PAST TENSES

█▌SIMPLE PAST

We use the past simple to say that something happened at a particular point of time in the past
(answering the question when?) or in a particular period of time in the past (which is now over). The point
or period of time can be mentioned, or it may be clear from the context. Some common phrases of time
are yesterday, in 1998, last year, an hour ago, etc. We also use the past simple after When..?

There are two elements of meaning involved in the most frequent use of the Past Tense:
- One basic element of meaning is “the happening takes place before the present moment”, which
means that the present moment is excluded.
-The other element of meaning is “the speaker has a definite time in mind”, usually named by an
adverbial expression.

USES OF THE SIMPLE PAST

 To express a completed or finished action. We know that it is finished because it obligatorily

says when it finished (adverbial of past time: in 1832) or i t is clear from the context (in my
childhood: we can see that this person is not a child any more)

Hayden worked in 1832.

We visited Selfridges in my childhood.
I lived in Sicily for ten years. (which makes it clear that I no longer live there)

 To sound more polite in some context of everyday conversation to refer to the present feelings or
thoughts of the speaker or hearer.

A: Did you want me?

B: Yes. I hoped you would give me a hand with the painting.

The effect of the Past Tense is to make the request indirect as the speaker is prepared to change
to change his own attitude in the light of that of the listener.

█▌PAST PROGRESSIVE

You may remember that the progressive tenses share the idea of limited duration and incompleteness
and these same ideas, of course, correspond to the Past Progressive. The idea that the action expressed
is not necessarily complete is best illustrated in contrast with the Simple Past:

The man was drowning. The man drowned.

To the first sentence we could add: ...but I jumped into the water and saved him; but not to the
other, which implies that the man actually died, as the action is complete.
The progressive aspect has the effect of surrounding a particular event or moment by a “temporal
frame”, within the flow of time, there is some point of reference from which the temporary activity
indicated by the verb stretches into some time before or after that point.

This time last year, I was travelling round the world.

He was looking very ill when I last saw him.

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USES OF THE PAST PROGRESSIVE

 To indicate that two activities took place at the same time or simultaneously.

While she was working hard in the kitchen, her husband was watching TV.

 In narratives, it forms a “temporal frame” around an action; it sets “the scene” around the event.

Compare: When we arrived, she made some fresh coffee

When we arrived, she was making some fresh coffee.

The first example tells us that the coffee-making followed the arrival; the second that the arrival took place
during the coffee-making (simultaneously).
1. Write the verbs in brackets into the PAST SIMPLE or PAST PROGRESSIVE
a. As soon as Margaret ______________ (get) off the train, she _____________ (pull) her coat around
her. Rain _____________ (fall) heavily and a cold wind ___________ (blow) across the platform. She
____________ (look) around but no one ______________ (wait) to meet her. She _____________ (turn)
to leave when she ______________ (hear) footsteps. A man __________ (walking) towards her. He
____________ (smile) at her, then he _____________ (say) ”You are finally her”.

b. George ______________ (pick) up his bag. Then, he ________________ (throw) it over his shoulder.
It ____________________ (get) dark and he ______________ (have) a long way to go. He
________________ (wish) he had let someone know that he ________________ (come). It
___________________ (start) to rain and he ________________ (feel) cold. Suddenly, he
______________ (hear) a noise; then, he __________________ (see) two bright lights on the road
ahead. A car ____________ (head) towards him. It ______________ (slow) down and finally
_____________ (stop) beside him. A man _______________ (sit) at the Wheel. He _______________
(open) the door quickly and _______________ (say) “Get in, George”.

c. Andy ____________ (step) into the house and _________________ (close) the door behind him.
Everything _____________ (quiet). His heart ________________ (beat) fast and his hands
_______________ (shake) as he ______________ (creep) silently into the empty house, but he was
trying not to panic. He soon _____________ (find) what he ______________ (look) for. He
____________ (smile) with relief as he ___________ (put) on the clothes. The men who
______________ (follow) him would never recognize him now.

d. The boys _______________ (play) football on the river bank while the girls _______________ (talk).
Everyone ______________ (enjoy) the picnic when suddenly, they ______________ (hear) a loud cry
from further up the river. They all ____________ (rush) to see what _____________ (happen).

e. It ______________ (happen) at ten o’clock last night. John ____________ (sit) in his cosy living room
with his wife and children. They __________ (watch) the evening news on TV when the lights
______________ (go out) and everything in the house _____________ (become) quiet.

