Past Simple vs Past Continuous

Giới thiệu

Quá khứ đơn (Past Simple) và quá khứ tiếp diễn (Past Continuous) đều nói về hành động trong quá khứ, nhưng cách dùng khác nhau quan trọng. Hai thì này thường xuất hiện cùng nhau trong một câu, tạo nên mối quan hệ giữa hành động “nền” và hành động “điểm”. Bài này giúp bạn nắm chắc sự khác biệt qua lý thuyết, ví dụ thực tế và bài tập có đáp án chi tiết.

Cấu trúc

Thì	Khẳng định	Phủ định	Câu hỏi
Past Simple	S + V2/ed	S + did not (didn’t) + V	Did + S + V?
Past Continuous	S + was/were + V-ing	S + was/were + not + V-ing	Was/Were + S + V-ing?

Lưu ý: was dùng với I / he / she / it; were dùng với you / we / they.

Khi nào dùng

Past Simple dùng khi:

• Hành động xảy ra và kết thúc tại một thời điểm xác định trong quá khứ: She left at 9 a.m.
• Chuỗi hành động liên tiếp trong quá khứ: He woke up, got dressed and went to work.
• Hành động ngắn chen vào giữa hành động đang diễn ra: I was reading when the phone rang.

Past Continuous dùng khi:

• Hành động đang diễn ra tại một thời điểm xác định trong quá khứ: At 8 p.m. last night, I was studying.
• Hành động bị gián đoạn bởi một hành động khác: She was cooking when he arrived.
• Hai hành động diễn ra song song cùng lúc: While she was cooking, he was watching TV.
• Diễn tả bối cảnh / khung cảnh của một câu chuyện: The sun was shining and the birds were singing.

Bảng so sánh

Tiêu chí	Past Simple	Past Continuous
Tính chất	Hành động hoàn thành, điểm thời gian	Hành động đang diễn ra, kéo dài
Vai trò trong câu ghép	Hành động ngắn chen vào	Hành động nền đang xảy ra
Ví dụ khẳng định	He called me last night.	He was studying at midnight.
Ví dụ phủ định	She didn’t come to class.	They weren’t listening.
Ví dụ câu hỏi	Did you see that?	Were you sleeping?
Dấu hiệu nhận biết	yesterday, last week, ago, in 2020, when (+ hành động ngắn)	while, when (+ hành động dài), at this time yesterday, at 8 p.m. last night

Ví dụ hội thoại

Tình huống 1 – Hành động nền bị gián đoạn:

A: What were you doing when I called you?

B: I was taking a shower. That’s why I didn’t answer.

A: Oh, I was waiting for about ten minutes!

Tình huống 2 – Hai hành động song song:

A: Was everyone at home last night?

B: Yes. While mum was cooking dinner, dad was watching the news, and I was doing my homework.

Tình huống 3 – Bối cảnh câu chuyện:

A: What was the weather like when the accident happened?

B: It was raining heavily and the road was getting slippery. A car suddenly lost control and hit the barrier.

Dạng 1: Chia động từ (Fill in the blanks)

Điền dạng đúng của động từ trong ngoặc, dùng Past Simple hoặc Past Continuous.

1. I ___ (read) a book when she ___ (call) me.
2. They ___ (play) football at 4 p.m. yesterday.
3. He ___ (fall) asleep while he ___ (watch) TV.
4. We ___ (have) dinner when the power ___ (go) out.
5. She ___ (not/listen) to music when I ___ (arrive).
6. What ___ you ___ (do) at 10 p.m. last night?
7. It ___ (rain) heavily when the match ___ (start).
8. While the children ___ (sleep), their parents ___ (wrap) the presents.
9. He ___ (break) his arm when he ___ (ride) his bike.
10. I ___ (see) an old friend while I ___ (walk) through the park.

