Nível Intermediário › Limite de velocidade

PAST SIMPLE X PAST CONTINUOUS
Dialog: "Didn't you see the speed limit sign back there?"
"You were going 50 in a 30."

We use the past simple to talk about a completed activity that happened at a specific time in the past. We use the past continuous to talk about a continual activity in the past. We often use both the past simple and the past continuous in the same sentence to talk about a completed action that happened while another one was in progress in the past. Check out some examples.

1) PAST SIMPLE
FORM: SUBJECT + VERB (past)

• Joe studied Math for 3 hours last night. (O Joe estudou matemática por 3 horas ontem à noite.)
• Didn't they come back from Ireland last Sunday? (Eles não voltaram da Irlanda no domingo passado?)

2) PAST CONTINUOUS   
FORM: WAS/WERE + VERB (-ing)

• She was talking to her mom on the phone this morning. (Ela estava falando com a mãe dela no telefone esta manhã.)
• We were visiting family last week. (Nós estávamos visitando a família na semana passada.)

3) PAST SIMPLE WITH PAST CONTINUOUS

• I was cooking lunch when you arrived. (Eu estava cozinhando o almoçoquando você chegou.)
• Were you having dinner when I called you?
  (Você estava jantando quando eu te liguei?)
• Did you take a shower while I was working out? (Você tomou um banho enquanto eu estava malhando?)