Past Tenses

•Liew Miao Huei

•Jenny Kong Yug Ying
•Chan Ngik Cheng
•Li Li Ping
•Liaw Yien Sze
 Past tense

1. Simple past tense

2. Past continuous tense
3. Past perfect tense
4. Past perfect continuous
1. SIMPLE PAST
 The simple past tense
• is used to talk about actions that happened at a
specific time in the past. You state when it happened
using a time adverb.

FORM -------------[VERB+ed]
Examples:
a)You called Debbie.
b)Did you call Debbie?
c)You did not call Debbie.
Simple Past Timeline
For example:
• "I lived in South Africa for two years."

• The simple past tense is also used to talk

about habitual or repeated actions that took
place in the past.
Regular Verb (to Regular Verb (to work) Short answer Short answer
work) Statements Statements Questions + -
+ -

I worked. I didn't work. Did I work? Yes, I did. No, I didn't.

He worked. He didn't work. Did he work? Yes, he did. No, he didn't.

She worked. She didn't work. Did she work? Yes, she did. No, she didn't.

It worked. It didn't work. Did it work? Yes, it did. No, it didn't.

You worked. You didn't work. Did you work? Yes you did. No, you didn't.

We worked. We didn't work. Did we work? Yes we did. No, we didn't.

They didn't work.

They worked. Did they work? Yes they did. No, they didn't.
 To be To be
Statements Statements Questions ?
+ -

I was. I wasn't. Was I?

He was. He wasn't. Was he?

She was. She wasn't. Was she?

It was. It wasn't. Was it?

You were. You weren't. Were you?

We were. We weren't. Were we?

They were. They weren't. Were they?

For example:
• "Last year I took my exams."
• "I got married in 1992."

• It can be used to describe events that

happened over a period of time in the past
but not now.
 Uses of simple past tense
1. Completed Action in the Past

• to express the idea that an action started and

finished at a specific time in the past.
• Sometimes, the speaker may not actually
mention the specific time, but they do have
one specific time in mind.
 Examples:

• I saw a movie yesterday.

• I didn't see a play yesterday.
• Last year, I traveled to Japan.
• Last year, I didn't travel to Korea.
• Did you have dinner last night?
• She washed her car.
• He didn't wash his car.
 2 .A Series of Completed Actions

• We use the Simple Past to list a series of

completed actions in the past. These actions
happen 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and so on.
 Examples:
• I finished work, walked to the beach, and found
a nice place to swim.
(finished work—walked to beach—swam)
• He arrived from the airport at 8:00, checked
into the hotel at 9:00, and met the others at
10:00.
(arrived—checked in—met with others)
• Did you add flour, pour in the milk, and then
add the eggs?
(add flour—pour milk—add eggs ）
 3.Duration in Past
• 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.
 Examples:

• I lived in Brazil for two years.

• Shauna studied Japanese for five years.

• They sat at the beach all day.

• We talked on the phone for thirty minutes.

 4 .Habits in the Past

• also be used to describe a habit which

stopped in the past.
• have the same meaning as "used to."
• To make it clear , we often add expressions
such as: always, often, usually, never,
when I was a child, when I was younger,
etc.
 Examples:

• I studied French when I was a child.

• He played the violin.
• He didn't play the piano.
• Did you play a musical instrument when you
were a kid?
• She worked at the movie theater after school.
• They never went to school, they always
skipped class.
 5. Past Facts or Generalizations
• The Simple Past can also be used to describe
past facts or generalizations which are no
longer true. As in USE 4 above, this use of the
Simple Past is quite similar to the expression "
used to."
 Examples:

• She was shy as a child, but now she is very

outgoing.
• He didn't like tomatoes before.
• Did you live in Texas when you were a kid?
• People paid much more to make cell phone
calls in the past.

Compare with the past!!!!

 Forming the simple past tense
Verb ending in... How to make the simple Examples
past
e Add –D live lived
date dated
Consonant +y Change y to i, then add Try tried
-ED cry cried

One vowel + one Double the consonant, Tap tapped

consonant then add -ED commit committed
(but NOT w or y)

anything else Add -ED boil boiled

including w fill filled
hand handed
show showed
 Simple Examples:
1. When we arrived at the restaurant, the place was
full.
2. When I paid her one dollar, she answered my
question.
3. My mother stopped me and asked me some
questions.
4. Last year, I traveled to Japan.
5. I got married in 1992.
Past continuous Tense
 Past continuous verb=
Past progressive tense.
commonly used in English for actions
which were going on (had not finished)
at a particular time in the past.