Đáp án – Dạng 1

1. was reading / called
2. were playing
3. fell / was watching
4. were having / went
5. wasn’t listening / arrived
6. were you doing
7. was raining / started
8. were sleeping / were wrapping
9. broke / was riding
10. saw / was walking

Lời giải chi tiết – Dạng 1

• Câu 1, 3, 4, 9, 10: Một hành động đang diễn ra (Past Continuous) bị hành động ngắn chen vào (Past Simple).
• Câu 2, 8: Hành động đang diễn ra tại thời điểm cụ thể / hai hành động song song → Past Continuous.
• Câu 5: Phủ định của Past Continuous: wasn’t + V-ing.
• Câu 6: Câu hỏi Past Continuous: Were + S + V-ing?
• Câu 7: Bối cảnh đang diễn ra (was raining) khi sự kiện xảy ra (started).

Dạng 2: Đặt câu hỏi Yes/No và câu hỏi Wh-

Phần A – Câu hỏi Yes/No: Chuyển câu khẳng định thành câu hỏi.

1. She was sleeping when the alarm went off.
2. They were arguing when you arrived.
3. He fell off his bike on the way to school.
4. You were waiting for a long time.
5. The children were playing in the garden at noon.

Phần B – Câu hỏi Wh-: Đặt câu hỏi cho phần gạch chân.

6. She was crying because she had lost her cat.
7. He broke his leg while skiing.
8. They were watching TV at 9 p.m. last night.
9. I met her at the coffee shop around the corner.
10. She was wearing a red dress at the party.

Đáp án – Dạng 2

Phần A:

1. Was she sleeping when the alarm went off?
2. Were they arguing when you arrived?
3. Did he fall off his bike on the way to school?
4. Were you waiting for a long time?
5. Were the children playing in the garden at noon?

Phần B: 6. Why was she crying? 7. How did he break his leg? / What was he doing when he broke his leg? 8. What were they doing at 9 p.m. last night? 9. Where did you meet her? 10. What was she wearing at the party?

Dạng 3: Viết lại câu (Rewrite the sentence)

Viết lại câu theo yêu cầu trong ngoặc, giữ nguyên nghĩa.

1. She was cooking dinner when he came home. (phủ định phần gạch chân: she was cooking)
2. They played video games all afternoon. (câu hỏi Yes/No)
3. I was not paying attention during the meeting. (khẳng định)
4. Were you studying when I texted you? (câu trả lời: Yes)
5. He was driving to work when the accident happened. (câu hỏi Wh- về thời điểm)
6. She didn’t hear the doorbell. (khẳng định)
7. Were they arguing when you walked in? (câu trả lời: No)
8. I was reading a novel. My brother was playing games. (gộp thành một câu dùng while)
9. What were you doing at this time yesterday? (trả lời: I / cook / lunch)
10. He broke his phone while he was texting. (câu hỏi Wh- về cách thức)

Đáp án – Dạng 3

1. She wasn’t cooking dinner when he came home.
2. Did they play video games all afternoon?
3. I was paying attention during the meeting.
4. Yes, I was.
5. When did the accident happen? / What was he doing when the accident happened?
6. She heard the doorbell.
7. No, they weren’t.
8. While I was reading a novel, my brother was playing games.
9. I was cooking lunch.
10. How did he break his phone?

Dạng 4: Chọn đáp án đúng (Multiple choice)

Khoanh tròn đáp án A, B, C hoặc D đúng nhất.

1. She ___ a bath when the phone rang.

   • A. had   B. was having   C. were having   D. has had

2. While I ___ dinner, my sister ___ her homework.

   • A. cook / did   B. was cooking / was doing   C. cooked / was doing   D. was cooking / did

3. What ___ you ___ at midnight last night?

   • A. did / do   B. were / doing   C. was / doing   D. did / doing

4. They ___ tennis when it started to rain.

   • A. were playing   B. played   C. was playing   D. play

5. He ___ his keys while he ___ for the bus.

   • A. lost / waited   B. was losing / was waiting   C. lost / was waiting   D. was losing / waited

6. ___ she ___ when you called her?

