Get ready for your B1 exam with my Intermediate English Master Course - 50% OFF until 1st December! stan.store/EnglishWithEm/p/level-up-your-english-with-this-amazing-course Download your FREE Idioms and Expressions Weekly Planner, and check out my Complete Guide to the English Verb Tenses: stan.store/EnglishWithEm 🌻 Download your FREE 'PRACTICE EXERCISES & ANSWER KEY' from my website: www.englishwithem.com/past-tenses For more examples and a QUIZ watch my video PAST SIMPLE and PAST CONTINUOUS + QUIZ: ruclips.net/video/ugb1cQ6xeYk/видео.html
Respected Ma'am, being the greatest grammarian of this generation, you are earnestly entreated with folded hands to let me know the difference between the two sentences -The rain was pouring when I left the house Vs The rain had been pouring when I left the house.Another set of questions -We were sleeping on the bus when the accident happened VS We had been sleeping when the accident happened.Ma,am, do please crystallize my vague ideas into definite ones.
Hi, I'm not sure how I missed this comment. I think I already have 'past continuous + past perfect continuous' on my list of videos to make, but if not, I will add it 😊🌻
Thank you very much. Your lesson is very comprehensible and make it seem rather simple. I have watched a lot of videos on this subject, but only when watched yours it started to make sense. 😊
You're welcome, and thank you for the lovely feedback. My main aim with these videos is to be as clear as possible and remove the confusion, so that's really nice to hear. 😊🌻
I have heard many native speakers are using when with past continuous ,for example when he was visiting London, he wanted to buy a sweater. Would you explain to me this case please?
Hi, the thing about native speakers is that we often break the rules when it comes to grammar. Strictly speaking, it should be 'while' before the past continuous, but it's also pretty common to use 'when'. If you are doing an exam, it's best to follow the rule, but aside from that, it isn't important. Things to note: We never use 'when' to talk about 2+ simultaneous actions - She was singing while she was cooking. ✔️ She was singing when she was cooking. ❌ We never use 'while' before the past simple - She was cleaning the kitchen when the doorbell rang. ✔️ She was cleaning the kitchen while the doorbell rang. ❌
Hello Em ! I'm Erody, following your explanation, I can't make the correct answer with that sentence, " He ……… (break) his leg when he ………. (ski). " I'm glade if you could help me, thanks
Hi Erody. I've seen your email, but I'm responding here so the answer can benefit others. Think about which action was longer? Skiing is generally an activity that happens over a period of time. I've never been skiing, but I think most sessions last around 2-3 hours. Breaking your leg is an action that happens suddenly. When we combine the past simple and past continuous, it is the longer action that is in the continuous form, and the sudden, interrupting action in the past simple: He broke his leg when/while he was skiing. (Technically, it should be 'while', but many native speakers use both 'when' and 'while' before the past continuous). Does this make sense? 😊🌻
@@EnglishWithEm I still appreciate your explanation, maybe I didn't understand what you said in the video after "when" we always use paste simple tens, because the sentence that I gave you the past simple came before the "when" (He broke his leg When.....) that's why I was wrong because, I put the past continuous tense first (He was breaking his leg When) and I would put the simple past the second sentence because it is after "When". Now I think this is the third method that I could have used for this even if it was While, thank you so much ☺
hi, yesterday i received a letter, the stamp was two years old , letter was travelling for two years or letter travelled for two years ? Which is correct? Regards
In this case, I would use the past perfect continuous tense - the letter had been travelling for 2 years when it arrived. I haven't done any videos on this tense yet. We use it when we want to say that an action had been in progress for a specified amount of time (had been travelling) before another past action (arrived).
Respected Ma'am, you are earnestly entreated to solve the following grammatical issue -The sun---(rise) when he --(leave) the place.(Fill in the blanks with Past simple or Past Continuous tense)
I'd say 'The sun was rising when he left the place.' The sun rising is a longer action than leaving a place, generally speaking. That said, some people can take a very long time to leave! If the person in question took a very long time to leave, and the sunrise was complete by the time he had gone, you could say 'The sun rose while he was leaving the place.'
Hello, i have been studying english for about a month and i have a little question, can i say “i was training for 2 hours” or i need to use past perf cont? Or past perf continuous only works with another action in the past? Or should i say it in past simple?
