Past Tenses

Past Simple, Past Continuous, Past Perfect Simple, Past Perfect Continuous

The simple past tense

Form
The simple past tense in regular verbs is formed by adding -ed to the infinitive: Infinitive: to work Simple past: worked The simple past form of each irregular verb must be learnt by heart. Infinitive: to speak Simple past: spoke The same form is used for all persons: I worked you worked he worked, etc.

Form
The negative of regular and irregular verbs is formed with did not (didn't) and the infinitive: I did not/didn 't work you did not/didn't work etc. The interrogative of regular and irregular verbs is formed with did + subject + infinitive: Did I work? did you work? etc. Negative interrogative: did you not/didn't you work? etc.

Spelling notes
Verbs ending in -e add -d only: Infinitive: to love Simple past: loved The rules about doubling the final consonant when adding -ing apply also when adding -ed: admitadmitted; stopstopped; traveltravelled Verbs ending in -y following a consonant change the -y into -i before adding -ed: carry carried but y following a vowel does not change: obeyobeyed

The use
It is used for actions completed in the past at a definite time: I met him yesterday. or when the time is asked about: When did you meet him? or when the action clearly took place at a definite time even though this time is not mentioned: The train was ten minutes late. How did you get your present job?

 Sometimes the time becomes definite as a result of a question and answer in the present perfect: Where have you been? ~ I've been to the opera. ~ Did you enjoy it? The simple past tense is also used for a past habit: He always carried an umbrella. They never drank wine. The simple past is used in conditional sentences, type 2

 The simple past tense is used for an action whose time is not given but which (a) occupied a period of time now terminated, or (b) occurred at a moment in a period of time now terminated a) He worked in that bank for four years.

b) My grandmother once saw Queen Victoria

The past continuous tense

Form
The past continuous tense is formed by the past tense of the verb to be + the present participle
Affirmative Negative Interrogative

I was working you were working

he/she/it was working we were working you were working they were working

I was not working you were not working

he/she/it was not working we were not working you were not working they were not working

was I working? were you working?

was he/she/it working? were we working? were you working? were they working?

The use
for past actions which continued for some time but whose exact limits are not known and are not important. indicates uncertainty about the time of starting or finishing Used without a time expression it can indicate gradual development: It was getting darker. The wind was rising.

 Used with a point in time, it expresses an action which began before that time and probably continued after it. At eight he was having breakfast (implies that he was in the middle of breakfast at eight) to convey the idea that the action in the past continuous started before the action in the simple past and probably continued after it. When I arrived Tom was talking on the phone Past simple Past continuous

 We use the continuous tense in descriptions. Note the combination of description (past continuous) with narrative (simple past): A girl was playing the piano and (was) singing softly to herself. Suddenly there was a knock on the door This tense can be used as a past equivalent of the present continuous: Direct speech: He said, 'I am living in London. Indirect speech: He said he was living in London.

 Just as the present continuous can be used to express a definite future arrangement, the past continuous can express this sort of future in the past: He was busy packing, for he was leaving that night. The past continuous with always: He was always working. The past continuous can be used as an alternative to the simple past to indicate a more casual, less deliberate action: I was talking to Tom the other day.

The past perfect tense

Form
This tense is formed with had and the past participle: Affirmative: I had/I'd worked etc. Negative: I had not/hadn't worked etc. Interrogative: had I worked? etc. Negative interrogative: had I not/hadn't I worked?

Use
The past perfect is the past equivalent of the present perfect. Present: Ann has just left. If you hurry you'll catch her. Past: When I arrived Ann had just left. The past perfect is also the past equivalent of the simple past tense, and is used when the narrator or subject looks back on earlier action from a certain point in the past: Tom was 23 when our story begins. His father had died five years before and since then Tom had lived alone.

 Compare: He arrived at 2.30 and was told to wait in the VIP lounge. He arrived at 2.30. He had been told to wait in the VIP lounge.

Past and past perfect tenses in time clauses

When one past action follows another (e.g. He called her a liar, she smacked his face), we can combine them by using when and two simple past tenses provided that it is clear from the sense that the second action followed the first and that they did not happen simultaneously. When he called her a liar she smacked his face.

