Hey there! This is TOP episode 320. What Went Wrong at Christmas? Past Simple and Past Continuous.
You read English. You understand English. You’ve been learning for years, but when it’s time to speak your mind just freezes, and the words don’t come out. If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone. My name’s Ola, and this is Teacher Ola Podcast. I’m here to help you finally speak out loud. This isn’t about perfect grammar or fancy vocabulary. This is about your voice. Your words. Your real English.
Hey there! Today we’re talking about Christmas chaos and what goes wrong when everything is supposed to be perfect.
You know how it is… every year, we make those New Year’s resolutions. “This year I’ll finally speak English fluently,” “I’ll start reading every day,” “I’ll finally get organized.” And every year, somehow, life gets in the way. Maybe you start strong, but a week later, a month later… nothing. Or maybe, after a few years of trying, you’ve stopped even making resolutions because, honestly, they never seem to come true. I know that feeling all too well.
But what if this year could be different? What if you didn’t just make a resolution… but actually achieved it?
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If you’re ready to finally make this year the one where you speak English confidently, consistently, and with joy, go to teacherola.com/start and sign up. Mocny Start is your chance to break the cycle and finally turn resolutions into real results.
Let’s now start today’s topic! I picked 7 sentences to help you practice past simple and past continuous and also past perfect. Let’s go:
One. We were preparing the Christmas Eve dinner when the electricity suddenly went off.
‘Were preparing’ is in the Past Continuous because it describes a longer activity already in progress.
‘Went off’ is in the Past Simple because it shows a sudden, completed event that interrupted that activity.
We often use ‘when’ to introduce this interruption. Listen to another example:
We were setting the table when a glass suddenly broke.
Two. My mum was making pierogi while I was cleaning the kitchen, and then we realised we’d forgotten the mushrooms.
‘Was making’ and ‘was cleaning’ are both Past Continuous because two actions were happening at the same time. ‘Realised’ is Past Simple because it’s a sudden action in the past. And then we need the past perfect to show that ‘we had forgotten the mushrooms’ happened earlier. Before ‘was making pierogi’ and before ‘I was cleaning’ and before ‘we realised’. Here comes another example:
My parents were cleaning while I was decorating the tree, and then we noticed we had lost some of our shopping.
Three. We were sharing the Christmas wafer when someone started crying.
‘Were sharing’ sets the background and shows an ongoing moment. The background of the story.
‘Started crying’ is a clear change, so we use Past Simple. This structure is often used to show a turning point. Something happened suddenly, and maybe even stopped the longer action in the background. Everybody stopped talking and looked around to find out who was crying.
Listen to one more, similar example:
We were talking about family when the mood suddenly changed.
Four. I was trying to make borscht when I realised I had added sugar instead of salt.
‘Was trying’ describes an activity in progress, so it’s Past Continuous. Again, a background of the story. ‘Realised’ is a short action, and it happened in a moment so it’s Past Simple. And then again: past perfect: ‘I had added sugar’. Without it it would be difficult to understand that the action of ‘adding sugar’ happened much earlier. This pattern is very common with verbs like realise, notice, remember. Because these words push you to talk about something that happened before another action in the past. Another example:
I was baking a cake when I realised I’d forgotten the eggs.
Classic example of past perfect.
Five. My dad was fixing the Christmas lights when they suddenly stopped working.
‘Was fixing’ shows a temporary action in progress. The background, the longer action.
‘Stopped working’ is a short action that happened while the long one was in progress, so it’s Past Simple. Long background and sharp, single action. The word ‘suddenly’ often appears with such interruptions.
Another example:
I was setting up the tree when it fell over.
Six. We were watching Home Alone when the guests arrived two hours early.
‘Were watching’ creates the background scene. ‘Arrived’ is a finished action that changes the situation. One more example:
We were resting after dinner when everyone decided to visit.
Seven. I was wrapping the presents when I noticed I had bought the same gift twice.
‘Was wrapping’ is an ongoing action. ‘Noticed’ is a short, completed action, so it’s Past Simple. The same pattern we’ve been analysing today. One last example:
I was checking the shopping list when I noticed something was missing.
Let’s practice! Listen and repeat the sentences out loud.
We were preparing the Christmas Eve dinner when the electricity suddenly went off.
My mum was making pierogi and then we realised we’d forgotten the mushrooms.
My parents were cleaning while I was decorating the tree.
We were sharing the Christmas wafer when someone started crying.
We were talking about family when the mood suddenly changed.
I was trying to make borscht when I realised I had added sugar instead of salt.
I was baking a cake when I realised I’d forgotten the eggs.
My dad was fixing the Christmas lights when they suddenly stopped working.
I was setting up the tree when it fell over.
We were watching ‘Home Alone’ when the guests arrived two hours early.
That’s all from me now. Don’t forget to head to teacherola.com/320 and grab your free worksheet. It’ll help you repeat the key phrases from this lesson.
Join my Voice Loop program, new groups are being formed. Go to teacherola.com/grupy and sign up! Teacherola.com/grupy. Above all: join my New Year’s event! Go to teacherola.com/start and see how to finally fulfill your language dreams. Come and see how to make 2026 your year, a year of a person who speaks English, feels the language and loves it. Teacherola.com/start.
Thank you so much for listening. Stay fearless, take care, and say it out loud! I’m your teacher, Teacher Ola, and you’ve been listening to Teacher Ola Podcast. Bye for now!