Past simple vs past continuous — English+ free lesson

1 Warm-up — last lesson, moved into the past

Last time: present simple vs. present continuous. Today is the exact same logic — just applied to things that already happened.

1. Last lesson, "is watching" was an example of…

2. And "watches" was an example of…

3. If "is working" is present continuous, what do you think "was working" is called?

💡 Same underlying idea, same logic — just shifted one tense back. If today feels familiar, that's exactly the point.

2 Quick check — before we explain anything

Four quick questions. This isn't graded harshly — it just shows us where to focus.

1. While I ___ dinner, the phone rang.

2. She ___ the report yesterday afternoon.

3. At midnight, they ___ still discussing the results.

4. He ___ to Berlin three times last year.

3 The concept

Two very different jobs (same split as before)

Past Simple answers "What happened?" — a completed event, done and finished. Past Continuous answers "What was already going on?" — the background scene, or an action already in progress when something else happened. Browse each below, or test yourself with Quick check.

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Tense

✅ Past Simple: subject + verb+ed (or irregular) — e.g. "The researcher published the paper in 1955."

✅ Past Continuous: subject + was/were + verb-ing — e.g. "She was reviewing the data when she noticed it."

Past Simple

Past Continuous

🎯 The tricky part: a "when" clause doesn't automatically decide the tense either — it depends on what actually happened. Ask yourself: was something already in progress when the interruption hit, or did one thing simply happen, then another?

✅ "When the phone rang, I was taking a shower." — the shower was already in progress; the ring interrupted it. Continuous.
✅ "When the phone rang, I answered it." — one thing, then the next, in sequence. Simple.

Same word ("when"), same structure — different tense, because what's actually happening in each sentence is different. Pay attention to this exact contrast in the practice section below.

💡 Quick reminder from Lesson 1: stative verbs (know, believe, want, seem…) still don't take "-ing," even in the past. ✅ "I knew the answer" — ❌ "I was knowing the answer."

Try it: which signal word goes with which tense?

Click a signal word's matching tense. Instant feedback.

4 Reading — How the Placebo Effect Was Discovered

Tap a highlighted word for pronunciation, meaning and a fresh example. Once grammar highlighting is on, tap a highlighted sentence to see why that tense was used.

Did you follow it? Quick comprehension check

1. Why did the nurse give the soldier saline solution?

2. What did Beecher notice while reviewing old medical trials?

3. What changed in medical research after Beecher's 1955 paper?

5 Vocabulary check

All nine words from the text — mixed formats.

Match the meaning

1. "Astonishment" means…

2. A "phenomenon" is…

3. If something "unsettled" people, it…

4. If you "witnessed" something, you…

5. "Investigating" something means…

Complete the sentence — vocabulary focus

6. A short break can tension before a big presentation.

7. The report failed to seasonal demand.

8. They the onboarding process from scratch last year.

9. Their customer service became the in the industry.

6 Practice

Gap-fill

Grammar focus — past simple or continuous?

1. At 8pm last night, I (cook) dinner when the smoke alarm went off.

2. Beecher (publish) his findings in 1955.

3. While the nurse (prepare) the injection, she realised the morphine was gone.

4. Researchers (redesign) their trials after the discovery.

5. I (not/expect) such a strong reaction from the team.

6. At that exact moment, two teams (test) the same theory independently.

Find the error

Each sentence has one tense mistake. Tap the word (or words) that are wrong.

Sentence 1

Sentence 2

Sentence 3

Sentence 4

Sentence builder

Tap the chips in the right order. Three rounds.

7 Speaking task

60-second story

Describe something that happened to you yesterday. Use past simple for the main events, and past continuous for whatever was already going on in the background. Aim for at least 3 sentences of each.

8 Listening

Anna and Tomasz are talking about the placebo effect discovery — right after reading about it.

1. Why did the nurse give the soldier salt water?

2. What was Beecher doing when he noticed the pattern?

3. What does Tomasz say at the end?

9 Wrap-up — exit check

1. I ___ TV when you called.

2. She ___ her degree in 2019.

3. They ___ the deal when it suddenly fell through.

4. While I ___ notes, my colleague was setting up the projector.

5. The company ___ three new products last quarter.

Your lesson summary

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Lesson quiz — find out what stuck

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