Hi! It depends on the situation. You would use the past perfect continuous (had been training) if you wanted to emphasise the amount of time you had been training when another action happened. For the following examples, let’s imagine that ‘training’ means ‘working out in the gym’. ‘I had been training for 2 hours when I hurt my knee.’ In this case, you stop the action (training) when the other action happens (hurt your knee). You would use the past continuous (was training) if you wanted to say what you were doing at a specific time in the past - ‘I was training at 3 o’clock this afternoon.’ In this case, you wouldn’t say ‘for 2 hours’ because we are not interested in how long the action was in progress. You could also use the past continuous if the action was interrupted by another past action - ‘I was training when my friend called me’. Again, in this case, we don’t say ‘for 2 hours’. If you are still doing the action, or have finished very recently, you could use the present perfect continuous - ‘I have been training for 2 hours’.
You would use the past simple (I trained) if you were telling someone about a finished past action and the order of events was clear. Imagine someone asked you what you did yesterday and you reply - ‘I went to work, then I trained for 2 hours, then I met a friend for coffee, and then I went home for dinner.’
@@EnglishWithEm thanks for answer, i have one more question, how can i say “they have been working all their life” but if i mean what they dont work anymore? What will be such sentence looks like?
@@shakalakabum3927 if you want to say that they don't work anymore, you would use the past simple - 'they worked their whole life' You would use 'life' if you were referring to a couple who had a life together, but 'lives' if you were referring to people who had different lives, such as colleagues.
@@EnglishWithEm thant you very much! In general, as i understood, in simple sentences we can use period of time (for hours, for years etc.) with past simple
Hi Akshat, in this case you should use 'I'm going to listen to her songs when I'm happy or depressed. If you say 'I'm going to be listening to...' it indicates that you will be feelig happy or depressed at a specific time in the future. 'I'm going to be listening to her songs at 10 o'clock this evening when I am depressed.' This would be an unusual thing to say, because we don't usually know in advance when we are going to be feeling happy or depressed.
@@EnglishWithEm sorry to bother you again, but why did you use "when we are going to be feeling" in the last line. Can I say "when we are going to feel."?
@@akshatmukundam974 if you use the continuous form 'going to be feeling' instead of 'going to feel', you are being more specific about the time. I used it because I was saying that we don't usually know the very specific time that we are going to be feeling a certain way. There are some situations where you could say 'going to be feeling'. A current example could be used to talk about the Covid-19 vaccine. Many people felt unwell the day after having the vaccine, so it would be reasonable to predict that at that specific time you are going to feel unwell. You could say, 'I'm getting vaccinated today, so I think tomorrow I'm going to be feeling unwell.'
@@faizulla5838 Hi Faizulla, that's a good idea. This is a popular video, so I will work on another one of the same topic (part 2) with more examples :-)
Hello, I apologize for disturbing you, I have a question "I couldn't move because he had Blocked my way" or "I couldn't move because he was blocking my way". They both make sense but how are they different? Also, "They can't find any paper because he has hidden them all" or "They can't find any paper because he is hiding them". How are they different? Or, I am not editing this vs I have not edited this. Also, why people say " He is using a good vocabulary in his speech" when the person has already given his speech. Shouldn't it be "He has used a good vocabulary in his speech"? Or, I sometimes hear people say "He is writing his answers in English", when he has already written his answers? Shouldn't it be "He has written his answers in English" Hope you are not pissed at me for asking you so many questions.
Hi Mark, ‘I couldn’t move because he had blocked my way’, is incorrect. We used the past perfect ‘he had blocked my way’, to indicate that an action finished before another action. In this case, the 2 actions are happening simultaneously, so the only correct way to say it is the second way, ‘I couldn’t move because he was blocking my way’ (use of the past simple + past continuous shows that one past action interrupted another past action). ‘They can’t find any paper because he has hidden it all’, means that he hid the paper in the recent past. He is not actively hiding it now, but it remains hidden because it hasn’t been found yet. He could be in the room, or he could be somewhere else. ‘They can’t find any paper because he is hiding it’, means he is actively hiding it now. Maybe he has put it in his bag, or behind his back. In this situation, we imagine the person is in the room with the paper, but he is hiding the paper. ‘I am not editing this’ - to me this has a future meaning. We often use the present continuous to talk about a future that is certain (I definitely have no plans to edit this document). Alternatively, it could mean in the present moment. Right now I am not editing this. I am only reading it. ‘I have not edited this’ - this means that the document is in the same state as it was when you received it and you have not made any changes. ‘He is using a good vocabulary in his speech’ - you are right. If the speech has already been given, this is incorrect. Also, ‘vocabulary’ is uncountable, so there is no article. If the speech is finished, I would use the past simple - He used (some) good vocabulary in his speech. ‘He is writing his answers in English’ - you are right. I wouldn’t say this if he has finished writing. If he finished writing his answers, I would say ‘He has written his answers in English.’ When we use the present perfect, we are referring to a past action that has a present result - he has written his answers in English. In the case of ‘he has used some good vocabulary in his speech’, there isn’t a present result that I can think of, so the past simple (he used…) is more appropriate.
