VERB TENSE REVIEW

VERB TENSE REVIEW

David Ramírez Lanzas Marcos Ramírez Lanzas 4ºC

Index

• Past simple

• Past Continuous
• Used to
• Present Perfect and Past Simple
• Interactive activities

Past Simple

Past Simple is for specific, completed actions in the past.

Forms: Affirmative: To make the past simple, we add -ed to regular verbs (for example: worked, played, lived), but we also have many irregular verbs like went, saw, or took. Example: I watched a movie yesterday. Negative: We use "did not" (or didn’t) + the base form of the verb. Example: She didn’t go to the party last week. Questions: We use Did + subject + base form of the verb. Example: Did you see the new movie? Short Answers: Yes, I did. / No, I didn’t. We often use specific time expressions with the past simple, like yesterday, last week, in 2020, an hour ago. Example: They traveled to Paris last year.

Past Continuous

Past Continuous is for actions in progress at a specific time in the past.

Forms: Affirmative: We use was/were + verb + ing. Example: He was walking to the store when it started to rain. Negative: We use wasn’t/weren’t + verb + ing. Example: I wasn’t sleeping when you called. Questions: We use Was/Were + subject + verb + ing. Example: Were you watching TV when I texted? Short Answers: Yes, I was. / No, I wasn’t. Time Expressions: We use while, when, at [specific time], often when describing an action in progress at a specific time. Example: I was reading when the phone rang.

Used to

Used to talks about habits or states in the past that no longer happen. Affirmative: We use used to + base form of the verb to talk about past habits or states. Example: I used to play football when I was younger. Negative: We use didn’t use to + base form of the verb. Example: He didn’t use to like coffee, but now he drinks it every day. Questions: We use Did + subject + use to + base form. Example: Did you use to live in Spain? Short Answers: Yes, I did. / No, I didn’t. Time Expressions: Used to often implies a past period in general, so no specific time expression is needed, but you can use expressions like when I was a child or years ago. Example: She used to travel a lot years ago.

Present Perfect and Past Simple

Let’s now compare the Present Perfect and Past Simple.

Present Perfect Present Perfect connects the past with the present and uses time expressions like for, since, just, yet. Affirmative: We use have/has + past participle. Example: I have visited London three times. Negative: We use haven’t/hasn’t + past participle. Example: She hasn’t eaten sushi before. Questions: We use Have/Has + subject + past participle. Example: Have you seen this movie? Short Answers: Yes, I have. / No, I haven’t. Time Expressions: Present perfect is often used with unspecific time expressions like ever, never, just, already, yet, or with for and since to talk about duration. Example: I have lived here for five years. / She hasn’t finished her homework yet. Past Simple vs. Present Perfect Past Simple is used for completed actions at a specific time in the past, while Present Perfect is used for actions that happened at an unspecified time or have relevance to the present. Example (Past Simple): I went to the cinema yesterday. Example (Present Perfect): I have been to the cinema three times this month.

Interactive activities

• https://www.cerebriti.com/juegos-de-idiomas/present-perfect-continuous
• https://wordwall.net/es/resource/3723286/used-to-usually-get-used-to-and-be-used-to
• https://wordwall.net/es/resource/33729229/b1/past-simple-vs-present-perfect-speaking