Past Simple or Past Continuous? 1. I (sit) on the bench for half an hour and then (begin) reading a...

In these sentences, we use both the Past Simple and the Past Continuous tenses to describe actions that were happening in the past.

1. I was sitting on the bench for half an hour and then began reading a book.
2. Did you see him this morning? Yes, he was standing in the hall laughing.
3. He came in and saw Nelly who was drawing a strange picture.
4. I did not understand what Mr. Green was doing.
5. Nick and Fred were driving along the road.
6. She set the table at six yesterday.
7. The businessman flew to England yesterday.
8. I did not hear what he was saying. I was typing at the moment.
9. When did it happen? It happened when you were talking to your secretary.
10. We were walking in silence for 5 minutes, then he spoke.
11. I told him he should not read while he was eating.
12. The mouse was hiding while the cat was watching.
13. The train struck an obstacle on the line, but it did not stop because it was traveling too fast at the time.
14. I was sitting in my garden yesterday when the servant came and said that a visitor was waiting for me in the hall.
15. He did not like to play while others were working.

Чтобы правильно выбрать между Past Simple и Past Continuous, важно понимать разницу между этими временами. Past Simple используется для действий, которые завершены в прошлом и обычно имеют указание на конкретное время. Past Continuous используется для действий, которые длились в определенный момент в прошлом или для описания фона, на котором происходило другое действие.

1. I was sitting on the bench for half an hour and then began reading a book.

   • Past Continuous для действия, которое длилось определенное время в прошлом, и Past Simple для действия, которое началось после завершения предыдущего.

2. You did you see him this morning? — Yes. He was standing in the hall laughing.

   • Past Simple для вопроса о завершенном действии и Past Continuous для описания продолжающегося действия в прошлом.

3. He came in and saw Nelly who was drawing a strange picture.

   • Past Simple для последовательных завершенных действий и Past Continuous для действия, которое происходило в момент другого действия.

4. I did not understand what Mr Green was doing.

   • Past Simple для выражения непонимания в прошлом и Past Continuous для действия, происходившего в тот момент.

5. Nick and Fred were driving along the road.

   • Past Continuous для длительного действия в прошлом.

6. She was setting the table at six yesterday.

   • Past Continuous для действия, происходившего в определенное время в прошлом.

7. The businessman flew to England yesterday.

   • Past Simple для завершенного действия в прошлом с указанием на конкретное время.

8. I did not hear what he was saying. I was typing at the moment.

   • Past Simple для завершенного действия и Past Continuous для двух одновременно происходивших действий.

9. When did it happen? It happened when you were talking to your secretary.

   • Past Simple для завершенных действий и Past Continuous для действия, происходившего в тот момент.

10. We were walking in silence for 5 minutes, then he spoke.

    • Past Continuous для длительного действия и Past Simple для действия, которое произошло после этого.

11. I told him he should not read while he was eating.

    • Past Simple для завершенного действия и Past Continuous для действия, происходившего одновременно с другим.

12. The mouse hid while the cat was watching.

    • Past Simple для завершенного действия и Past Continuous для действия, происходившего одновременно.

13. The train struck an obstacle on the line, but it did not stop because it was traveling too fast at the time.

    • Past Simple для завершенных действий и Past Continuous для фона действия.

14. I was sitting in my garden yesterday, when the servant came and said that a visitor was waiting for me in the hall.

    • Past Continuous для длительного действия, Past Simple для последовательных действий и Past Continuous для продолжающегося действия в тот момент.

15. He did not like to play while others were working.

    • Past Simple для выражения предпочтений и Past Continuous для действия, происходившего одновременно.