TENSE CONSOLIDATION: PAST TIME

1) Past simple generally refers to:

 Completed actions with a clear reference to a specific time in the
past); it’s often used with time expressions
She finished her homework before dinner.
 Habits
Every day I played tennis.
 States
In those days, I was very shy.
 Events that followed another event
When Ann left university, she went to work for a bank.
2) Past continuous generally refers to:
 Actions in progress (often interrupted by events)
They were playing football when it started raining.
 Background description in narrative
(Provides background information in a story, setting the scene or
describing ongoing actions)
The sun was setting, and birds were chirping as they walked through
the forest.
 Repeated actions: criticism (With a frequency adverb, this use is
similar to the use of present cont. to express annoyance)
He was always interrupting me during the meeting.
 Actions in progress at a specific time (Describes an action that was
happening at a precise moment in the past.)
At 3 PM yesterday, she was reading a book.
 Two ongoing actions that were happening simultaneously in the past
While I was studying, my brother was watching TV.
3) Past perfect tenses generally refer to:
 An event in the past that happens before another event in the past,
where there is no time expression to make this clear
By the time they arrived, I had already finished my work.
 4) Past perfect continuous is used for:
 Emphasizing duration leading to a point in the past
He was out of breath because he had been running to catch the bus.
=>would and used to
Would is used to describe repeated actions, not states! It describes a habitual
activity which was typical of a person.
Every week he would write a chapter for his novel.
TENSE CONSOLIDATION: PRESENT PERFECT
1) Present perfect simple refers to:
 Recent events, without a definite time given. The recentness may be
indicated by just
He has just finished his homework. (The action of finishing
homework is recent, but the exact time is unspecified)
 Indefinite events, which happened at an unknown time in the past. No
definite time is given.
She has visited Paris several times. (The action of visiting Paris
occurred at an unspecified time in the past, but the experience is
relevant to the present)
 Indefinite events which may have an obvious result in the present
I’ve twisted my ankle. (that’s why I’m limping)
 With state verbs, a state which lasts up to the present
I’ve lived here for the past six years.
 Multiple actions in the past leading to the present
 She has lived in New York, Tokyo, and London. (She lived in these
places at different times in the past, but the experience of living in
these cities is relevant to the present)
 Life experiences
I have never eaten sushi. (This implies that the speaker has not eaten
sushi at any point in their life up to the present moment)
2) Present perfect continuous expresses:
 A state which lasts up to the present moment
I have been reading for two hours. (The action of reading started in the
past and is still ongoing at the present moment)
 An incomplete activity
I’ve been cleaning the house but I still haven’t finished.
 Emphasized duration
I’ve been watching videos on my phone all morning.
 A recently finished activity
They have been playing basketball. (They were playing basketball, and
the activity has just recently ended.)
 A repeated activity
She has been working at the company for five years. (She started
working five years ago, and the employment continues to the present)