In this case, 'while' is correct because it is followed by the past continuous. 2 past continuous clauses together show that the actions happened simultaneously.
Hi! To understand this, it is necessary to consider the question that is being answered. With the past simple, the question could be 'When did you live in England?' 'I lived in England from 1995 to 2000.' The focus is not on a specific time period. With the past continuous, the question could be 'Where were you living between 1995 and 2000?' 'I was living in England.' The focus of the question is that specific time period.
!['USED TO DO' vs 'USED TO DOING' - What's the difference? + QUIZ [Learn English grammar]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/qgDj93zBBd4/mqdefault.jpg)
!['USED TO DO' vs 'USED TO DOING' - What's the difference? + QUIZ [Learn English grammar]](/img/tr.png)
Get ready for your B1 exam with my Intermediate English Master Course - 50% OFF until 1st December! stan.store/EnglishWithEm/p/level-up-your-english-with-this-amazing-course
Download your FREE Idioms and Expressions Weekly Planner, and check out my Complete Guide to the English Verb Tenses: stan.store/EnglishWithEm 🌻
Download your FREE 'PRACTICE EXERCISES & ANSWER KEY' from my website: www.englishwithem.com/past-tenses
For more examples and a QUIZ watch my video PAST SIMPLE and PAST CONTINUOUS + QUIZ: ruclips.net/video/ugb1cQ6xeYk/видео.html
Respected Ma'am, being the greatest grammarian of this generation, you are earnestly entreated with folded hands to let me know the difference between the two sentences -The rain was pouring when I left the house Vs The rain had been pouring when I left the house.Another set of questions -We were sleeping on the bus when the accident happened VS We had been sleeping when the accident happened.Ma,am, do please crystallize my vague ideas into definite ones.
Hi, I'm not sure how I missed this comment. I think I already have 'past continuous + past perfect continuous' on my list of videos to make, but if not, I will add it 😊🌻
Thanks a lot Em !, I'm in Madagacar
My pleasure 😊🌻
Thank you very much. Your lesson is very comprehensible and make it seem rather simple. I have watched a lot of videos on this subject, but only when watched yours it started to make sense. 😊
You're welcome, and thank you for the lovely feedback. My main aim with these videos is to be as clear as possible and remove the confusion, so that's really nice to hear. 😊🌻
Oh, I just leaned so great things from your video. I appreciate you. I hope that you make more video like this on your channel.❤
Thank you! That's the plan. I've been making shorts lately due to lack of time, but I hope to start posting longer content again very soon 😊🌻
while with the continuous
and when with the simple
was a new trick that i ve learned in this class
Hi Raihan, I'm glad you found the video helpful! 😊🌻
Very useful, I subscribed and use your worksheets as well. Thanks!
Thank you! You're very welcome 😊🌻
Exceptionally organized lesson that I've ever seen. Thank you Ma'am ❤️🎉❤...!
Thanks! You're very welcome 😊🌻
Can i get a hii from the queen?
Hi! 👋😊🌻
Speaking of queens, I can't get used to the Queen being dead. I still refer to her often and have to remind myself that now it's the King! 😬
I have heard many native speakers are using when with past continuous ,for example when he was visiting London, he wanted to buy a sweater. Would you explain to me this case please?
Hi, the thing about native speakers is that we often break the rules when it comes to grammar. Strictly speaking, it should be 'while' before the past continuous, but it's also pretty common to use 'when'. If you are doing an exam, it's best to follow the rule, but aside from that, it isn't important.
Things to note:
We never use 'when' to talk about 2+ simultaneous actions -
She was singing while she was cooking. ✔️
She was singing when she was cooking. ❌
We never use 'while' before the past simple -
She was cleaning the kitchen when the doorbell rang. ✔️
She was cleaning the kitchen while the doorbell rang. ❌
Very good video and thank you❤
Thank you! You're welcome 😊🌻
Hello Em ! I'm Erody, following your explanation, I can't make the correct answer with that sentence, " He ……… (break) his leg when he ………. (ski). "
I'm glade if you could help me, thanks
Hi Erody. I've seen your email, but I'm responding here so the answer can benefit others.
