Past Simple: the main events

The Past Simple is the backbone of a story. Each verb is a finished event, and the events follow one another in the order you tell them.

verb + -ed / irregular form · didn't + base verb · Did … + base verb?

• The goalkeeper jumped, caught the ball and threw it to the captain.
• Suddenly a dog ran onto the pitch.
• In the last minute our team scored, and everyone went wild.

Past Continuous: the background

The Past Continuous does not move the story forward. It shows what was already happening around the main event — the scene, the weather, what people were doing at that moment.

was / were + verb-ing

• The sun was shining, and thousands of spectators were waiting for the race.
• I was tying my shoelaces when the coach called my name.
• While the other team was celebrating, we quietly left the pitch.

Verbs that describe states, such as know, believe, want and like, are not normally used in the continuous: say I believed in my lucky number, not I was believing.