   • A. Was / slept   B. Did / sleeping   C. Was / sleeping   D. Were / sleeping

7. At 7 a.m. this morning, I ___ to work.

   • A. drove   B. was drive   C. was driving   D. were driving

8. The children ___ TV when their mum ___ home.

   • A. watched / came   B. were watching / came   C. were watching / was coming   D. watched / was coming

9. While Tom ___ the dishes, he ___ a glass.

   • A. washed / was breaking   B. was washing / broke   C. washed / broke   D. was washing / was breaking

10. I ___ my old teacher while I ___ shopping yesterday.

    • A. met / went   B. was meeting / went   C. met / was going   D. was meeting / was going

Đáp án – Dạng 4

1. B – was having (hành động đang diễn ra khi phone rang)
2. B – was cooking / was doing (hai hành động song song)
3. B – were / doing (câu hỏi Past Continuous, you → were)
4. A – were playing (hành động đang diễn ra khi trời bắt đầu mưa)
5. C – lost / was waiting (hành động ngắn chen vào hành động đang diễn ra)
6. C – Was / sleeping (câu hỏi Past Continuous, she → was)
7. C – was driving (tại thời điểm xác định lúc 7 giờ sáng)
8. B – were watching / came (hành động nền / hành động chen vào)
9. B – was washing / broke (hành động nền / hành động chen vào)
10. C – met / was going (hành động ngắn chen vào hành động đang diễn ra)

Dạng 5: Tìm và sửa lỗi sai (Error correction)

Mỗi câu có một lỗi sai. Tìm và sửa lỗi đó.

1. She was cook dinner when he arrived.
2. While I was reading, the cat knocked down a vase.
3. They were play football at 5 p.m. yesterday.
4. I was study when you called me.
5. What did you doing at this time yesterday?
6. He fall asleep while he was watching the film.
7. We were had lunch when the fire alarm went off.
8. While she was sleeping, the children were making noise. (câu này đúng — hãy tìm câu có lỗi thật sự ở phiên bản thứ 8 dưới đây)
9. Were they argued when you walked into the room?
10. She didn’t was listening during the lecture.
11. I was seeing an old friend while I walked through the market.

Đáp án – Dạng 5

1. was cook → was cooking (Past Continuous: was/were + V-ing)
2. Câu đúng ✓
3. were play → were playing (Past Continuous: were + V-ing)
4. was study → was studying (Past Continuous: was + V-ing)
5. did you doing → were you doing (câu hỏi Past Continuous: were + S + V-ing?)
6. fall → fell (Past Simple của fall → fell)
7. were had → were having (Past Continuous: were + V-ing, không dùng had)
8. Were they argued → Were they arguing (câu hỏi Past Continuous: were + V-ing)
9. didn’t was listening → wasn’t listening (phủ định Past Continuous: wasn’t/weren’t + V-ing)
10. was seeing → saw (see là stative verb, dùng Past Simple; hành động tình cờ gặp)

Dạng 6: Sắp xếp từ thành câu hoàn chỉnh (Word order)

Sắp xếp các từ sau thành câu đúng ngữ pháp.

1. was / She / when / cooking / arrived / he
2. were / they / While / sleeping / presents / wrapped / the / parents / their
3. at / I / watching / was / p.m. / 8 / TV / last / night
4. fell / he / was / he / off / while / riding / bike / his
5. you / were / What / doing / called / when / I / you?
6. the / weren’t / They / to / listening / teacher
7. broke / Her / while / she / phone / was / texting
8. was / The / when / shining / we / sun / left
9. I / saw / walking / was / while / her / home
10. Did / while / he / fall / was / asleep / studying / he?

Đáp án – Dạng 6

1. She was cooking when he arrived.
2. While their parents were wrapping the presents, they were sleeping.
3. I was watching TV at 8 p.m. last night.
4. He fell off his bike while he was riding.
5. What were you doing when I called you?
6. They weren’t listening to the teacher.
7. Her phone broke while she was texting.
8. The sun was shining when we left.
9. I saw her while I was walking home.
10. Did he fall asleep while he was studying?