Think about which action was longer? Skiing is generally an activity that happens over a period of time. I've never been skiing, but I think most sessions last around 2-3 hours.
Breaking your leg is an action that happens suddenly.
When we combine the past simple and past continuous, it is the longer action that is in the continuous form, and the sudden, interrupting action in the past simple:
He broke his leg when/while he was skiing. (Technically, it should be 'while', but many native speakers use both 'when' and 'while' before the past continuous).
Does this make sense?
😊🌻
@@EnglishWithEm
I still appreciate your explanation, maybe I didn't understand what you said in the video after "when" we always use paste simple tens, because the sentence that I gave you the past simple came before the "when" (He broke his leg When.....) that's why I was wrong because, I put the past continuous tense first (He was breaking his leg When) and I would put the simple past the second sentence because it is after "When".
Now I think this is the third method that I could have used for this even if it was While,
thank you so much
☺
@@erodyindrona8346 Glad I could help 😊🌻
hi, yesterday i received a letter, the stamp was two years old , letter was travelling for two years or letter travelled for two years ? Which is correct? Regards
In this case, I would use the past perfect continuous tense - the letter had been travelling for 2 years when it arrived. I haven't done any videos on this tense yet. We use it when we want to say that an action had been in progress for a specified amount of time (had been travelling) before another past action (arrived).
Hello. How are you?
All your lessons are very useful and excellent.
Thank you very much.
Hi! I'm not too bad, thank you. How about you? I'm glad you enjoy the lessons, and you are very welcome! 😊🌻
Respected Ma'am, you are earnestly entreated to solve the following grammatical issue -The sun---(rise) when he --(leave) the place.(Fill in the blanks with Past simple or Past Continuous tense)
I'd say 'The sun was rising when he left the place.' The sun rising is a longer action than leaving a place, generally speaking. That said, some people can take a very long time to leave! If the person in question took a very long time to leave, and the sunrise was complete by the time he had gone, you could say 'The sun rose while he was leaving the place.'
thanks a lot
My pleasure 😊🌻
I am . Proud and successful with you
Thank you 😊😊😊
Hello, i have been studying english for about a month and i have a little question, can i say “i was training for 2 hours” or i need to use past perf cont?
Or past perf continuous only works with another action in the past?
Or should i say it in past simple?
I mean, can i use past cont or past simple with period of time?
Hi! It depends on the situation. You would use the past perfect continuous (had been training) if you wanted to emphasise the amount of time you had been training when another action happened. For the following examples, let’s imagine that ‘training’ means ‘working out in the gym’. ‘I had been training for 2 hours when I hurt my knee.’ In this case, you stop the action (training) when the other action happens (hurt your knee).
You would use the past continuous (was training) if you wanted to say what you were doing at a specific time in the past - ‘I was training at 3 o’clock this afternoon.’ In this case, you wouldn’t say ‘for 2 hours’ because we are not interested in how long the action was in progress.
You could also use the past continuous if the action was interrupted by another past action - ‘I was training when my friend called me’. Again, in this case, we don’t say ‘for 2 hours’.
If you are still doing the action, or have finished very recently, you could use the present perfect continuous - ‘I have been training for 2 hours’.
You would use the past simple (I trained) if you were telling someone about a finished past action and the order of events was clear. Imagine someone asked you what you did yesterday and you reply - ‘I went to work, then I trained for 2 hours, then I met a friend for coffee, and then I went home for dinner.’
@@EnglishWithEm thanks for answer, i have one more question, how can i say “they have been working all their life” but if i mean what they dont work anymore? What will be such sentence looks like?
@@shakalakabum3927 if you want to say that they don't work anymore, you would use the past simple - 'they worked their whole life'
You would use 'life' if you were referring to a couple who had a life together, but 'lives' if you were referring to people who had different lives, such as colleagues.
@@EnglishWithEm thant you very much! In general, as i understood, in simple sentences we can use period of time (for hours, for years etc.) with past simple
Hello madam,
I am going to be listing to her / going to listen to her songs when I am happy or depressed.
Which one should I use?
Hi Akshat, in this case you should use 'I'm going to listen to her songs when I'm happy or depressed.
If you say 'I'm going to be listening to...' it indicates that you will be feelig happy or depressed at a specific time in the future. 'I'm going to be listening to her songs at 10 o'clock this evening when I am depressed.' This would be an unusual thing to say, because we don't usually know in advance when we are going to be feeling happy or depressed.
