Unit 2: The Past Continuous vs. Past Simple : cours 1 Bac SM

1Course Learning Objectives

This section outlines the specific skills and knowledge students are expected to acquire by the end of this lesson, in alignment with the official Moroccan Ministry of National Education guidelines for the 1st Year Baccalaureate.

Objective 1: Past Simple Formation

Skill

Identify and correctly form the Past Simple tense for both regular verbs (add -ed) and irregular verbs (use memorized base forms) in the affirmative, negative, and interrogative forms.

Objective 2: Past Continuous Formation

Skill

Identify and correctly form the Past Continuous tense using was/were + verb-ing in the affirmative, negative, and interrogative forms.

Objective 3: Spelling Rules for ing

Skill

Apply the correct spelling rules when adding -ing to verbs (e.g., dropping a final silent -e, doubling the final consonant after a short vowel), avoiding common written errors in formal tasks.

Objective 4: Distinguishing the Two Tenses

Skill

Distinguish between the uses of the Past Simple — completed actions, sequences of events, and past habits — and the uses of the Past Continuous — ongoing/in-progress actions, parallel background actions, and scene-setting descriptions.

Objective 5: Time Markers

Skill

Recognize and correctly use time expressions associated with each tense: yesterday, last year, in 2010, at 8 p.m. (Past Simple); while, when, as, at that moment (Past Continuous / combined use).

Objective 6: 'When' and 'While' Clauses

Skill

Combine clauses using'when' and'while' to express interruption (a short Past Simple action interrupts a longer Past Continuous action) and simultaneity (two ongoing actions happening at the same time).

Objective 7: Stative Verbs

Skill

Identify common stative verbs (e.g., know, want, believe, have, see) and understand why they are not used in continuous forms, applying this rule accurately in both written and oral production.

Objective 8: Written Production

Skill

Produce coherent sentences and short paragraphs describing past events, combining the Past Simple and Past Continuous appropriately — a key competency assessed in the Regional Examination (épreuve régionale).

	$Learning Objective$	$Key Language Focus$	$Assessed In$
$1$	$Form the Past Simple$	$Regular & irregular verbs; did/didn't$	$Written exercises, dictation$
$2$	$Form the Past Continuous$	$was/were + V-ing$	$Gap-fill, sentence writing$
$3$	$Apply -ing spelling rules$	$Double consonant, drop -e$	$Written production$
$4$	$Distinguish uses$	$Completed vs. ongoing actions$	$Multiple choice, transformation$
$5$	$Use time markers$	$yesterday, while, when, as\dots$	$Sentence completion$
$6$	$Combine with when/while$	$Interruption & simultaneity$	$Paragraph writing$
$7$	$Identify stative verbs$	$No continuous form$	$Error correction$
$8$	$Write about past events$	$Coherent paragraph$	$Regional Examination$

Overview of Course Learning Objectives — Unit 2: Past Continuous vs. Past Simple (1st Year Baccalaureate, MA 2025-2026)

By the end of this unit, students will be able to use both tenses accurately and appropriately in a variety of contexts — from answering grammar exercises to writing structured paragraphs about past events. These objectives are directly aligned with the competency framework of the Moroccan Ministry of National Education for the 1st Year Baccalaureate (all streams), and with the types of tasks encountered in the Regional and National Examinations .

Before engaging with this lesson, students should confirm they are comfortable with the following foundational grammar points, which are directly required for understanding and applying both tenses.

SVO Structure

Every English sentence follows a basic pattern: Subject + Verb + Object . Example: She (S) watched (V) a film (O). This structure is the backbone of all the sentences you will build when using the Past Simple and Past Continuous.

Tense

A grammatical category that locates an action or state in time : past (before now), present (now), or future (after now). In this unit we focus exclusively on two past tenses.

Base Form (Infinitive)

The dictionary form of a verb, without any ending or auxiliary: go, see, play, write . All tense forms are built from this base form.

Subject-Verb Agreement

The verb must match its subject. With the verb to be in the present: I am / he is / they are . These present forms are the direct foundation for the past forms was (I/he/she/it) and were (you/we/they), which build the Past Continuous.

Regular vs. Irregular Verbs

Regular verbs form the Past Simple by adding -ed to the base form: play \to played, watch \to watched . Irregular verbs have unpredictable past forms that must be memorised: go \to went, see \to saw, eat \to ate, write \to wrote .

Auxiliary Verb

A 'helper' verb used alongside a main verb to form questions, negatives, or certain tense forms. In this unit: did (Past Simple negatives/questions) and was/were (Past Continuous).

SVO Sentence Pattern

Positive

She played football. \to S + V + O

Negative

She did not play football. \to S + auxiliary (did not) + base form + O

Question

Did she play football? \to auxiliary (Did) + S + base form + O?

$Pronoun$	$Present 'to be'$	$Past 'to be'$	$Used in Past Continuous$
$I$	$am$	$was$	$I was running.$
$He / She / It$	$is$	$was$	$She was sleeping.$
$You / We / They$	$are$	$were$	$They were talking.$

Subject–verb agreement: present 'to be' → past 'to be' (foundation for the Past Continuous)

$Type$	$Base Form$	$Past Simple Form$	$Example Sentence$
$Regular$	$play$	$played$	$He played tennis yesterday.$
$Regular$	$watch$	$watched$	$We watched a movie last night.$
$Regular$	$walk$	$walked$	$She walked to school.$
$Irregular$	$go$	$went$	$They went to the market.$
$Irregular$	$see$	$saw$	$I saw my friend at the café.$
$Irregular$	$eat$	$ate$	$He ate breakfast early.$
$Irregular$	$write$	$wrote$	$She wrote a letter.$

Regular vs. irregular verbs: base form → Past Simple form

Role of Auxiliary Verbs

did — Past Simple

Used to form negatives and questions in the Past Simple. When did is present, the main verb returns to its base form : Did he go? / She did not go.

was / were — Past Continuous

Used as the auxiliary to build the Past Continuous. They are followed by the present participle (verb + -ing): He was reading. / They were playing.

Quick Self Check

Can you identify the subject and verb in a sentence?

Do you know whether a verb is regular or irregular?

Can you produce the past form of was/were from the present am/is/are ?

Do you know when to use did vs. was/were as the auxiliary?

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