Dạng 7: Viết câu từ gợi ý (Sentence writing)

Dùng các từ gợi ý để viết câu hoàn chỉnh với Past Simple hoặc Past Continuous.

1. I / read / when / she / call (hành động nền bị gián đoạn)
2. they / play / tennis / at 3 p.m. / yesterday
3. while / mum / cook / dad / read / newspaper
4. he / break / his leg / while / ski
5. what / you / do / at this time / last Sunday? (câu hỏi)
6. we / not / watch / TV / when / you / arrive
7. it / snow / when / I / wake up / this morning
8. she / listen / to music / while / she / do / homework
9. I / meet / an old friend / while / I / shop
10. the children / sleep / when / the storm / start

Đáp án – Dạng 7

1. I was reading when she called.
2. They were playing tennis at 3 p.m. yesterday.
3. While mum was cooking, dad was reading the newspaper.
4. He broke his leg while he was skiing.
5. What were you doing at this time last Sunday?
6. We weren’t watching TV when you arrived.
7. It was snowing when I woke up this morning.
8. She was listening to music while she was doing her homework.
9. I met an old friend while I was shopping.
10. The children were sleeping when the storm started.

Dạng 8: Bài tập đọc hiểu – Điền từ vào đoạn văn (Cloze test)

Đọc đoạn văn sau và điền dạng đúng của động từ trong ngoặc, dùng Past Simple hoặc Past Continuous.

Last Saturday evening, the Nguyen family (1) ___ (have) a quiet night at home. Mr. Nguyen (2) ___ (read) a book in the living room while Mrs. Nguyen (3) ___ (cook) in the kitchen. Their son Minh (4) ___ (do) his homework at his desk. Suddenly, the lights (5) ___ (go) out. While everyone (6) ___ (wonder) what to do, Minh (7) ___ (find) some candles in the drawer. Mrs. Nguyen (8) ___ (still/stir) the soup on the gas stove, so dinner (9) ___ (not/stop). An hour later, the electricity (10) ___ (come) back on and everyone laughed about it.

Đáp án – Dạng 8

1. were having
2. was reading
3. was cooking
4. was doing
5. went
6. were wondering
7. found
8. was still stirring
9. didn’t stop
10. came

Dạng 9: Dịch sang tiếng Anh (Translation)

Dịch các câu sau sang tiếng Anh, chú ý chọn đúng Past Simple hoặc Past Continuous.

1. Tôi đang đọc sách khi điện thoại reo.
2. Họ đang chơi bóng đá lúc 4 giờ chiều hôm qua.
3. Trong khi cô ấy đang nấu ăn, anh ấy đang xem TV.
4. Anh ấy bị ngã trong khi đang đi xe đạp.
5. Bạn đang làm gì lúc 10 giờ tối hôm qua?
6. Chúng tôi không nghe thấy tiếng chuông cửa vì chúng tôi đang ngủ.
7. Trời đang mưa to khi tôi ra khỏi nhà.
8. Cô ấy đang nói chuyện điện thoại thì pin hết.
9. Tôi tình cờ gặp giáo viên cũ trong khi đang đi bộ về nhà.
10. Bọn trẻ đang ngủ khi bố mẹ về đến nhà.

Đáp án – Dạng 9

1. I was reading a book when the phone rang.
2. They were playing football at 4 p.m. yesterday.
3. While she was cooking, he was watching TV.
4. He fell while he was riding his bike.
5. What were you doing at 10 p.m. last night?
6. We didn’t hear the doorbell because we were sleeping.
7. It was raining heavily when I left the house.
8. She was talking on the phone when the battery died.
9. I met my old teacher while I was walking home.
10. The children were sleeping when their parents got home.

Đọc thêm về 12 thì tiếng Anh