PAST CONTINUOS TENSE AND SIMPLE PAST TENSE

THE PAST CONTINUOUS TENSE

The past continuous tense expresses action at a particular moment in the past. The action started before that moment but has not finished at that moment. When we use the past continuous tense, our listener usually knows or understands what time we are talking about.

the formula for this sentence is:

subject + verb tobe in past (was - were) + verb in present with "ing"+ complement

• I was working at 10pm last night.
• They were not playing football at 9am this morning.
• She was cooking when I telephoned her.
• We were having dinner when it started to rain.

The formula for sentences in question is:

verb tobe in past (was - were)+ subject + verb in present with "ing"+ complement

• was she swiming on sunday
• was I taking medicines the last week

SIMPLE PAST TENSE

The simple past expresses an action in the past taking place once, never, several times. It can also be used for actions taking place one after another or in the middle of another action.

subject + verb in past + complemtent

Use of Simple Past

• action in the past taking place once, never or several times
  Example: He visited his parents every weekend.
• actions in the past taking place one after the other
  Example: He came in, took off his coat and sat down.
• action in the past taking place in the middle of another action
  Example: When I was having breakfast, the phone suddenly rang.
• if sentences type II (If I talked, …)
  Example: If I had a lot of money, I would share it with you.
  

the formula for sentence in quiestion is

did+ subject + verb in present + complement

• Did she walk home?
• Did you work in the garden?
• Did Jenny lock the door?
• Did the car stop at the corner?