PAST Tenses - PPT

Grammar Study:
Past Simple
The Simple Past Tense
● We use the simple past to indicate exactly when an action
or event took place in the past.
I visited my sister yesterday.

We went out to dinner last night.
● The simple past is used to describe actions and/or events
that are now completed and no longer true in the present.
I attended MJC in 1998. (I no longer attend MJC.)

I saw a movie every weekend when I was a teenager. (I
don’t see movies very much anymore.)
● The Simple Past can be used with a duration which
starts and stops in the past. A duration is a longer
action often indicated by expressions such as: for
two years, for five minutes, all day, all year, etc.
I lived in Brazil for two years.
They sat at the beach all day.
They did not stay at the party the entire time.
● The Simple Past can also be used to describe a habit
which stopped in the past. It can have the same meaning
as “used to.” To make it clear that we are talking about
a habit, we often add expressions such as: always, often,
usually, never, when I was a child, when I was younger,
etc.
I studied French when I was a child.
He played the violin.
Time Expressions
yesterday in 2011
last week/ month/

when I was _____
year…
a week/ month /
suddenly
year ago
Past Simple: Regular Verbs
 The Past Simple tense of the most English
verbs (regular verbs) is formed by adding "-ed"/"-
d" to their base form. (If the verb ends in "-e", we
add "-d" to form the past simple)
Examples:
 We arrived at 9:00 o'clock.
 My brother lived in London four years ago.
 When she was young, she danced beautifully.
Spelling Rules
 If a regular verb ends in consonant + y change y to i and add -
ed: carry - carried, study - studied,
fry - fried, try - tried
 If a one syllable regular verb ends

in consonant + vowel + consonant double the final consonant
and add -ed : stop - stopped, beg - begged
plan - planned, rob -robbed,
 Exception: In British English verbs ending in -l have -

ll before -ed : travel - travelled
Irregular Verbs
 There are also some verbs called irregular verbs that
have special past tense forms.
See list of irregular verbs
 We went (go) to school yesterday.

 The children read (read) that story last year.
 Tamar wrote (write) the letter to her friend on Sunday.
 The students forgot (forget) to do the homework.
Grammar Study:
Past Continuous
The Past Progressive
The past progressive is used to talk about an activity that
was in progress at a specific point of time in the past. The
emphasis is on the duration of the activity in the past.
I was studying for an exam while my mother was cooking dinner.

We were walking in the park around 7 p.m. last night.
The Past Progressive
The past progressive is often used with the simple past to
show that one action was in progress when another action
occurred.
I was taking a bath when the doorbell rang.

They were eating dinner when the neighbors stopped by for a
visit.
USE
● to describe an interrupted activity which
continued for a period in the past
● to talk about things happening for a continuous
period in the past.

● to say that somebody was in the middle of
doing something
He was playing computer games.
● for two things happening at the same time
He was playing computer games while she was
watching TV.
● for things you were in the middle of doing when
another thing happened
He was watching TV when Tom arrived.
AFFIRMATIVE
We form the past continuous tense with the helping
verb was/were + present participle (V1 + -ing).
Ex. I was going; you were going
INTERROGATIVE
We form questions by using the helping verb was/were
+ subject + present participle (V1 + -ing).
Ex. Was I going?;Were we going?
NEGATIVE
We form the negative with the helping verb was/were +
not + present participle (V1 + -ing).
Ex. I was not going; You were not going
The Past Perfect Simple
This tense describes completed events that took place in the
past before another past event.
had received it hit

had eaten my friend stopped by
The Titanic had received many warnings before it hit the

iceberg.
I had already eaten when my friend stopped by to visit.
Past perfect (I had done) and
Past simple (I did)
A. We use the past perfect to talk about a past
situation or activity that took place before another
past situation or activity, or before a particular time
in the past:
As Mary shook Mr Morgan’s hand, she realized she

had seen him before.
We use than past simple tense rather than the past

perfect when we simply talk about a single activity
or event in the past:
I handed the letter to him.

B. We use the past perfect when we say what we wanted
or hoped to do, but didn’t:
I had wanted to visit a gallery before I left Florence, but it’s
closed on Sundays.
Other verbs used like this include expect (to), mean
(to), think (about+-ing).
C. When we use a time expression (e.g. after, as soon as,

before, by the time (that), when) to say that one
event happened after another, we use either the past
simple or past perfect for the event that happened first
and the past simple for the event that happened second:
After Mary (had) finished reading, she put out the light.
When Carol (had) brushed her teeth, she went to bed.
But to emphasise that the second event is the result of the
first, we prefer the past simple for both:
She became famous after she appeared on the TV

programme.
When the teacher came in, all the children stood up.
With already and just (= a very short time before) we

use the past perfect, not the past simple:
The film had already begun by the time we got to the

cinema.
She had just stepped into her office when the telephone
rang.
Past Perfect Continuous
This tense is used to emphasize the duration of an action
that was completed before another action or event in the
past.
had been driving she found the right office
She had been driving around the city for three hours before
she finally found the right office.
Past Perfect Continuous
1. Past Perfect Continuous is used for the
duration of a single action before another
action in the past. It was interrupted by the
second action.
Ex.
 Sarah had been doing well in the exam until she
met her new boyfriend.
 What had you been doing when your friend dropped
by your home?
II. Past continuous is sometimes used instead of
Past perfect continuous.
Past continuous often continues after the
simple past action.
Ex.
John had been talking with his girlfriend when the
bell rang.
John was talking with his girlfriend when the bell
rang.
What is the difference?
III. The Past Perfect Continuous can also
indicate the repetition of an action before
another time in the past.
Ex.
Maya dropped the exam because Vicki hadn’t
been teaching it very well.
Maya dropped the exam because Vicki wasn’t
teaching it very well.
What is the difference?
Use Past Perfect Continuous for the above 2
IV.
reasons when we know the length of the
action or when the action began.
We use for or since.
Ex.
Annie had been taking flying lessons since January.
(when she almost fell out of the plane)
How long had you been studying English when you
arrived at London?
V. Past Perfect Continuous is not used with a
specific amount or a specific number of times.
Instead we use Past Perfect.
Ex.
He said Rachel had been losing a lot of weight.

He said Rachel had lost 20 pounds.
She said she had been making a lot of money.

She said she had made 500.00.
VI. Use Past Perfect Continuous in indirect
speech when the direct quote is in past
continuous.
Ex.
“Sikander wasn’t playing very well”, he said.
He said Sikander hadn’t been playing very well.
VII. Do not use Past Perfect Continuous or past

continuous with non-action verbs.
Good luck !!!

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Grammar Study:

I visited my sister yesterday.

I attended MJC in 1998. (I no longer attend MJC.)

last week/ month/

 If a one syllable regular verb ends

 Exception: In British English verbs ending in -l have -

See list of irregular verbs

 We went (go) to school yesterday.

I was studying for an exam while my mother was cooking dinner.

I was taking a bath when the doorbell rang.

period in the past.

had received it hit

The Titanic had received many warnings before it hit the

As Mary shook Mr Morgan’s hand, she realized she

We use than past simple tense rather than the past

I handed the letter to him.

C. When we use a time expression (e.g. after, as soon as,

She became famous after she appeared on the TV

With already and just (= a very short time before) we

The film had already begun by the time we got to the

He said Rachel had been losing a lot of weight.

She said she had been making a lot of money.

VII. Do not use Past Perfect Continuous or past

Good luck !!!

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