Simple Past, Past Perfect, Past Continuous

Simple past, past perfect, past continuous

Simple PastWhen do we need to use the past

simple tense in English? Remember, this is the basic past tense. We use it whenever we want to talk about the past and we don't have any special situation

1 Finished events in the past with no connection to the present:

Leonardo painted the Mona Lisa.The Vikings invaded Britain.

2 With a finished time word (yesterday, last week, at 2 o'clock, in 2003):

I went to the cinema yesterday.We visited Japan in 2007.

3 For stories / lists of events:

He went to a café, sat down and lit a cigarette.Yesterday I went to the library, met a friend for lunch, and played tennis.

4 Details of news:

I've hurt my leg. I fell off a ladder when I was painting my bedroom.I've been on holiday. I went to Spain and Portugal.

5 As part of the second conditional:

If I won the lottery, I would buy a house in Chelsea.If she knew his number, she would call him.

The Past Simple (Simple Past) with Other VerbsWe make the past simple just like the

present simple except we use 'did' instead of 'do / does'. It's really easy because 'did' doesn't change, even with 'he / she / it'.

The positive:We usually make the positive by adding

'-ed' to the infinitive. For example, 'play' becomes 'played'. However, there are some irregular verbs, for example 'go' becomes 'went' and 'run' becomes 'ran'.

Example of Positive sentence in Simple PastI walked (regular)you played (regular)he cooked (regular)she listened (regular)it rained (regular)we ate (irregular)they drank (irregular)

In the negative there aren't any irregular verbs. All verbs use 'did not (didn't) + infinitive'Example I did not walkyou did not playhe did not cookshe did not listenit did not rainwe did not eatthey did not drink

Questions are also very easy. Just put 'did' before the subject, and the infinitive after it.did I walk?did you play?did he cook?did she listen?did it rain?did we eat?did they drink?

To make a 'wh' question, of course, put the question word at the beginning of the sentence

where did I go?what did you play?what did he cook?why did she listen?when did it rain?where did we eat?how did they travel?

Past continuousThe past continuous tense in

English is used quite often, especially when telling stories.

1 A continuous action in the past which is interrupted by another action or a time:

I was taking a bath when the telephone rang.At three o'clock, I was working.

2Background information, to give

atmosphere to a story:

It was a beautiful day. The birds were singing, the sun was shining and in the cafes people were laughing  and chatting

3 An annoying and repeated action in the past, usually with 'always':

He was always leaving the tap running.(In the same way as thePresent Continuous)

4 For two actions which happened at the same time in the past:

I was watching TV and he was reading.

How can we make the past continuous? Firstly, check that you know how to make the past simple with 'be' (subject + was / were). Then just add verb-ing.Here's the positive form:I was sleepingyou were workinghe was comingshe was reading 'War and Peace'it was rainingwe were shoppingthey were watching a film

Next, here's the negative - it's very easy, just add 'not':

I was not (wasn't) sleepingyou were not (weren't) workinghe was not (wasn't) comingshe was not (wasn't) reading 'War and

Peace'it was not (wasn't) rainingwe were not (weren't) shoppingthey were not (weren't) watching a

film

And, just like the past simple with 'be', to make a 'yes / no' question, put 'was / were' in front of the subject:

Was I listening?Were you working?Was she working?Was he living in Paris at the time?Was it snowing when you arrived?Were we eating?Were they studying?

To make a 'wh' question (of course) put the question word at the beginning:

Why was I working?Where were you living?How was she travelling?Where was he going?Why was it snowing in the summer?What were we eating?Why were they studying?

The Past Perfect TenseWe don't use the past perfect a

lot in English, but it is useful, and it sounds very good if you can use it correctly. Also, it's really easy to make - just the past simple of 'have' and the past participle

1: A completed action before something else in the past. When we arrived, the film had started. (= first the film

started, then later we arrived)2: To explain or give a reason for something in the past. I'd eaten dinner so I wasn't hungry. It had snowed in the night, so the bus didn't arrive.3: Stative verbs only: something that started in the past

and continued up to another action in the past. When he graduated, he had been in London for six years. 

(= he arrived in London six years before he graduated and lived there continuously until he graduated, or even longer)

4: As part of the third conditional. If I had known you were ill, I would have visited you.

The positive - make it with 'had' + the past participle (usually made by adding 'ed' to the infinitive, but a few verbs have irregular past participles):

I had been (I'd been)You had gone (you'd gone)She had met (she'd met)He had played (he'd played)It had rained (it'd rained)We had bought (we'd bought)They had studied (they'd studied)The short form for 'had' is 'd. 

(Be careful not to confuse it with 'would'. Would is followed by the infinitive - 'I'd go', whereas had is followed by the past participle - 'I'd gone').

For the negative just add 'not':I had not been (I hadn't been)You had not gone (you hadn't gone)She had not met (she hadn't met)He had not played (he hadn't played)It had not rained (it hadn't rained)We had not bought (we hadn't

bought)They had not studied (they hadn't

studied)

And to make a 'yes / no' question put 'had' before the subject:

Had I come? Had you eaten? Had she gone? Had it rained? Had he studied? Had we met? Had they left?For 'wh' questions put the question word at the beginning: When had I come? Why had you eaten? Where had she gone? When had it rained? Why had he studied? How had we met? When had they left?

Past Perfect ContinuousSomething that started in the past and

continued up to another action or event (tells us 'how long')She had been working at that company for a year when she met James. (This tells us how long something had continued before another event in the past. We usually use 'for' or 'since' in the same way as we do with thepresent perfect continuous)

Cause of something in the pastThe pavement was wet, it had been raining. (It was raining before the time I'm describing in the past. We could see the result of the rain - compare with the present perfect continuous)

Here's how to make the past perfect continuous. It's 'had' + been (the past participle of 'be')+ verb-ing

Firstly, let's look at the positive form:I had been livingYou had been goingShe had been sleepingHe had been workingIt had been rainingWe had been studyingThey had been cookingThe short form is: 'd been verb-ing. Be careful,

because the short form for 'would' is also 'd. However, 'would' is always followed by the infinitive, but 'had' is followed by the past participle.

Next, the negative form:I had not been trying (I hadn't been..)You had not been working (you hadn't

been..)She had not been crying (she hadn't been..)He had not been shopping (he hadn't been..)It had not been snowing (it hadn't been..)We had not been reading (we hadn't been..)They had not been running (they hadn't

been..)

It's pretty easy to make the question too.'Yes / no' questions: Had I been working? Had you been sleeping? Had she been reading? Had he been watching TV? Had it been raining? Had we been drinking? Had they been eating?'Wh' questions: Where had I been working? How long had you been sleeping? What had she been reading? How long had he been watching TV? How long had it been raining? What had we been drinking? Why had they been eating?