This page teaches you what the past simple and past continuous are, and how/when to use them.
I watched TV.
I was watching TV.
What is the difference between the two sentences shown above?
I watched TV. is in the past simple. (verleden tijd)
I was watching TV. is in the past continuous. (onvoltooid verleden tijd)
Past Simple
When do we use the past simple?
We use the past simple when we talk about something that has already happened. With a focus on the fact that the event has already finished.
- I walked to the train station yesterday. This happened yesterday, and you have finished walking to the train station, so the event has also ended in the past.
- My father drank four glasses of milk this morning. This happened this morning, it is in the past and the father has stopped drinking milk so the event has ended in the past.
How do we apply the past simple?
Regular verbs (regelmatige werkwoorden):
subject (onderwerp) + infinitive (hele werkwoord) + -ed
- I (subject) washed (infinitive + -ed) all my clothes yesterday.
Irregular verbs (onregelmatige werkwoorden):
Irregular verbs change when you put them in the past tense, the table below shows a few examples.
Table 1: Irregular verbs
Irregular verb | Past simple |
Catch | Caught |
Eat | Ate |
Drink | Drank |
Become | Became |
subject (onderwerp) + irregular verb
- I (subject) ate (irregular verb) with my friends yesterday.
- They (subject) sang (irregular verb) together throughout high school.
Table 2: Past simple
Subject | Regular verb: Dance | Irregular verb: Buy |
I | Danced | Bought |
You | Danced | Bought |
He/She/It | Danced | Bought |
They/We | Danced | Bought |
The table above shows how the past simple is used with both regular and irregular verbs.
A list of irregular verbs will be uploaded to Magister, in that way you know which verbs are irregular and which aren't.
Past Continuous
When do we use the past continuous?
We use the past continuous to talk about a long event or action that was in progress in the past. With a focus on the fact that it was happening in the past. We use it to describe something that was going on, this can also happen during something else.
- I was watching TV when my mother came home from work. You were busy watching TV, this is an action that was in progress in the past, it was happening at the moment your mother came home.
- They were working in the garden when it started to rain. This is an action that was going on in the past, it was happening at the moment it started to rain.
How do we apply the past continuous?
The formula for applying the past continuous is the same as for the present continuous:
subject (onderwerp) + to be + verb (werkwoord) + -ing
The only difference is that ''to be'' now has to be in the past tense, the table below shows how to conjugate (vervoegen) it.
Table 3: Past tense ''to be''.
Subject (Onderwerp) | Past tense ''To be'' |
I | Was |
You | Were |
He/She/It | Was |
They/We | Were |
The form of ''to be''(was or were) always comes after the subject, followed by the verb + -ing.
I was reading.
You were talking.
She was talking.
They were reading.
Back to where we started.
You should be able to explain why ''I watched TV'' is in the past simple and why ''I was watching TV'' is in the past continuous.
''I watched TV'' is in the past simple because it happened in the past and you have finished doing it.
''I was watching TV'' is in the past continuous because it is an event that was in progress in the past, you were watching TV at that moment.