I am the ghost of terminators past. Learn the difference between the past tense and past progressive today; otherwise, it’s hasta la vista for you.

It's no fun getting terminated, so let's have a good look at the difference between the Past Tense and the Past Progressive. First of all, you will notice some structural similarity between the formation of the Present Tense and the Past Tense. Let's check this out.

Simple Present & Present Progressive

Gabriela	dreams	about her boyfriend every night.
Siena	is dreaming	now.

Simple Past & Past Progressive

Gabriela	dreamed	about her boyfriend last night.
Siena	was dreaming	then.

As you can see, the form of the Present Progressive and the Past Progressive is very similar. In both cases we use a form of the verb BE, that is, is or are for the Present and was or were for the Past. Also, in both cases we use a present participle (an -ing form of the verb).

Do you need more examples? OK. Let's have a look at a few more.

• Aleyna hugged Fazli last night.
• Peter Pan was hugging his Teddy Bear last night.
• Kassandra ate a Subway sandwich yesterday for lunch.
• Eleazar's dog was eating a cockroach during the night.

Alright, student. Is this clear to you? Yes? Good. So, I will not have to terminate you yet.

But there is still more to learn. We often use the words when and while with the Past and Past Progressive tenses.

Use when to introduce an action that ends immediately. Use while to introduce two actions that happen at the same time continuously.

• I was watching a soccer game on TV while drinking a cold beer.
• When my alarm clock rang, it was 6:00 AM.

OK. Now, it's time to test your knowledge of the Past Tense and the Past Progressive.