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English Grammar > Verbs > Past tense

Past tense

Level: intermediate

Past tense
There are two tenses in English – past and
present.

The past tense in English is used:

to talk about the past

to talk about hypotheses (when we
imagine something)
for politeness.

There are four past tense forms in English:

Past simple: I worked

Past continuous: I was working

Past perfect: I had worked

Past perfect I had been

continuous: working

We use these forms:

to talk about the past:

He worked at McDonald's. He had

worked there since July.
He was working at McDonald's. He
had been working there since July.

to refer to the present or future in

hypotheses:

It might be dangerous. Suppose

they got lost.

This use is very common in wishes:

I wish it wasn't so cold.

and in conditions with if:

He could get a new job if he

really tried.
If Jack was playing, they would
probably win.

For hypotheses, wishes and conditions in

the past, we use the past perfect:

It was very dangerous. What if

you had got lost?
I wish I hadn't spent so much
money last month.
I would have helped him if he had
asked.

and also to talk about the present in a

few polite expressions:

Excuse me, I was wondering if

this was the train for York.
I just hoped you would be able to
help me.

Past tense 1

Past tense 2

Past simple
Past continuous
Past perfect

‹ Present perfect

Up

Past simple ›

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Submitted by PeterNosov on
Wed, 13/10/2021 - 16:23
Permalink

You're asking me: "What did you

do yesterday"
I'am answering:"I wrote a book"
What will you think ?
(A) That I wrote some pages of
book (didn't finish the book).
(B) That I wrote a whole book
(finished the book) ?
How should I answer in option
(A) ?

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Submitted by Kirk on Thu,

14/10/2021 - 07:56
Permalink

Hello PeterNosov,

'I wrote a book' would

normally mean that you
wrote a whole book. If you
wrote but didn't finish the
book, you could say 'I wrote
some pages for my book' or 'I
did some writing' or 'I worked
on my book'. There are other
options, too, but these are
some common ways to
express that idea.

All the best,

Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

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Submitted by
PeterNosov on Thu,
14/10/2021 - 09:10
Permalink

Thank you, Mr. Kirk !

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Submitted by lexeus on Mon,

26/07/2021 - 14:04
Permalink

Hi Team, Could you tell me

whether the following sentence
is correct: The air turned cold.
(cold as in the opposite of hot). I
know that the word 'cold' is an
adjective and not an adverb
(which presumably should follow
the verb 'turned'), so that is the
reason for my query. Thanks for
your help, lexeus.

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Submitted by Kirk on Mon,

26/07/2021 - 15:06
Permalink

Hello lexeus,

Yes, it's correct to use an

adjective after the verb 'turn'
when it means 'become'. If
you follow the link and look
at the example sentences
under the fourth entry (look
for the words 'turn verb
(BECOME' in purple), you'll
see a sentence very similar
to the one you're asking
about.

All the best,

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

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Submitted by CareBears07 on
Wed, 02/06/2021 - 16:30
Permalink

Hi, I came across this sentence

in a news article: It is also a
crime if a North Korean is aware
of the sale but did not report it.
May I know, if using "did not" in
the sentence is applied due to
referring to the present or future
in hypotheses? If that is the
case, should we use "were" to
replace "is" as the if-conjuncture
is about hypotheses?

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Submitted by Kirk on Thu,

03/06/2021 - 06:43
Permalink

Hello CareBears07,

I'm afraid I can't be

completely sure what time
this refers to without knowing
the full context, but it sounds
to me as if it's referring to a
hypothetical present situation
(being aware) that is
conditioned by a past action
(not reporting).

It wouldn't be correct to
change 'is aware' to 'were
aware' because 'it is a crime'
at the beginning of the
sentence clearly sets up a
first conditional for the main
sentence. You could,
however, write 'It would also
be a crime if a North Korean
were aware of the sale but
hadn't reported it.'

Hope this helps.

All the best,

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

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Submitted by
CareBears07 on Thu,
03/06/2021 - 09:37
Permalink

Thank you, Kirk! Now I

have a better
understanding.

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Submitted by Cmd94 on Tue,

09/03/2021 - 10:21
Permalink

Hello, would you say “thank to

my studies I DEVELOPED
specific skills…” or “thank to my
studies I HAVE DEVELOPED
specific skills…”? (my studies
finished one year ago). Thanks a
lot!

