Past continuous and Past simple

 Past continuous and Past simple 

Koha e shkuar e vazhduar dhe Koha e kryer e thjeshtë 

 

     Do you know how to use the past continuous and past simple? Look at these examples to see how the past continuous and past simple are used. 

     A dini si të përdorni kohën e shkuar të vazhduar dhe kohën e kryer të thjeshtë? Shikoni këta shembuj për të parë se si përdoren këto kohë. 

• When I woke up this morning, it was snowing. 

• I was sleeping when you called me. 

 

 

Try this exercise to test your grammar. 

Provoni këtë ushtrim për të testuar njohuritë tuaja gramatikore. 

 

Choose the correct verb tense. 

Zgjidhni kohën e duhur të foljes. 

1. I _____ work at 9 a.m. this morning.  

• started 

• was starting 

 

2. This time last year I _____ at university.  

• studied 

• was studying 

 

3. Sarah hurt her ankle while she _____.  

• ran 

• was running 

 

4. I _____ your call because I was working.  

• missed 

• was missing 

 

5. While I was walking home, I _____ a new shop in the high street.  

• noticed 

• was noticing 

 

6. At 6 p.m. yesterday it _____ dark.  

• already got 

• was already getting 

 

7. I saw you driving down Green Street yesterday! Where _____?  

• did you go 

• were you going 

 

8. When we saw the crime, we _____ the police.  

• called 

• were calling 

 

 

    Read the explanation to learn more. 

    Lexoni shpjegimin për të mësuar më shumë. 

 

 

Grammar explanation 

Shpjegimi gramatikor 

     The past continuous and the past simple help us to show how two past actions or situations are connected. 

     Koha e shkuar e vazhduar dhe koha e kryer e thjeshtë na ndihmojnë të tregojmë se si janë lidhur dy veprime apo situata në të shkuarën. 

 

 

 

Past simple 

The past simple shows us that an action was in the past, not in the present. Regular past simple verbs have -ed at the end (e.g. called, played, arrived). Irregular verbs have a different form, usually with a different vowel sound (e.g. wake → woke, break → broke, feel → felt). 

Koha e kryer e thjeshtë na tregon që një veprim ishte në të shkuarën, jo në të tashmen. Foljet e rregullta në kohën e kryer të thjeshtë marrin -ed në fund (p.sh. telefonova, luajta, mbërrita). Foljet e çrregullta kanë një formë tjetër, zakonisht me një zanore të ndryshme (p.sh. zgjoj → zgjova, thyej → thyeva, ndiej → ndjeva). 

• My parents called me yesterday. 

• I woke up early this morning. 

• Sam played basketball when he was at university. 

 

We make the negative with didn’t and the infinitive verb. 

Formën negative e ndërtojmë me didn’t dhe një folje në formën bazë. 

• My parents didn’t call me yesterday. 

• I didn’t wake up early this morning. 

 

We make the question form with did and then the subject and infinitive verb. 

I ndërtojmë format pyetëse me did dhe më pas me kryefjalën dhe foljen në formën bazë. 

• Did you wake up early this morning? 

• Did Sam play basketball when he was at university? 

 

 

 

Past continuous 

Koha e shkuar e vazhduar 

     The past continuous shows us that the action was already in progress at a certain time in the past. 

     Koha e shkuar e vazhduar na tregon që veprimi ishte tashmë në vazhdimësi në një kohë të caktuar në të shkuarën. 

• What were you doing at 8 p.m. last night? I was studying.  

(This means that I started studying before 8 p.m. and I continued after 8 p.m.) 

(Kjo do të thotë se fillova të studioja para orës 8 të darkës dhe vazhdova pas orës 8.) 

 

     The past continuous can also show that an activity was in progress for some time, not just for a moment. 

     Koha e shkuar e vazhduar gjithashtu mundet të tregojë që një veprimtari ishte në vazhdimësi për disa kohë, jo vetëm për një çast. 

• We were cleaning the house all morning. 

 

We make the past continuous with was or were and the -ing form of the verb. 

Ne e ndërtojmë kohën e shkuar të vazhduar me was ose were dhe formën -ing të foljes. 

• She couldn’t come to the party. She was working. 

• Three years ago, we were living in my home town. 

• I tried to give him some advice, but he wasn’t listening. 

• What were you doing this time last year? 

 

 

Past continuous and past simple 

Koha e shkuar e vazhduar dhe koha e kryer e thjeshtë 

     When we use these two tenses together, it shows us that the past simple action happened in the middle of the past continuous action, while it was in progress. 

     Kur përdorim këto dy kohë bashkë, kjo na tregon se në kohën e kryer të thjeshtë veprimi ndodhi në mes të veprimit në kohën e shkuar të vazhduar, pra ndërkohë që ai ishte në vazhdimësi. 

• While I was studying, I suddenly felt sleepy. 

 

     We often use these tenses to show an action interrupting another action. 

     Shpesh i përdorim këto kohë për të treguar një veprim që ndërpret një tjetër. 

• I broke my leg when I was skiing. 

• As I was going to work, I saw an old friend. 

• We were watching television when the power went off. 

 

Can you see a difference in the meaning of these two sentences? 

A mund të shihni një ndryshim në kuptimin e këtyre dy fjalive? 

• When the guests arrived, Jane was cooking dinner. 

• When the guests arrived, Jane cooked dinner. 

 

In the first one, Jane started cooking dinner before the guests arrived. We know that because it uses the past continuous. In the second sentence, the guests arrived first and then Jane started cooking. 

Në të parën, Xhejn filloi të gatuante darkën para se të mbërrinin të ftuarit. E dimë këtë sepse përdoret koha e shkuar e vazhduar. Në fjalinë e dytë, më parë mbërritën të ftuarit dhe më pas Xhejn filloi të gatuajë. 

 

 

Do this exercise to test your grammar again. 

Bëni këtë ushtrim për të testuar sërish njohuritë tuaja gramatikore. 

 

Choose the correct verb tense. 

Zgjidhni kohën e duhur të foljes. 

1. What _____ at around 8 a.m. this morning?  

• did you do 

• were you doing 

 

2. While I was washing the dishes, I suddenly _____ a brilliant idea.  

• had 

• was having 

 

3. He didn’t hear the phone ring. He _____ to really loud music.  

• listened 

• was listening 

 

4. They _____ the shop when I got there, so I couldn’t go in and buy anything.  

• already closed 

• were already closing 

 

5. The teacher told us to stop what we _____.  

• did 

• were doing 

 

6. _____ what you were looking for in the library yesterday?  

• Did you find 

• Were you finding 

 

7. When I heard the phone ring, I _____ it straight away.  

• answered 

• was answering