past progressive vs past simple

1. past simple

2. The past simple, or past simple, is one of the most important tenses in the English language and, unlike Spanish, in which verbs in the past have very different conjugations, in English there are verbs that retain their form in both the present as past, and the most irregular come to have only up to three forms.

3. example

4. Past simple: when to use

5. The past simple is used for sentences in which the idea, act, or state has already been completed. It could have ended five minutes ago or five centuries ago, the time of completion does not matter, the only important thing is that you talk about something that no longer happens or exists in the present.

6. A year ago, I ate in that restaurant. In 1970, The Beatles split up. When you were a child you liked apples.

7. The past progressive is used to describe what was happening when another action interrupted it.

8. As I was reading my book, the power went out. Estaba leyendo mi libro cuando se cortó la luz. While I was crossing the street, my cell phone rang. Al cruzar la calle, mi telefono celular sonó.

9. past progressive

10. The past progressive, also called the past continuous, is formed with the verb BE in the simple past (was, were) followed by a present participle. Here is the formula: subject + BE + (verb + ing).

11. example

12. subject BE present participle I was dreaming. Estaba soñando. The children were crying Los ninos estaban llorando.