HEAAADERLOGORIGHT

BUSINESS ENGLISH · BUSINESS ISSUES · PRE-INTERMEDIATE (A2-B1)

PAST
TENSES
QrrkoD Scan to review worksheet

Expemo code:
19FC-N3N8-8X6T

1 Warm up
Read the following text and decide which of the sentences 1 - 4 uses:

• The Past Simple

• The Past Continuous
• The Past Perfect
• The Past Perfect Continuous

What verbs and verb forms do you need to make each of the tenses?

While (1) we were having a meeting, (2) my manager entered. He said that (3) they had been
having some problems with a customer and that (4) they had lost almost $10,000 in sales.

FOOOOTERRIGHT Learn without forgetting! 1/8

Scan the QR at the top of Page 1 to review the lesson flashcards with Expemo.
© Linguahouse.com. Photocopiable and licensed for use in Nahima School's lessons.
 HEAAADERLOGORIGHT
PRE-INTERMEDIATE (A2-B1)

PAST TENSES

2 Usage of Past Simple and Past Continuous

Part A: Complete the following rules with either Past Simple or Past Continuous.

1. We use the to talk about events or actions that happened over a period of time
when they started and ended in the past with non-stative verbs (e.g., like, love, need). We often
use it with a time expression which expresses a period of time.

2. We use the with events or actions that were completed in the past with a past
time phrase (e.g., last year, two weeks ago, at 4 pm, in 2019).

3. We use the for habits that happened in the past but have stopped now. We often
use words such as always and constantly in this situation.

4. We use the with events or actions that were completed and we know from general
knowledge they are in the past.

5. If we are telling a story, we use the to talk about the things that were happening
at the time in the background, and the to talk about the events.

Part B: Now match the following sentences a – e to the rules 1 – 5.

a. He was always shouting in meetings. → Rule

b. I was working on my presentation for hours yesterday. → Rule

c. I met Sheldon at a conference in Marseilles last month. → Rule

d. We were having dinner with some clients and eating some delicious Italian food when my manager
called me and told me he needed to talk to me immediately. → Rule

e. Bill Gates created Microsoft with his friend, Paul Allen. → Rule

FOOOOTERLEFT Learn without forgetting! 2/8

Scan the QR at the top of Page 1 to review the lesson flashcards with Expemo.
© Linguahouse.com. Photocopiable and licensed for use in Nahima School's lessons.
 HEAAADERLOGORIGHT
PRE-INTERMEDIATE (A2-B1)

PAST TENSES

3 Error correction

Read the following sentences. Decide if there is a mistake and if there is, correct it.

1. I was wanting to finish my presentation before I went home.

2. While I was giving my presentation, there was a power cut.

3. The first time I was meeting Rafiq was two years ago in Milan.

4. I was listening to pop music while I was working on my report.

5. The CEO stood up in the meeting and told us that he left the company.

6. When I arrived at the meeting, the rest of the team were talking about the next project.

7. While I was giving my presentation, my manager was leaving to make a phone call.

8. The taxi didn’t arrive on time so we were getting to the meeting late.

FOOOOTERRIGHT Learn without forgetting! 3/8

Scan the QR at the top of Page 1 to review the lesson flashcards with Expemo.
© Linguahouse.com. Photocopiable and licensed for use in Nahima School's lessons.
 HEAAADERLOGORIGHT
PRE-INTERMEDIATE (A2-B1)

PAST TENSES

4 Usage of Past Perfect and Past Perfect Continuous

Study the information.

Past Perfect

We use the Past Perfect when there are two events or actions in the past and we want to
make the order clear. We often use it with another past tense. We can use stative verbs (e.g,
love, like, need). For example:

We can use the past simple to talk about two events in order.
• (first action) I woke up late, so I (second action) arrived late for the meeting.

Or we can reorder the events with the Past Perfect.

• (second action) I arrived late for the meeting because (first action) I had woken up late.

Past Perfect Continuous

We use the Past Perfect Continuous when we want to talk about an action that happened
over a period of time before another event in the past. We often use it with another past
tense. We can use non-stative verbs. For example:

We can use the Past Simple and the Past Continuous to talk about two events in order.
• (first action) I was living in Belfast for two years before (second action) I started work at Flint
Inc.

Or we can reorder them using the events with the Present Perfect Continuous.
• When (second action) I started work at Flint Inc, (first action) I had been living in Belfast for
two years.

FOOOOTERLEFT Learn without forgetting! 4/8

Scan the QR at the top of Page 1 to review the lesson flashcards with Expemo.
© Linguahouse.com. Photocopiable and licensed for use in Nahima School's lessons.
 HEAAADERLOGORIGHT
PRE-INTERMEDIATE (A2-B1)

PAST TENSES

Part A: Now complete the following sentences using either the Present Perfect or the Present Perfect
Continuous.

1. I didn’t know how to answer his question in the meeting because I . (not/listen)

2. When I started my first job in sales, I any experience. (not/have)

3. I needed to go home to get my passport because I (forget) it.

4. I was very tired when we arrived at the conference because we (travel) for nine
hours.

5. By the time I arrived at the office, my manager already (go) home.

6. He (meet) the client at the station before they came to the meeting.

Part B: Now complete the following sentences with the Past Perfect or the Past Simple.

