PAST TENSES

UNIT 2 – P.20
*Auxiliar verb: DO (DID / DIDN’T)
 SIMPLE PAST

Finished actions or situations in the past

One thing happened after another
S AY T H E S E N T E N C E I N T H E N E G AT I V E
A N D I N T E R R O G AT I V E F O R M
 PAST CONTINUOUS

Talk about activities in progress at the moment in the past

Describe scenes in a story, for example
Talk about an activity in progress when another
interrupted it
WHILE / AS / WHEN
WHAT WAS THE QUESTION?
Talk about actions that happened before
another action in the past
Time expressions: WHEN / AFTER / BY
THE TIME / AS SOON AS
S AY T H E S E N T E N C E I N T H E
N E G AT I V E A N D
I N T E R R O G AT I V E F O R M
Talk about actions that happened before
another action in the past
Gives importance to the duration of an
activity
 PA S T S I M P L E A N D PA S T C O N T I N U O U S

WE USE THE PAST SIMPLE WE USE THE PAST CONTINUOUS

To talk about actions that took place in a particular moment in the

past. To talk about actions that were in progress for a period
WW II finished in September 1945. of time in the past.

This school year started on 12th September. The old man was sitting on a chair and looking at the

To express how things were in the past. people passing by.
In the 19th century London was a dangerous city. While I was checking my e-mail, my dad was watching
In the Middle Ages most people couldn’t read or write. a film and my little sister was playing with the cat.
When talking about actions that took place consecutively (one after
the other).
First we packed our luggage and then we took a taxi to the airport.
• A C O M B I N AT I O N O F PA S T S I M P L E A N D PA S T C O N T I N U O U S I N
O N E S E N T E N C E H A P P E N S W H E N W E A R E TA L K I N G A B O U T O N E
A C T I O N I N P R O G R E S S ( PA S T C O N T I N U O U S ) T H AT I S
I N T E R R U P T E D B Y A S H O RT, U N E X P E C T E D A C T I O N ( PA S T S I M P L E )

W H I L E S O P H I A WA S H AV I N G H E R C O F F E E , T H E D O O R B E L L R A N G .

I B R O K E M Y A R M W H E N / W H I L E I WA S S K I I N G I N T H E A L P S .
 P R E S E N T P E R F E C T V S PA S T S I M P L E

We use the Present perfect Comparison to the Past Simple


To express actions that started in the past but the exact time is not Finished actions or actions that happened at a particular
important or is unknown. These actions have a relationship or a time in the past are expressed in the Past Simple, not the
consequence in the present. Present perfect.

She has lost her bag.
She lost her bag in the metro yesterday.

I have been to Australia.
I was in Australia three years ago.

Hey! Have you had your hait cut?
Hey! Did you go to the hairdresser’s yesterday?

Already, just and yet are frequently used with the Present Perfect.
Expressions of finished time (yesterday, ago, in 2018, in

The movie “IT Part 2” only came out yesterday, but Peter has
July, when I was a child, etc) are commonly used.
already seen it. He has always loved horror films.
Peter loved horror films when he was a child, and he still
loves them.
 PA S T P E R F E C T C O M B I N E D W I T H PA S T
SIMPLE

We use the Past Perfect

To talk about an action that took place before another action in the past.
When we arrived, the film had started.

I had eaten dinner, so I wasn’t hungry.

To talk about something that started in the past and lasted up to another action or time in the past.
When he graduated he had been in London for six years.
On July 20th I had worked there for six months.

Note the we never use the Past Perfect tense without a reference to another point in the past.