# What were you doing when...?

# A Night at the Museum

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One evening, the city museum was about to close. The guards were doing their final rounds, and the last visitors were leaving. While the guards were checking the rooms, a sneaky thief was planning his move. The thief had been watching the museum for weeks. He knew there was a rare gem on display that he wanted to steal. He was hiding behind a statue, waiting for the perfect moment to act. At 9 pm, the thief made his move. He was quietly moving towards the gem when suddenly the lights went out. It was a power cut, something the thief hadn't planned for. While the thief was trying to find his way in the dark, one of the guards was walking towards the gem exhibit. Then the guard bumped into someone. It was the thief! At that moment, the lights came back on. The guard was surprised to see the thief standing right in front of him and the thief dropped the bag he was carrying. While the thief was trying to pick up his bag, the guard quickly called for help. The other guards were nearby, and they rushed over when they heard the call. While the thief was trying to explain himself, the police arrived. They were patrolling the area when they received the call from the museum. They were grateful to the guards for their quick action. The police took the thief away, and the museum increased its security to prevent future incidents. Everyone in the city talked about the brave guards and the unexpected visitor at the museum. It was a night that the museum staff will always remember. audio/mpeg

Read the story carefully. Pay attention to the verbal tenses. Most of the verbs are in Past Simple and Past Continuous. Well, that's reasonable because the author writes about an event, a robbery, that took place sometime ago in the past.

What's the difference between the verbs in Past Simple and Past Continuous? The Past Simple, as you know from Unit 3, is used to describe short past finished actions. We use it specifically to narrate past events that took place one after the other in the past.

Now, observe the verbs in Past Continuous.

We form the Past Continuous with the PAST of BE (WAS/WERE) and the ING form of the verb:

- The guards were doing their final rounds.
- He was quietly moving towards the gem.

The actions they describe are usually actions that were not finished but in progress as the story is being told. The Past Continuous Tense describes actions or events that were in progress at a particular time in the past.

When telling a story or narrating events, we normally use compound sentences with WHILE or WHEN and Past Simple or Continuous. Look at the sentences in the text:

1. They rushed over when they heard the call.

Two short consecutive actions: WHEN+Past Simple+Past Simple... (First: they heard the call; Second: They rushed over).

2. -He was quietly moving towards the gem when suddenly the lights went out.
-While the thief was trying to explain himself, the police arrived.

An action in progress (Past Continuous) interrupted by a short finished action (Past Simple):

a- Past Continuous+WHEN+Past Simple

b- Past Simple+WHILE+Past Continuous

3. While the guards were checking the rooms, a sneaky thief was planning his move.

Two unfinished actions that were happening at the same time: WHILE+Past Continuous+Past Continuous

## ¿necesitas ayuda?

Lee la historia con atención. Observa los tiempos verbales. La mayoría están en Pasado Simple y Continuo. Esto es lógico ya que el autor escribe sobre un hecho, el robo, que tuvo lugar en algún momento pasado.

¿Cuál es la diferencia entre los verbos que van en pasado simple y los que van en pasado continuo? El Pasado Simple, como ya sabes por la Unidad 3, se usa para describir acciones pasadas completas, y lo utilizamos específicamente para narrar hechos pasados que sucedieron uno tras otro.

Ahora, observa los verbos en Pasado Continuo.

El Pasado Continuo se forma con el PASADO de BE (WAS/WERE) y la forma ING del verbo.

- The guards were doing their final rounds. (Los guardias estaban haciendo la última ronda)
- He was quietly moving towards the gem. (Él se movía despacio hacia la joya)

La acción que describen son normalmente acciones que no habían terminado sino que estaban ocurriendo en el momento que se cuenta en la historia. El Pasado Continuo describe acciones o acontecimientos que estaban ocurriendo en un momento concreto del pasado.

Cuando contamos una historia o narramos unos hechos, normalmente utilizamos oraciones compuestas con las conjunciones WHILE y WHEN junto con el Pasado Simple y el Continuo. Mira las frases del texto

1. They rushed over when they heard the call. (Ellos salieron corriendo cuando escucharon la llamada).

Acciones consecutivas: WHEN+Pasado Simple+Pasado Simple... Prmero: escucharon el aviso (they heard the call); Después: salieron corriendo (they rushed over).

2. -He was quietly moving towards the gem when suddenly the lights went out. (Él se movía despacio hacia la joya cuando de repente se fue la luz)
-While the thief was trying to explain himself, the police arrived. (Mientras el ladrón intentaba explicarse, llegó la policía)

Una acción no completa que estaba ocurriendo (Pasado Continuo) y una acción corta y completa que la interrumpe (Pasado Simple):

a- Pasado Continuo+WHEN+Pasado Simple

b- Pasado Simple+WHILE+Pasado Continuo

3. While the guards were checking the rooms, a sneaky thief was planning his move. (Mientras los guardias estaban comprobando las habitaciones, un escurridizo ladrón estaba planeando sus movimientos)

Dos acciones no completas que ocurrían al mismo tiempo: WHILE+Pasado Continuo+Pasado Continuo

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