Lesson 1 - Grammar - SHOPPING - Page3

Page1 Page2 Page3 Page4 Page5

Język angielski

Now read this dialogue.

Tim: So how did you get back home last night? Any adventures on the way?

Jack: I simply walked. It was only 15 minutes. Nice and quiet.

Tim: You were lucky then. I wanted to walk home as well but while I was walking I saw some guys fighting outside that bar so I took a taxi – thank God it was there – and got home safely. It was a bit expensive, though.

• Jack says: “I walked” in the simple past but Tim says: “I was walking” in the past continuous. Can you see why? Click on the explanation to see if you were right.

Jack was lucky – he walked all the way home without any trouble. His action was complete. Tim was less lucky – he wanted to walk but his action only started and it was interrupted by what he saw. So he never completed the action of walking home – in the middle of that action he took a taxi.

PAST CONTINUOUS

I/He/She/It	was	reading writing working
We/You/They	were

---

Look at some more examples showing the difference between the simple past and the past continuous.

I was watching TV when the phone rang.

I was walking to work when I met David.

While I was helping Tim with the luggage, I hurt my back.

---

Now look at this example. Can you see the difference between these two sentences? The children a chance to see the whole movie only in one of them. Can you guess in which one and why?

1. When the children arrived, we were watching a movie.

2. When the children arrived, we watched a movie.

• Click on the explanation to see if you were right.

In 2 First the children arrived and then we watched the movie. In 1 we had already started watching it before they arrived.

Język angielski

Page1 Page2 Page3 Page4 Page5