while

while We use while to link two long-lasting actions that continued for the same period of time in the past. We use the past continuous tense for both actions.

Example Tom and Mary were doing their homework. NOW 5:00 p.m. 7:00 p.m. 8:00 p.m. Mum was cooking the dinner. Tom and Mary were doing their homework while Mum was cooking the dinner.

__________________________________________________________ Practice my sisters – tidy the living room NOW 5:00 p.m. 6:00 p.m. 6:30 p.m. my brothers – sweep the floor __________________________________________________________ My sisters were tidying the living room while my brothers were sweeping the floor.

my brother - play computer games Practice my brother - play computer games NOW 3:00 p.m. 4:00 p.m. 4:30 p.m. I – play the piano __________________________________________________________ My brother was playing computer games while I was playing the piano.

when

when When one thing happened at the time when another thing was happening, we use the past continuous tense for the longer action and the past tense for the shorter action. We use when to link the two actions together.

Tom was doing his homework. Example Tom was doing his homework. NOW 5:00 p.m. 7:00 p.m. 8:00 p.m. Mum came home. Tom was doing his homework when Mum came home.

Practice ______________________________ Ray - swim NOW 2:00 p.m. 3:00 p.m. 3:30 p.m. Ray - hurt his leg ______________________________ Ray was swimming when he hurt his leg.

the children – twist their ankles Practice the children - dance NOW 5:00 p.m. 6:00 p.m. 6:30 p.m. the children – twist their ankles The children were dancing when they twisted their ankles. ______________________________

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