Simple past vs Past continuous

A diferença entre Past Simple e Past Continuous

Denilso de Lima 24 Comentários

Qual a diferença entre past simple e past continuous? Quando usar past simple e past continuous em inglês? Essas são duas perguntas que muitos estudantes de inglês costumam fazer. Se você é um desses, leia esta dica para saber a diferença entre esses dois tempos verbais.

Antes de entrarmos nos detalhes da língua inglesa é bom compararmos de modo básico alguns exemplos em português. Assim, veja as sentenças abaixo e procure pensar em que momento você usa cada uma delas.

1. Eu lavei a louça ontem.
2. Eu estava lavando a louça quando o telefone tocou.

Veja que na sentença 1 a pessoa está se referindo a algo que aconteceu ontem; logo, a ação – lavar louça – foi iniciada e concluída. Além disso, essa é a única ação que me importa no momento da fala. Já na sentença 2 a pessoa relata que estava fazendo algo – lavando a louça – quando outra ação ocorreu – o telefone tocou. Você pode criar muitos outros exemplos em português e perceber isso:

• Ele estava tomando banho quando a campainha tocou.
• Ele tomou banho antes de sair de casa.
• Ela estava voltando para casa quando viu o acidente.
• Ela viu o acidente e relatou tudo à polícia.

Agora perceba que ao relatarmos duas ações, nós fazemos o uso da palavra “quando“. Ou seja, essa palavra marca (indica) que algo aconteceu. Em inglês, a ideia é praticamente a mesma da língua portuguesa nesse caso. Ou seja, tudo o que tenho a fazer é traduzir corretamente cada uma das sentenças. Veja:

• I did the dishes yesterday.
• I was doing the dishes when the phone rang.
• He was having a shower when the phone rang.
• He took a shower before leaving home.
• She was going back home when she saw the accident.
• She saw the accident and reported it to the police.

Note nos exemplos em inglês que usamos when (quando) ao mudarmos de uma ação para outra. Em outras palavras, não há muita diferença no modo de organizar as sentenças nesse caso. Tudo o que você precisa saber é usar as expressões corretas da forma correta; o resto é tudo idêntico.

Algumas pessoas certamente se sentirão provocadas com essa dica e dirão que não concordam com ela. Afinal, português é português e inglês é inglês. Minha mensagem a elas é a seguinte: mesmo em diálogos podemos ver o fenômeno da igualdade acontecendo. Compare:

– Why were you in the kitchen this morning? (Por que você estava na cozinha hoje de manhã?)
– I was doing the dishes, that’s why. (Eu estava lavando a louça, por isso.)

Tente fazer isso com qualquer outro diálogo e você notará que o uso dos dois tempos verbais nesse contexto é idêntico e, portanto, não tem porque fazer confusão. Mais um exemplo simples para comprovar a tese de que o uso do Past Continuous não é nada misterioso e complicado:

• From 08 o’clock to midnight I was watching TV. (Das 08 da noite à meia-noite eu estava assistindo TV.)

Veja que a ideia da sentença em inglês é a mesma da sentença em português. Isso serve para mostrar que a diferença entre past simple e past continuous não é nada tão complicada o quando muita gente pensa. Basta usar da mesma forma como é em português e ponto final.

That’s all for now! Até a próxima!

https://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/pastcontinuous.html

The past continuous (also called past progressive) is a verb tense which is used to show that an ongoing past action was happening at a specific moment of interruption, or that two ongoing actions were happening at the same time. Read on for detailed descriptions, examples, and past continuous exercises.

Past Continuous Forms

The past continuous is formed using was/were + present participle. Questions are indicated by inverting the subject and was/were. Negatives are made with not.

• Statement: You were studying when she called.
• Question: Were you studying when she called?
• Negative: You were not studying when she called.

Complete List of Past Continuous Forms

Past Continuous Uses

USE 1 Interrupted Action in the Past

Use the past continuous to indicate that a longer action in the past was interrupted. The interruption is usually a shorter action in the simple past. Remember this can be a real interruption or just an interruption in time.