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Submitted by Peter M. on
Wed, 10/03/2021 - 08:04
Permalink

Hello Cmd94,

Both forms are possible. You

can look at this as a present
result of a past action (I have
developed) or as a past
action (I developed). It's a
question of emphasis and
speaker choice.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

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Submitted by Cmd94
on Sun, 21/03/2021 -
08:50
Permalink

Thank you so much! :)

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Submitted by elena108108 on
Thu, 18/02/2021 - 19:26
Permalink

I meant "when I was in China"

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Submitted by elena108108 on
Thu, 18/02/2021 - 19:25
Permalink

Can you please help me? which

variant is correct: Did you eat
anything interesting in China? or
Have you eaten anything
interesting in China? and why?
thanks a lot)

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Submitted by Jonathan R
on Fri, 19/02/2021 - 14:54
Permalink

Hi elena108108,

Both questions are

grammatically correct, and
they have different
meanings.

The first question is in the

past simple. It refers to a
past time that is finished,
e.g. Did you eat anything
interesting when you went to
China last year / in 2018?

The second question is in the

present perfect. This is used
for unfinished time periods. If
you ask Have you
eaten anything interesting in
China?, the person you are
speaking to is probably in
China right now, i.e. the time
period for the
action continues up to and
includes the present
moment. (The past simple
question, on the other hand,
probably means that the
person you are speaking to
is not in China any more, i.e.
that time period is now
finished.)

Does that make sense?

Jonathan

The LearnEnglish Team

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Submitted by
elena108108 on Fri,
19/02/2021 - 16:28
Permalink

Thanks a lot! now it's

clear :)

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Submitted by amit_ck on Fri,

29/01/2021 - 07:01
Permalink

What does Lean Toward mean? I

have looked up some online
dictionaries but they aren't
comprehensible to me. Could
you please give me some
examples of it?

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Submitted by Jonathan R
on Fri, 29/01/2021 - 13:33
Permalink

Hi amit_ck,

Lean means to move your

head or the top part of your
body closer to something.
Your legs and feet stay in the
same place. Towards shows
the direction of the
movement (i.e. what you are
going to reach or
touch). Here are some
examples.

He leaned towards her

because he couldn't hear
her clearly.
If I cannot see the
computer screen clearly,
I lean towards the screen.

Apart from that physical

meaning, lean towards is
also used figuratively, with a
similar meaning: to move
towards something in your
feelings, interests or
preferences.

For example:

I haven't decided which

university to apply to yet,
but I'm leaning towards
New University.
The designers usually
lean towards bright, bold
colours.

Does that make sense?

Jonathan

The LearnEnglish Team

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Submitted by amit_ck
on Mon, 01/02/2021 -
17:21
Permalink

Thank you

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Submitted by Yash on Sat,

19/12/2020 - 14:42
Permalink

Hello, Can someone explain to

me why "I'm sorry, WERE you
WAITING for me" is a polite
expression instead of something
real in the past because I'm sorry
isn't highlighted but the WERE
and WAITING are. Doesn't this
mean that we should answering
considering those 2 words
instead of I'm sorry?

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Submitted by Peter M. on
Sun, 20/12/2020 - 08:13
Permalink

Hello Yash,

The speaker here has a

choice. They could say either
of these:

'...were you waiting for

me?'

'...are you waiting for

me?'

Both are grammatically

correct, and so we cannot
say that the action is in the
past.

The past form is less direct

and this makes it a little more
polite. Obviously, saying 'I'm
sorry' adds further
politeness.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

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Submitted by Yash on
Sun, 20/12/2020 -
08:33
Permalink

I understand now. Thank

you!

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Submitted by Fiona on Mon,

30/11/2020 - 12:55
Permalink

Hi, Why in Wikipedia pages we

change verb from “is” to “was”
when a person dies? Like Ernest
Hemingway “was” a novelist. He
does not write in a period of his
lifetime and quit after that, so
why shouldn’t we use “is” after
his death?

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Submitted by Kirk on Mon,

30/11/2020 - 17:51
Permalink

Hello Fiona,

There are times when we do

use the present simple to talk
about the past, but in a text
from an encyclopedia, the
general style is to use the