Past Tenses

Relationship of
Past Events/Actions
to Each Other
 Past Tenses

Past Tenses - Examples

__
3 Simple Past 1) When I arrived, they were talking
about me.
__
1 Past Continuous 2) When I arrived, they had been
talking about me for an hour.
4 Past Perfect
__ 3) When I arrived, they talked about
me.
__
2 Past Perfect 4) When I arrived, they had talked
Continuous about me.
 Past Tenses

Past Tenses - Formulas

__
3 Simple Past 1) had been + vb-ing

__
2 Past Continuous 2) was/were + vb-ing

4 Past Perfect
__ 3) verb + ed (*regular verbs)

1 Past Perfect
__ 4) had + past participle
Continuous
 Past Tenses

COMPARE
Simple Past (verb + ed )

When I arrived, they talked about me..

Past Continuous (was/were + present participle )

When I arrived, they were talking about me..

(They started talking about me before I arrived. When I
arrived, they were still talking about me.)
 Past Tenses

Complete the sentences with the simple past or the past

continuous.
was cooking
1) My mother _______________ (cook) something when I
walked into the room. The smell of the food was wonderful.
cooked
2) My mother _______________ (cook) something when I
walked into the room. She said she was waiting for me to help
her decide what she would make for dinner.
almost had
3) I _______________ (have, almost) a car accident last night.
was driving (drive) down Washington Avenue when
I _______________
saw
suddenly I _______________ (see) a car in my lane. It
was coming
_______________ stepped
(come) right at my car. I _______________
swerved
(step) on the brakes and _______________ (swerve) to the
just missed
right. The other car _______________ (miss, just) my car at
about an inch.
 Past Tenses

COMPARE
Simple Past (verb + ed )
► Action 2 occurring right after action 1.
When I arrived, they talked about me..
(First, I arrived. Then they started talking about me.)

Past Perfect (had + past participle )

► Action 2 occurring before action 1.

When I arrived, they had talked about me..

(They started and finished talking about me before I arrived. I
didn’t see them talking about me.)
 Past Tenses

Complete the sentences with the simple past or the past perfect.
cooked
1) My mother _______________ (cook) something when I
walked into the room. She said she was waiting for me to help
her decide what she would make for dinner.
had cooked
2) My mother _______________ (cook) something when I
walked into the room. The food was waiting for me on the table.
had been
3) He _______________ (be) a newspaper reporter before he
became
_______________ (become) a businessman.

felt
4) I _______________ (feel) a little better after I
hadtook
taken
_______________ (take) the medicine.
 Past Tenses

COMPARE
Past Perfect (had + past participle )
► Action 2 occurring before action 1.
When I arrived, they had talked about me..
(They started and finished talking about me before I arrived. I
didn’t see them talking about me.)

Past Perfect Continuous (had been + present participle )

► Action 2 occurring during some time before action 1.
When I arrived, they had been talking about me for one hour..
(They were talking about me for one hour. Then I arrived. I
didn’t see them talking about me for that first hour.)
 Past Tenses
Complete the sentences with the past perfect or the past perfect
continuous.
1) My mother _______________
had cooked (cook) something when I
walked into the room. The food was waiting for me on the table.
hadhad
been
cooked
cooking (cook) something for more
2) My mother _______________
than one hour when I walked in the room. She was already
exhausted, so I helped her finish preparing the food.
hadhad
been
cooked
cooking (cook) something for more
3) My mother _______________
than one hour when I walked in the room. She was exhausted,
but the dish looked wonderful!
had worked
4) Michael _______________ (work) as a lawyer before he
hadhad
been
worked
working (work) in that
became a singer. In fact, he _______________
company for more than 10 years.
 Past Tenses
COMPARE ALL THE PAST TENSES
Simple Past (verb + ed )
► Action 2 occurring right after When I arrived, they talked about
action 1. me..

Past Continuous
(was/were + present participle ) When I arrived, they were talking
► Action 2 continuing at the same about me..
time as action 1.

Past Perfect
(had + past participle ) ► When I arrived, they had talked
Action 2 occurring before action about me..
1.

Past Perfect Continuous

(had been + present participle ) ► When I arrived, they had been
Action 2 occurring during some talking about me for one hour..
time before action 1.
 Past Tenses

Match the pictures with their corresponding sentences.

When Ellen arrived home, Mark

c a
cooked dinner.

a When Ellen arrived home, Mark

b
was cooking dinner.

b When Ellen arrived home, Mark

c
had cooked dinner.
 Past Tenses
Complete the sentences with the BEST past tense.

had already given

1) I was late. The teacher ____________________ (already
got
/give) a quiz when I ____________________ (get) to class.
were still sleeping
2) The kids ____________________ (still / sleep) when their
called
father _______________ (call). And I didn’t want to wake them
up, so they didn’t talk to him.
3) My mother ____________________
slept (sleep) when I
____________________
arrived (arrive) home. She was always
anxious about what could happen to me. As for my father, he
didn’t seem to worry. When I arrived home from parties, he
____________________
had already gone (already / go) to bed.

4) I ____________________
hadhad
been
studied
studying (study) English for almost 2 years
when I first____________________
traveled (travel) abroad.
Past Tenses

The End !!!!!!