Grammar

Past Tenses

Past simple and past continuous

Past continuous

talks about a temporary situation that existed at or around a particular time in the past

• At the time of the robbery, they were staying with my parents.

• My head was aching again, so I went home.

• She was shaking with anger as she left the hotel.

• When he realized I was looking at him, he turned away.

• Erika dropped her bag while she was getting into her car.

Past simple

talks about a permanent or long-term situation that existed in the past.

• When I was a child I played the violin, (not ...I was playing...).

• He worked hard all his life, (not …. He was working...).

Who do you think these people are? Where do you think they are? Who do you think they are talking to?

I was walking along a path with two friends. The sun was setting. Suddenly the sky turned blood red. I paused, feeling exhausted, and leaned on the fence. There was blood and tongues of fire above the blue-black fjord and the city. My friends walked on, and I stood there trembling with anxiety and I sensed an infinite scream passing through nature.

The text comes from an 1892 diary entry from Norwegian artist Edvard Munch. It describes a recurring vision that was said to haunt the artist. It was also the inspiration for his most famous painting The Scream. On 2nd May 2012, a version of the painting was sold by auction for $120 million. This put it in the list of most expensive paintings ever sold.Source: http://lessonstream.org/2012/05/06/the-scream/

Examine the diary entry:

• How many past simple structures can you identify in the text?

• How many past continuous structures can you identify in the text?

What are these?

• I paused, feeling exhausted

• I stood there trembling with anxiety

• I sensed an infinite scream passingthrough nature