Past tensesPast tensesPast tensesPast tenses
Past simple• We bought the house a year ago.Complete action – definite time in the past• She got up, took her bag and left.Several actions happened one after another.• The speeding car hit a dog and did not stop.Main events in a narrative Time expressions: a month/year ago,
yesterday, last week/month, in 1963/November, when, the other day.
Past continuous• At nine o’clock last night, we were visiting
friends.Action in progress in a specific time in the past.• I was playing the guitar while Cindy was
singing.2 incomplete actions happening at the same time• We were walking home when the rain started.An action in progress(PC) interrupted by a shorter
action (PS)• We look outside. It was raining hard and the wind
was blowing.The background to a narrative.• The weather was becoming hotter and hotter.Refers to a changing state.Time expressions: yesterday at 9 o’clock, as, while.
Past perfect simple• He did well in his exam because he
had studied really hard.An activity that happened before another
activity or time in the past.Time expressions:By the time, after, before, when, as soon
as, already, no sooner…than, hardly…than.
Past perfect continuous• I had been watching the children all morning
and I felt tired.Action that started before a particular time in the
past and was still in progress at that time. • Joe noticed that Peter had been crying.Action just finished in the past but still relevant at
that time.• We had been waiting for half an hour when
Dave arrived.How long something had been happening before
something else happened.
Time expressions : for, since, all night/week.
Used to - wouldUsed to + bare infinitiv• An action that happened regularly in the past but no
longer happens.I used to go shopping with my parents when I was younger.• A past habit, state or situationI used to own a bicycle, but I sold it.
Would + bare infinitive• Used for past actions or habits but not for states or
situations. We normally use would in positive sentences, not in negative sentences or questions.
My dad would read stories to me when I was little.
be used to/get used to +noun/ gerund
• Be used to +noun / gerundBe accustomed to do something which
is no longer new or strange I am used to sleeping late on the weekend.
• Get used to + noun / gerundThe process of becoming accustomed
to something.We quickly got used to life in the country.