UNDERSTANDING

PAST TENSES
GROUP 5

SURTIKA SARI

WIDIA SYAFRIATMA

YOLA APRILYA

YORI SRI AYUNDA

ZUFRIADI
 A. Simple Past Tense
The simple past tense, sometimes called the preterite, is used to
talk about a completed action in a time before now. The simple
past is the basic form of past tense in English. The time of the
action can be in the recent past or the distant past and action
duration is not important.
Examples
John Cabot sailed to America in 1498.
My father died last year.
He lived in Fiji in 1976.
We crossed the Channel yesterday.
 Negative and interrogative

For the negative and interrogative simple past form of "to do" as an ordinary verb,
use the auxiliary "did", e.g. We didn't do our homework last night.
The negative of "have" in the simple past is usually formed using the auxiliary
"did", but sometimes by simply adding not or the contraction "n't".
The interrogative form of "have" in the simple past normally uses the auxiliary
"did".
Examples
They weren't in Rio last summer.
We didn't have any money.
We didn't have time to visit the Eiffel Tower.
We didn't do our exercises this morning.
Were they in Iceland last January?
Did you have a bicycle when you were young?
 B. Past Continuous

The past continuous describes actions or events in a time

before now, which began in the past and is still going on at
the time of speaking. In other words, it expresses an
unfinished or incomplete action in the past.
Examples
• They were waiting for the bus when the accident happened.
• Caroline was skiing when she broke her leg.
• When we arrived he was having a bath.
• When the fire started I was watching television.
 C.Past Perfect

The past perfect refers to a time earlier than before now. It is used to
make it clear that one event happened before another in the past. It
does not matter which event is mentioned first - the tense makes it clear
which one happened first.
In these examples, Event A is the event that happened first and Event B is the second or more recent event:
Event A Event B

John had gone out when I arrived in the office.

Event A Event B

I had saved my document before the computer crashed.

Event B Event A

When they arrived we had already started cooking.

Event B Event A

He was very tired because he hadn't slept well.

Text Simple Past Tense
During my last holiday, I made a lot of handcrafts. At that time, I was crazy about
art and creativity. Many ideas had come to my mind three months before. All of
the ideas were written on my note book so I could read them again. Also, I
searched other ideas from internet. Yap, I googled it. I watched tutorial videos and
read many art blogs.
My parents helped me to prepare the materials. They also gave me money to buy
things I needed. On the first day, I painted on some rocks. People call it rock art. It
was so fun. My siblings joined me on the third day. Then, my siblings and I made
paper crafts from used newspapers and magazines. The papers were rolled, shaped
and glued together to create decorative designs. Many beautiful crafts were
created.
The last activity was sewing. My mother is a tailor so I learn how to sew from
her. My mother helped me too. Sewing used clothes and towels was very fun. We
produced many useful things. Finally, I really enjoyed my last holiday.
Text Simple Present Tense

I am Sarah. My full name is Sarah Lau Smith. I am a second grade

student of Junior High School. I am 14 years old. My birth day is on
July 5.
In my family, I am the second child. I have an older brother named
Nathan and one younger sister named Grace. My mother is from China
and my father is from Australia. We live in Indonesia.
My family and I love pets. We have some pets at home, namely five
fish, one dog and two cats. Nathan love cats and I love dogs. Our cats
and dog are like friends. They never fight.
In the future, I want to be a veterinarian. I want to help animals to
survive and live longer. I like watching their unique behaviors. They
are all beautiful creatures. I love animals.
Text Past Continuos Tense and Text Past Perfect Tense
 REFERENCE

Goridus Sukur, Silvester. 2007. Panduan Praktis

Menguasai Grammar. INDONESIATERA:
Yogyakarta

Authority for this section: A University Grammar

of English by Randolph Quirk and Sidney
Greenbaum. Longman Group: Essex, England.
1993. Used with permission.
THANK YOU