Examples:

• I was watching TV when she called.
• When the phone rang, she was writing a letter.
• While we were having the picnic, it started to rain.
• What were you doing when the earthquake started?
• I was listening to my iPod, so I didn't hear the fire alarm.
• You were not listening to me when I told you to turn the oven off.
• While John was sleeping last night, someone stole his car.
• Sammy was waiting for us when we got off the plane.
• While I was writing the email, the computer suddenly went off.
• A: What were you doing when you broke your leg?
  B: I was snowboarding.

USE 2 Specific Time as an Interruption

In USE 1, described above, the past continuous is interrupted by a shorter action in the simple past. However, you can also use a specific time as an interruption.

Examples:

• Last night at 6 PM, I was eating dinner.
• At midnight, we were still driving through the desert.
• Yesterday at this time, I was sitting at my desk at work.

IMPORTANT

In the simple past, a specific time is used to show when an action began or finished. In the past continuous, a specific time only interrupts the action.

Examples:

• Last night at 6 PM, I ate dinner.
  I started eating at 6 PM.
• Last night at 6 PM, I was eating dinner.
  I started earlier; and at 6 PM, I was in the process of eating dinner.

USE 3 Parallel Actions

When you use the past continuous with two actions in the same sentence, it expresses the idea that both actions were happening at the same time. The actions are parallel.

Examples:

• I was studying while he was making dinner.
• While Ellen was reading, Tim was watching television.
• Were you listening while he was talking?
• I wasn't paying attention while I was writing the letter, so I made several mistakes.
• What were you doing while you were waiting?
• Thomas wasn't working, and I wasn't working either.
• They were eating dinner, discussing their plans, and having a good time.

USE 4 Atmosphere

In English, we often use a series of parallel actions to describe the atmosphere at a particular time in the past.

Example:

• When I walked into the office, several people were busily typing, some were talking on the phones, the boss was yelling directions, and customers were waiting to be helped. One customer was yelling at a secretary and waving his hands. Others were complaining to each other about the bad service.

USE 5 Repetition and Irritation with "Always"

The past continuous with words such as "always" or "constantly" expresses the idea that something irritating or shocking often happened in the past. The concept is very similar to the expression used to but with negative emotion. Remember to put the words "always" or "constantly" between "be" and "verb+ing."

Examples:

• She was always coming to class late.
• He was constantly talking. He annoyed everyone.
• I didn't like them because they were always complaining.

Past Continuous Tips

While vs. When

Clauses are groups of words which have meaning, but are often not complete sentences. Some clauses begin with the word "when" such as "when she called" or "when it bit me." Other clauses begin with "while" such as "while she was sleeping" and "while he was surfing." When you talk about things in the past, "when" is most often followed by the verb tense simple past, whereas "while" is usually followed by past continuous. "While" expresses the idea of "during that time." Study the examples below. They have similar meanings, but they emphasize different parts of the sentence.

Examples:

• I was studying when she called.
• While I was studying, she called.

REMEMBER Non-Continuous Verbs / Mixed Verbs

It is important to remember that Non-continuous verbs cannot be used in any continuous tenses. Also, certain non-continuous meanings for mixed verbs cannot be used in continuous tenses. Instead of using past continuous with these verbs, you must use simple past.

Examples:

• Jane was being at my house when you arrived. Not Correct
• Jane was at my house when you arrived. Correct

ADVERB PLACEMENT

The examples below show the placement for grammar adverbs such as: always, only, never, ever, still, just, etc.

Examples:

• You were just studying when she called.
• Were you just studying when she called?

ACTIVE / PASSIVE

Examples:

• The salesman was helping the customer when the thief came into the store. Active
• The customer was being helped by the salesman when the thief came into the store. Passive

More About Active / Passive Forms

Past Continuous Exercises

Verb Tense Exercise 3	Simple Past and Past Continuous
Verb Tense Exercise 4	Simple Past and Past Continuous
Verb Tense Exercise 16	Present and Past Tenses with Non-Continuous Verbs
Verb Tense Exercise 17	Present and Past Tense Review
Verb Tense Practice Test	Cumulative Verb Tense Review
Verb Tense Final Test	Cumulative Verb Tense Review