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 PERFECTIVE ASPECT
We have seen that aspect is the way the speaker or writer sees the action of the verb, i.e it can be
happening at the moment speaking (progressive) or complete before the moment of speaking
(perfective).
This means, then, that when I am speaking about the past, if I wanted to mention an action which
finished before, I would use Past Perfect. Likewise, if I am speaking about the present, to show that the
action is finished, I would need Present Perfect.

█▌PAST PERFECT

The Past Perfect (HAD + Verb in the past participle form) has the meaning of past-in-the-past or
before-past. Therefore, the Past Perfect demands an already established past point of reference. This is
why it is difficult to begin a conversation with the Past Perfect Tense.

The house was sold. It had been empty for ages. (before it was sold)
The goal keeper had injured his leg and couldn't play. (the injury was previous to the match)

It is worth noting that in some contexts, particularly following the conjunction after, the simple Past and
the Past Perfect are interchangeable. These two sentences could well be describing the same sequence
of events:
I ate lunch after my wife had come back from her shopping.
I ate lunch after my wife came back from her shopping.

USE OF THE PAST PERFECT

 To sequence events/states, indicating that it happened before another event/state in the

past.

I ran into Tom one morning. I hadn't seen him for a year. We greeted each other and
we started to talk about what had happened in our lives.

Chronological order of events: I didn’t see Tom.

Things happened in our lives.
I met him.
We greeted each other.
We started to talk.

2. Put the verb in brackets into the correct tense: Simple Past or Past Perfect.

a. I ___________ (arrive) in England in the middle of July. I ___________ (be told) that England
_____________ (be) shrouded in fog all the year round, so I __________ (be) quite surprised to find that
it was merely raining. I _____________ (ask) another passenger, an Englishman, about the fog and he
____________ (say) that there ______________ (not, be) any since the previous February. If I
____________ (want) fog, he said, I _____________ (come) at quite the wrong time. However, he
___________ (tell) me that I could buy tinned fog at a shop in Shaftesbury Ave. He ____________ (admit)
the he _______________ (never, buy) fog there himself but ____________ (assure) that they
_______________ (sell) good quality fog and that it ________________ (not, be) expensive.

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b. When he ___________________(see) his wife off at the station, he ________________ (return) home
as he __________________ (not, have) to be at the airport till 9.30. He _________________ (not, have)
to pack, for his wife ________________ (do) that for him and his case ____________ (be) ready in the
hall. He ______________ (not, have) to check the doors and Windows either, for his wife always
_____________ (do) that before she ___________ (leave) the house. All he ____________ (have) to do
______________ (be) to decide whether or not to take his overcoat with him. In the end, he
_______________ (decide) not to. At 8.30 he ______________ (pick) up his case, __________ (go) out
of the house and ______________ (slam) the door behind him. Then he _______________ (feel) in his
pocket for the keys, for his wife ________________ (remind) him to double-lock the front door. When he
______________ (search) all his pockets and ____________ (find) no key, he ________________
(remember) where it ____________ (be). He _______________ (leave) it in his overcoat pocket. Then,
he _______________ (remember) something else; his Passport and tickets ______________ (be) in his
overcoat pocket as well.

3. Put the verbs in brackets into the correct past tense: simple, progressive or perfect

a. On Monday morning, Jo ____________ (miss) the bus and __________ (have) to walk to school.
When she _______________ (arrive) the bell _____________ (ring) and lessons ______________ (start).
The children ______________ (work) quietly when Jo _________________ (walk) into the classroom.

b. When Jamie ______________ (get) to the party, a lot of people _______________ (dance) to pop
music. Everyone _______________ (wear) jeans and T-shirts. Jamie _________________ (buy) a new
suit for the party and he _______________ (wear) that. He _____________ (feel) quite silly because
everyone _______________ (look) at him. He ______________ (not, ask) about the clothes.

█▌PRESENT PERFECT

To us, Spanish speakers, the difference between Simple Past and Present perfect to speak about the
past is a really difficult one as we do not make this difference. Present Perfect is frequently translated into
Spanish as “Yo he hecho”, “Él ha tomado” but this does not respect the use of Present Perfect in English
as we are using “Pretérito (that is past) Perfecto” in Spanish as an equivalent of Present Perfect. Besides,
the use of “Yo he hecho” in Spanish is not as frequent and natural as the Present Perfect in English.
Compare English and Spanish:

Would you like some coffee? ¿Querés un café?

