are called past............................

           

            Here are the differences between the two tenses.

1.      The past simple is used to talk about finished actions that happened at a specific time in the past, but the past continuous is used to express ongoing actions at a specific time in the past.

·         Vanna went to school at the age of 6.  (past simple)

·         Vanna was going to school at 6 pm.  (past continuous)

@ Note:

The two actions above happened and finished in the past the same. But the past continuous tense focuses on the duration of that action at a definite time in the past.

2.      We use the past simple to show a shorter action and the past continuous to show a longer action, which happened in the past. The shorter actions interrupt or happen in the middle of the longer actions.

·         While I was riding home, my mother called me.

(longer action)                         (shorter action)

·         When Thida was reading her favorite book, the light went out.

3.      For long –term actions, we use the past simple, but we use the past continuous

          for temporary ones.

·         When Chantrea was a student, he did well at school.   (long –term action)

·         Chantrea was studying Korean at a center during his vocation in April 2012.

( temporary action)

4.      We use the past simple to talk about completed actions that happened in sequence, but we use the past continuous to express two or more actions that were happening at the same time in the past.

·           When Dave opened his book, he saw a letter.

·           When she got home, she took a bath, ate dinner and went to bed.

(actions followed one another)

·           When Dave was reading, his sons were watching TV.

(The two actions happen at the same time)

5.      Use the past simple with both action verbs and non-action verbs, but use the past continuous with action verbs only.

·           She knew her boyfriend when she was 19. (knew is a non-action verb so we can’t say “she was knowing her boyfriend”.)

·           Mr. Chandorn met Jane at the air port.

·           When Jane and I were meeting for lunch, we saw you.

              @ Note:

           We never use the continuous tenses with state verbs ( non- action verbs).

·                  Dara knew me when we were at high school together.

      (Not: Dara was knowing me)

·                 I had my bike in 2010. (Not: I was having my bike in 2010)

Click here for more information about state verbs.

Thanks for reading!