1. The team (prepare) a presentation which the directors watched (watch) during the
meeting and then (discuss).

2. We (go) to lunch after the meeting (finish) and

(continue) to discuss the deal.

3. I (not/bring) my laptop to work so I (not able) to finish my report.

4. He (ask) if there were any questions before he (finish) his presentation.

5. I (introduce) myself to the clients as we (not/meet) before.

6. By the time I (go) home, everyone else in the office (leave).

FOOOOTERRIGHT Learn without forgetting! 5/8

Scan the QR at the top of Page 1 to review the lesson flashcards with Expemo.
© Linguahouse.com. Photocopiable and licensed for use in Nahima School's lessons.
 HEAAADERLOGORIGHT
PRE-INTERMEDIATE (A2-B1)

PAST TENSES

5 Would and Had

We can abbreviate had to ’d. However, this can also be confused with would which can also be
abbreviated to ’d. Firstly, study the information and then read the following sentences and after each
one, write would or had in the gap.

Would is always followed by the base form of the verb, e.g., I would go...

Had is always followed by the past particle of the verb, e.g., I had gone...

1. If Pedro comes in to the office, I’d like to see him.

2. I’d love to talk to you about the new products later.

3. I’d not seen the new advert so I was quite surprised.

4. He’d usually arrive late on Monday mornings because he traveled from Paris.

5. She’d started her new job only six months after finishing university.

6. I can come in early on Tuesday to work on the report if you’d like.

7. I’d not started the survey because I thought you wanted to talk about it first.

8. I was really happy to get the job because I’d always wanted to work there.

6 Story completion: Part 1

Read the following story and complete it with the correct words from the box. Then listen and check.

been / were / had / slept/ been traveling / ‘d had / started / had to

1
Last year’s conference in Oslo was very interesting. About two days before it , we
2
checked into this beautiful hotel. We come all the way from Rio De Janeiro, so we
3 4
had for almost two days. We were all exhausted. We some problems
5 6
in Washington DC. The plane had too full, so we’d catch a later one.
7 8
Fortunately, the beds at the hotel in Oslo really comfortable, so we all
really well on the first night.

FOOOOTERLEFT Learn without forgetting! 6/8

Scan the QR at the top of Page 1 to review the lesson flashcards with Expemo.
© Linguahouse.com. Photocopiable and licensed for use in Nahima School's lessons.
 HEAAADERLOGORIGHT
PRE-INTERMEDIATE (A2-B1)

PAST TENSES

7 Story completion: Part 2

Part A: Complete the second part of the story with the Past Simple, the Past Continuous, the Past
Perfect or the Past Perfect Continuous of the verb in brackets. Remember you may need to use a
negative for it to make sense. There may be more than one option for the gaps. Then, listen and
check your answers.
1 2
On the first morning, I (have) breakfast with Juliana when Hans (join)
3
us and told us that the presentation (prepare) before we left had been deleted from his
computer. He didn’t understand what had happened. I didn’t have a copy of it and neither did Juliana.
4
Our presentation was scheduled for the first day of the conference. So as soon as we
(finish) breakfast, the three of us started creating the presentation all over again. Fortunately, we were
5
able to remember all of it, but we still (work) until almost midnight
6
that day. We (plan) to take some time to look around Oslo instead of working, but
we spent all day in my room preparing the presentation again instead. When the conference started,
7
we all (feel) really nervous, but the presentation went really well. After we finished, a
8
few of our customers came over and said that they really (enjoy) it. Our
manager emailed us to tell us he had heard that it went really well and that some new customers had
9
contacted him asking about our products. We (expect) to hear such good news. We
decided to leave early on the third day of the conference and go and have a meal in Oslo to celebrate.

Part B: Now, decide if the following statements about the story are true (T) or false (F).

1. They went to Washington DC before they went to Oslo.

2. Hans was the last person to arrive for breakfast.
3. They went to look around Oslo on the first day there.
4. They met some customers before the presentation.
5. The presentation was a success.

FOOOOTERRIGHT Learn without forgetting! 7/8

Scan the QR at the top of Page 1 to review the lesson flashcards with Expemo.
© Linguahouse.com. Photocopiable and licensed for use in Nahima School's lessons.
 HEAAADERLOGORIGHT
PRE-INTERMEDIATE (A2-B1)

PAST TENSES

8 Writing about your experience

Now it is your turn to write a story about an experience you had at work. You are going to try and
use all of the past tenses to tell your story.

Consider the following:

• What events happened? (Past Simple)

• In what order did the events happen?
• Can you start the story in the middle so that you can go back and give the early events later? (Past
Perfect)
• What was happening in the background when the story started? (Past Continuous)
• What had been happening before the events happened? (Past Perfect Continuous)

You should:

• Write at least 150 words

• Check your grammar, spelling and punctuation.

....................................................................................................

....................................................................................................

....................................................................................................

....................................................................................................

....................................................................................................

....................................................................................................

....................................................................................................

....................................................................................................

....................................................................................................

....................................................................................................

FOOOOTERLEFT Learn without forgetting! 8/8

Scan the QR at the top of Page 1 to review the lesson flashcards with Expemo.
© Linguahouse.com. Photocopiable and licensed for use in Nahima School's lessons.