No, thanks. I have already had one. No, gracias. Ya he tomado. (artificial)

USES OF THE PRESENT PERFECT

 To express experiences or indefinite past. An experience is something that happened at some

indefinite moment in the past.

Have you been to Europe?

All my family have had measles.

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Often the indefinite meaning is reinforced adverbially, especially by ever, never, before. By
indefiniteness there are two things meant:
- The number of events is unspecified –it may be one or more than one–
- The time is left unspecified. So the meaning of the Present Perfect here is “at-least-once-before-now”.
If there were an adverbial of time to specify the exact time, the Present Perfect becomes inappropriate,
and must be replaced by the Simple Past.

Compare: I've been to Europe once. I went to America last year.

I don’t know when (indefinite) I know exactly when.

 To express a state / habit-up-to-the present. The use of Present Perfect with an state or an
event verb means that the state or the habit extends over a period lasting up to the present
moment:

We have lived in London since last September. (London is where we are living now)
Mr. Philips has sung in this choir for fifty years. (and he still does)

The habit or the state may continue through the present moment into the future and an adverbial of
duration is usually required, most frequently for + duration or since + starting momento.

CONTRAST BETWEEN PRESENT PERFECT AND SIMPLE PAST

Compare the meaning:

His sister has been a teacher all her life. (his sister is alive)
His sister was a teacher all her life. (his sister is dead)

For generations, Nepal has produced the world’s greatest soldiers. (Nepal still exists)
For generations, Sparta produced the greatest warriors. (The state of Sparta no longer
exists)

We have lived in London for six months. (We are still living there)
We lived in London for six months. (We lived in a different city now)

DEFINITE AND INDEFINITE PAST MEANING

The definite/indefinite contrast between Simple Past and Present Perfect is exactly parallel to the contrast
in meaning between the definite article “the” and the indefinite article “a”. We say “the cat” when the
animal has been previously mentioned or we know from the context what particular animal is under
discussion.

A similar thing happens with the use of Present Perfect and then Simple Past. It is natural to start a
conversation indefinitely and then to progress to definite reference once a frame of reference has been
established:

Joan has received a proposal of marriage; it took us completely by surprise

indefinite definite
(We are talking about
the proposal already mentioned)

I’ve been to Switzerland once and I loved it.

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ADVERBIALS IN RELATION TO PERFECT AND PAST

Adverbials associated with the Past Tense:

a week ago, earlier this year, last Monday, the other day, yesterday evening and similar
phrases. They refer to a specific time in the past.

Adverbials associated with the Present Perfect:

so far, up to now, since Thursday, since I met you, lately, for the time being

Adverbials combining with either the Present Perfect or the Past:

This morning, this March, today with Present Perfect indicate that the period referred to is not yet
over. For example, it is possible to say “I have been to the dentist this morning” if it is 11 am but
not at 3 pm. At 3 pm we should use past, because the morning has finished.

█▌PRESENT PERFECT PROGRESSIVE

The present perfect progressive ( have/has + been + Verb ING) can replace the Present Perfect Simple
in its use state / habit-up-to-the present when I want to emphasize the duration or the extension of an
activity over time. In all the cases, the meaning doesn’t change if the Present Perfect Simple is used.

4. Put the verbs in brackets into either the Past Simple or Present Perfect Simple. Say in which
cases Present Perfect Continuous could also be used.

I (1) ............moved............. (move) to London three weeks ago to take up a new post at my company's
London office. Ever since then, I (2) ..................................... (wonder) if I (3) ............................. (make) the
right decision. I (4) ..................................... (see) a lot of negative things about living in the capital, and I
can't say London (5) ..................................... (make) a very favourable impression on me. It's so polluted
and expensive, and the people are so distant. You see, I (6) ................................... (grow up) in a fairly
small town called Devizes and I (7) ................................... (spend) all of my life there. I
(8) ............................... (always/want) to live in a big city and so when my company (9) ..............................
(offer) me a job in London, I (10) ..................................... (jump) at the chance.
I think I'm not alone in my aversion to the big city. According to a programme I (11) ....................................
(just/hear) on the radio, more and more people (12) ....................................... (stop) working in London
recently, and a lot of large companies (13) ....................................... (choose) to move away from the
centre. Oh well, it's too late to change my mind now, because the job is up and running, and I
(14) ....................................... (already/sell) my house in Devizes. But I must admit, over the past few days,
I (15) ....................................... (secretly/hope) that the company would relocate me back to my old town.

