Phân biệt Past Simple và Past Continuous – hai thì quá khứ dùng kể chuyện. Bài viết giải thích đầy đủ công thức, signal words, cách kết hợp với when/while và bài tập áp dụng.
Bảng so sánh nhanh
| Tiêu chí | Past Simple | Past Continuous |
|---|---|---|
| Công thức | S + V2/ed | S + was/were + V-ing |
| Diễn tả | Hành động đã hoàn tất | Hành động đang xảy ra trong quá khứ |
| Ví dụ | I went to school yesterday. | I was studying at 8 PM yesterday. |
| Signal words | yesterday, last, ago, in 2020 | at 7 PM, while, when, as |
Past Simple – Thì Quá Khứ Đơn
Cấu trúc:
- (+) S + V2/ed → She visited Paris last summer.
- (-) S + did + not + V(bare) → I didn’t see him yesterday.
- (?) Did + S + V(bare) → Did you eat lunch?
3 cách dùng chính:
- Hành động hoàn tất ở quá khứ với thời gian xác định: I graduated in 2022.
- Chuỗi hành động liên tiếp: I woke up, brushed my teeth, and had breakfast.
- Thói quen trong quá khứ (thường dùng used to): When I was young, I played football every day.
Signal words: yesterday, last night/week/month/year, ago (2 days ago), in 1990, then, when I was young.
Past Continuous – Thì Quá Khứ Tiếp Diễn
Cấu trúc: S + was/were + V-ing
- (+) They were watching TV at 9 PM yesterday.
- (-) She wasn’t listening when I called.
- (?) What were you doing then?
4 cách dùng chính:
- Hành động đang diễn ra tại 1 thời điểm cụ thể trong quá khứ: At 8 PM last night, I was watching TV.
- 2 hành động đang xảy ra song song: While she was cooking, he was reading.
- Hành động đang xảy ra bị gián đoạn bởi hành động khác: I was sleeping when the phone rang.
- Mô tả bối cảnh trong truyện: The sun was shining and birds were singing.
Quy tắc when – while
- While + Past Continuous: While I was cooking, the phone rang.
- When + Past Simple: When I arrived, she was sleeping.
- Cả hai mệnh đề Past Continuous: While I was studying, my brother was playing. (song song)
- Cả hai mệnh đề Past Simple: When the bell rang, students left. (liên tiếp)
10 câu ví dụ chi tiết
- 1. I was reading when she came in. (đang đọc thì cô ấy đến)
- 2. While they were playing, it started raining. (đang chơi thì mưa)
- 3. At 6 PM yesterday, we were having dinner. (thời điểm cụ thể)
- 4. She was crying when I saw her. (đang khóc lúc gặp)
- 5. I was sleeping while my parents were watching TV. (song song)
- 6. He fell while he was running. (đang chạy thì ngã)
- 7. What were you doing at 9 PM last night? (câu hỏi thời điểm)
- 8. The thief was running away when the police caught him.
- 9. I burned my hand while I was cooking.
- 10. The students were studying when the teacher arrived.
Bài tập có đáp án
- 1. I (watch) ___ TV when you called. → was watching
- 2. She (cook) ___ dinner at 7 PM yesterday. → was cooking
- 3. They (play) ___ football last Sunday. → played
- 4. While I (sleep) ___, the thief broke in. → was sleeping
- 5. He (have) ___ breakfast then (leave) ___ for work. → had / left
- 6. What (you/do) ___ at this time yesterday? → were you doing
- 7. The sun (shine) ___ brightly all day. → was shining
- 8. We (meet) ___ at the cinema yesterday. → met
- 9. While she (drive) ___, she (listen) ___ to music. → was driving / was listening
- 10. He (finish) ___ his homework before dinner. → finished
Mẹo nhớ nhanh
- Có yesterday/ago/last/in + năm → Past Simple
- Có at + giờ cụ thể quá khứ/while → Past Continuous
- “When + Simple, Simple” (liên tiếp) vs “When + Simple, Continuous” (gián đoạn)