 The past perfect is used after when when we wish to emphasize that the first action was completed before the second one started: When he had shut the window we opened the door of the cage. The past perfect can be used with till/until and before to emphasize the completion or expected completion of an action. But note that in till/until + past perfect + simple past combinations the simple past action may precede the past perfect action: He refused to go till he had seen all the pictures. and in before + past perfect + simple past combinations the simple past action will always precede the past perfect action: Before we had finished our meal he ordered us back to work.

 Present perfect and past simple tenses in direct speech become past perfect tenses in indirect speech provided the introductory verb is in the past tense. He said, I've been in England for ten years He said that he had been in England for ten years.

He said, I knew her well. He said that he had known her well.

The past perfect continuous tense

Form
had been + the present participle It is therefore the same for all persons: I had/I'd been working they had not/hadn 't been working had you been working? had you not/hadn't you been working? It is not used with verbs which are not used in the continuous forms, except with want and sometimes wish.

Use
The past perfect continuous bears the same relation to the past perfect as the present perfect continuous bears to the present perfect. When the action began before the time of speaking in the past, and continued up to that time, or stopped just before it, we can often use either form: It was now six and he was tired because he had worked since dawn. It was now six and he was tired because he had been working since dawn.

 A repeated action in the past perfect can sometimes be expressed as a continuous action by the past perfect continuous: He had tried five times to get her on the phone. He had been trying to get her on the phone. But there is a difference between a single action in the simple past perfect and an action in the past perfect continuous: By six o'clock he had repaired the engine. He had been repairing the engine.

Overview: uses of tenses

Overview: uses of tenses

Present continuous In the middle of an action I'm watching this comedy. A temporary routine I'm working late this week. Present simple A present state I like comedies. A permanent routine I work late most days.

Overview: uses of tenses

Present perfect An action in the period up to the present I've written the letter. A series of actions up to the present I've played basketball a few times. A state up to the present I've been here for a week. Past simple An action in the past I wrote the letter yesterday. A series of past actions I played basketball years ago. A past state I was there for a week.

Overview: uses of tenses

Present perfect continuous An action over a period up to the present It has been raining all day. Past continuous An action over a period of past time It was raining at the time.

Overview: uses of tenses

Past perfect Past perfect continuous An action before a past An action over a period time up to a past time The rain had stopped by It had been raining for then. hours. A state before a past time The weather had been awful.

Put the verbs in brackets into the correct tense: simple past or past continuous 1 Peter and Ann (decide) to redecorate their sitting-room themselves. 2 They (choose) cream paint for the woodwork and apricot for the walls. 3 When John (look) in to see how they (get) on, Ann (mix) the paint, and Peter (wash) down the walls. 4 They (be) glad to see John and (ask) if he (do) anything special that day. 5 He hastily (reply) he (go) to the theatre and (go) away at once, because he (know) they (look) for someone to help them. 6 They (begin) painting, but (find) the walls (be) too wet. 7 While they (wait) for the walls to dry, Ann (remember) she (have) a phone call to make. 8 Peter (start) painting while she (telephone), and (do) a whole wall before Ann (come) back. 9 He (grumble) that she always (telephone). 10 Ann (retort) that Peter always (complain).

Put the verbs in brackets into the correct tense: the simple past and the past perfect, simple and continuous
1 He (give) me back the book, (thank) me for lending it to him and (say) that he (enjoy) it very much; but I (know) that he (not read) it because most of the pages (be) still uncut. 2 When he (see) his wife off at the station, he (return) home as he (no have) to be at the airport till 9.30. 3 He (not have) to pack, for his wife already (do) that for him and his case (be) ready in the hall. 4 He (not have) to check the doors and windows either, for his wife always (do) that before she (leave) the house. 5 All he (have) to do (be) to decide whether or not to take his overcoat with him. In the end he (decide) not to. 6 At 8.30 he (pick) up his case, (go) out of the house and (slam) the door behind him. 7 Then he (feel) in his pockets for the key, for his wife (remind) him to double-lock the front door. 8 When he (search) all his pockets and (find) no key he (remember) where it (be). 9 He (leave) it in his overcoat pocket. 10 Then he (remember) something else; his passport and tickets (be) in his overcoat pocket as well.