PAST TENSES CHART

Mercedes

PAST TENSES

PAST SIMPLE

USE:

• to talk about past action when we specify the time

Structure: +d / ed - 2º column -didn't + infinitive ? Did +subject+infinitive? EX: "We didn't go to the cinema yesterday" "We got married 20 yeras ago" KEY WORDS: yesterday, last+..., ago, in + date in the past, when

past continuous

PAST perfect

pAST perfect continuous

USE:

• a longer action was interrupted (usually by a shorter action in the past simple).
• When two continuous actions are happening at the same time

Structure: +was/ were +ing -wasn't/ weren't +ing ? Was /Were + subject+ing? EX: "Were you reading the newspaper when I called you?" "I was eating while my mum was talking with my aunt KEY WORDS: WHILE

USE

• We use it when one action happened before another past action

Structure: +had +past participle -hadn't +PP ?Had + subject + PP? EX: "I had already left when my mum arrived" KEYWORDS: ALREADY

USE:

• We use it to show that an action which started in the past continued up to another point in the past.
• When action in the past happened before another and had a result.

Structure: + had been +ing -hadn't been +ing ?Had +subject+been +ing Ex: "I had been waiting for 2 hours when the train arrived" "We were exhausted because we had been running the whole morning"KEY WORDS: For. the whole + TIME EXPRESSION

Practice 1

Practice 2