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Mdabkus Posted 11 years ago
Grammar

what tense should be used when mentioning past activities?

Hello, I've got this question: When we talk about past activities, e.g. things we did/were doing yesterday, can past continuous be used for things like 'listening to music', 'reading a book' etc.? I know that we use past simple for completed activities such as, 'we got to school', 'I got up', 'I cleaned my room', but what about those other actions? Moreover, I also wanted to ask how do we form a question when we want to ask someone casually about past activities? Should it be 'What did you do yesterday?' or 'What were you doing yesterday?'. Thanks in advance for any help on this. Regards, Marcin.
  

Top answer

'. Either could work, depending on the time reference. " is a simple question with no limit.

— Philip

  • '.
  • Either could work, depending on the time reference.
  • " is a simple question with no limit.
  • The other could fit in a situation like this: I tried several times to reach you by phone yesterday.
  • What were you doing?
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1 Answers
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mdabkusShould it be 'What did you do yesterday?' or 'What were you doing yesterday?'.
Either could work, depending on the time reference. "What did you do yesterday?" is a simple question with no limit. The other could fit in a situation like this: I tried several times to reach you by phone yesterday. What were you doing? Here the time reference is
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