5. Put each verb in brackets into an appropriate verb form

Reporter Philip Taggart visits a farm where the sheep are super fit!

Farmers, as you may (1) ......know...... (know), (2)....................................(have) a hard time of it in Britain
lately, and ............................... (3) (turn) to new ways of earning income from their land. This
(4) .........................(involve) not only planting new kinds of crops, but also some strange ways of making
money, the most unusual of which has got to be sheep racing. Yes, you (5) ................................. (hear)
me correctly! A farmer in the west of England now (6) ........................................(hold) sheep races on a
regular basis, and during the past year over 100,000 people (7) .......................................(turn up) to watch
the proceedings. 'I (8) .....................................(pass) the farm on my way to the sea for a holiday,' one
punter told me, 'and I (9) ........................................(think) I'd have a look. I (10)...........................................
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(not/believe) it was serious, to tell you the truth.' According to a regular visitor, betting on sheep is more
interesting than betting on horses. 'At proper horse races everyone (11) ................................................
(already/study) the form of the horses in advance, and there are clear favourites. But nobody (12)
.................................(hear) anything about these sheep! Most people (13) .........................................(find)
it difficult to tell one from another in any case.' I (14) ............................................ (stay) to watch the races,
and I must admit that I (15) .......................................... (find) it quite exciting. In a typical race, half a dozen
sheep (16) .............................................(race) downhill over a course of about half a mile. Food
(17) ...........................................(wait) for them at the other end of the track, I ought to add! The sheep
(18) ..........................................(run) surprisingly fast, although presumably they (19)....................................
(not/eat) for a while just to give them some motivation. At any rate, the crowd around me
(20) ...............................,,,,,,......(obviously/enjoy) their day out at the races, judging by their happy faces
and the sense of excitement.

WHEN YOU HAVE FINISHED WITH ALL THE THEORY, YOU MAY LIKE TO WATCH THIS VIDEO
WHICH WILL TEST HOW MUCH YOU HAVE UNDERSTOOD ABOUT PAST TENSES:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0q24_bB_54
KEY TO THE ACTIVITIES
1. Write the verbs in brackets into the PAST SIMPLE or PAST PROGRESSIVE
a. got off – pulled – was falling – was blowing – looked – was waiting – turned – heard – was
walking – smiled – said.
b. picked up – threw – was getting dark – had – wished – was coming – was starting – was feeling
/ felt - heard – saw – was heading – slowed – stopped – was sitting – opened – said
c. stepped – closed – was – was beating – were shaking – crept – found – was looking – smiled –
was putting / put – were following
d. were playing – were talking – was enjoying – heard – rushed – was happening
e. happened – was sitting – watching – went out – became.
2. Put the verb in brackets into the correct tense: Simple Past or Past Perfect
a. arrived – had been told – was – was – asked – said – had not been – wanted – had come – told
– admitted – had never bought – assured – sold – was not.
b. Had seen – returned – did not have –didn’t have- had done – was – didn’t have – did – left –
had – was – decided – picked – went – slammed – felt – had reminded – had searched – (had)
found – remembered – was – had left – remembered – were
3. Put the verbs in brackets into the correct past tense: Simple, Progressive or Perfect
a. missed – had – arrive – had rung – had started – were working – walked.
b. got – were dancing – was wearing – had bought – was wearing – felt – was looking – hadn’t
asked.
4. Put the verbs in brackets into either the Past Simple or Present Perfect Simple. Say in which
cases Present Perfect Continuous could also be used.
moved – have wondered (have been wondering) – have made – have seen - has made – grew up – have
spent – have always wanted – offered – jumped – have just heard – have stopped - have chosen (have
been choosing) – have already sold – have secretly hoped (have been secretly hoping).
5. Put each verb in brackets into an appropriate verb form
know – have had/have been having – have turned - involves – have heard – are holding/ hold - have
turned up- was passing – thought – didn’t believe - has already studied - has heard – find – stayed –
found - race – is waiting – run - have not eaten – was obviously enjoying/ enjoyed