@@EnglishWithEm thanks madam 😄
@@EnglishWithEm sorry to bother you again, but why did you use "when we are going to be feeling" in the last line. Can I say "when we are going to feel."?
@@akshatmukundam974 you're welcome!
@@akshatmukundam974 if you use the continuous form 'going to be feeling' instead of 'going to feel', you are being more specific about the time. I used it because I was saying that we don't usually know the very specific time that we are going to be feeling a certain way.
There are some situations where you could say 'going to be feeling'. A current example could be used to talk about the Covid-19 vaccine. Many people felt unwell the day after having the vaccine, so it would be reasonable to predict that at that specific time you are going to feel unwell.
You could say, 'I'm getting vaccinated today, so I think tomorrow I'm going to be feeling unwell.'
ur the best thank you alot!
You're very welcome!
Fantabulous mam
Thank you! 😊😊😊
NICE , and Thanks
You're very welcome!
@@EnglishWithEmHi, If you abgreate yours video and + more exsamples, no 1-2.... this Nice will be very Nice
👍🏻😎
@@faizulla5838 Hi Faizulla, that's a good idea. This is a popular video, so I will work on another one of the same topic (part 2) with more examples :-)
@@EnglishWithEm Mmmm, sorry, bring me link... pls
ouuuw, I had it.... thanks. 😘
Hello, I apologize for disturbing you, I have a question
"I couldn't move because he had Blocked my way" or "I couldn't move because he was blocking my way". They both make sense but how are they different?
Also, "They can't find any paper because he has hidden them all" or "They can't find any paper because he is hiding them". How are they different? Or, I am not editing this vs I have not edited this.
Also, why people say " He is using a good vocabulary in his speech" when the person has already given his speech. Shouldn't it be "He has used a good vocabulary in his speech"?
Or, I sometimes hear people say "He is writing his answers in English", when he has already written his answers? Shouldn't it be "He has written his answers in English"
Hope you are not pissed at me for asking you so many questions.
Hi Mark, ‘I couldn’t move because he had blocked my way’, is incorrect. We used the past perfect ‘he had blocked my way’, to indicate that an action finished before another action. In this case, the 2 actions are happening simultaneously, so the only correct way to say it is the second way, ‘I couldn’t move because he was blocking my way’ (use of the past simple + past continuous shows that one past action interrupted another past action).
‘They can’t find any paper because he has hidden it all’, means that he hid the paper in the recent past. He is not actively hiding it now, but it remains hidden because it hasn’t been found yet. He could be in the room, or he could be somewhere else.
‘They can’t find any paper because he is hiding it’, means he is actively hiding it now. Maybe he has put it in his bag, or behind his back. In this situation, we imagine the person is in the room with the paper, but he is hiding the paper.
‘I am not editing this’ - to me this has a future meaning. We often use the present continuous to talk about a future that is certain (I definitely have no plans to edit this document). Alternatively, it could mean in the present moment. Right now I am not editing this. I am only reading it.
‘I have not edited this’ - this means that the document is in the same state as it was when you received it and you have not made any changes.
‘He is using a good vocabulary in his speech’ - you are right. If the speech has already been given, this is incorrect. Also, ‘vocabulary’ is uncountable, so there is no article. If the speech is finished, I would use the past simple - He used (some) good vocabulary in his speech.
‘He is writing his answers in English’ - you are right. I wouldn’t say this if he has finished writing. If he finished writing his answers, I would say ‘He has written his answers in English.’
When we use the present perfect, we are referring to a past action that has a present result - he has written his answers in English. In the case of ‘he has used some good vocabulary in his speech’, there isn’t a present result that I can think of, so the past simple (he used…) is more appropriate.
nice
Thanks 😊🌻
(sorry for the extremely delayed reply 🙈)
It was raining when / while I was going to my school.
In this case, 'while' is correct because it is followed by the past continuous. 2 past continuous clauses together show that the actions happened simultaneously.
👍
Thanks 😊🌻
What is the difference between I lived in England from 1995 to 2000 and I was living in England from 1995 to 2000
Hi! To understand this, it is necessary to consider the question that is being answered.
With the past simple, the question could be 'When did you live in England?' 'I lived in England from 1995 to 2000.' The focus is not on a specific time period.
With the past continuous, the question could be 'Where were you living between 1995 and 2000?' 'I was living in England.' The focus of the question is that specific time period.
@@EnglishWithEm thank you so much
@@noon010 You're very welcome! 😊🌻