Example:
He was shaving this morning
when he cut himself.

They were riding on a big

seven-person bicycle last
week.
How Past Continuous Tense can be
formed????
REMEMBER!!!!!
Subject + (be) + verb+ing

was studying
Was watching
Structure of the past continuous verb tense
Subject+ Auxiliary Verb + Main Verb
Subject auxiliary verb main verb

+ I was watching movie.

+ You were studying hard.

- He,She,It was not helping Susan.

- We were not joking.

? Were you being silly?

? Were they playing football?

When to use the past continuous?
1. Usually used when one action began before
another, and finished after it.
Example: I was reading when he arrived.
2. Use tense when talk about an action that had
already started and was still
continuing at a particular time
Example: At five o'clock, it was raining.
3. use this tense to describe TWO actions that
were BOTH continuing at the same time in the
past.
Example:
While I was sleeping, she was working.
Use of Past Continuous tense
1.Express continuous actions which took place in
the past.
Example:
He was traveling in Europe last summer.
They were playing tennis yesterday afternoon.
2. Refer to an ongoing action which was taking
place when something else occurred in the
past.
Example:
I was washing the dishes when the telephone
rang.
We were entertaining friends when the parcel
arrived.
Past perfect tense
 Form
• [had + past participle]
• Example:
a) June and her sister had studied English
before you moved to German.
b) Had June and her sister studied English
before they moved to German?
c) June and her sister had not studied English
before they moved to German.
 USE 1 Completed Action Before Something
in the Past
• The Past Perfect expresses the idea that
something occurred before another action in
the past. It can also show that something
happened before a specific time in the past.
• Example:
a) I had never seen such a beautiful
beach before I went to Hawaii.
b) I did not have any money because
I had lost my wallet.
c) Wendy knew New Zealand so well
because she had visited the city
several times.
USE 2 Duration Before Something in the Past
(Non-Continuous Verbs)
• With Non-Continuous Verbs and some non-
continuous uses of Mixed Verbs, we use the
Past Perfect to show that something started in
the past and continued up until another action
in the past.
• Example:
a) We had used that lorry for ten years
before it broke down.
b) By the time Henry finished his studies,
he had been in Canada for over eight
years.
c) They felt bad about selling the shop
because they had owned it for more
than thirty years.
 IMPORTANT Specific Times with the Past
Perfect

• Unlike with the Present Perfect, it is

possible to use specific time words or
phrases with the Past Perfect.
• Although this is possible, it is usually not
necessary.
• Example:
a) He had visited her Korean relatives once in
1993 before she moved in with them in
1996.
b) Gary had finished his assignment yesterday
before he gave to the lecturer to check on
last Monday.
• If the Past Perfect action did occur at
a specific time, the Simple Past can
be used instead of the Past Perfect
when "before" or "after" is used in
the sentence.
• The words "before" and "after"
actually tell you what happens first,
so the Past Perfect is optional.
• If the Past Perfect is not referring to
an action at a specific time, Past
Perfect is not optional. Compare the
examples below. Here Past Perfect is
referring to a lack of experience
rather than an action at a specific
time.
• For this reason, Simple Past cannot
be used.
• Example:
a)She never saw a kola bear
before she moved to Australia.
Not Correct
b)She had never seen a kola bear
before she moved to Australia.
Correct
Past perfect continuous Tense
 Past perfect continuous=
Past Perfect Progressive
 Talk about actions that began in the past and
lasted up until another action in the past.
Formation of Past Perfect Progressive

REMEMBER!!!!!

Subject +past perfect of the verb to be

(=had been) + the present participle
(base+ing)
 Subject Verb to-be Verb+ing
Had you been waiting long before the taxi
arrived?
It had been raining hard for several hours and
the streets were very wet.

Her had been thinking of calling the police when

friends she walked in.
 Use of Past Perfect Progressive:
Usage1:

Show that something started in the past and continued

up until another time in the past.

Examples:
a. They had been talking for over an hour before
Tony arrived.
b. She had been working at that company for
three years when it went out of business.
 USE 2 Cause of Something in the Past

 Use the Past Perfect Continuous before

another action in the past.
Examples:
a. Jason was tired because he had been jogging.
b. Sam gained weight because he had been
overeating.
 Use 3:
 To look back at a situation in progress.
Example:
a.It was a good time to invest. Inflation had been
falling for several months.
b.Before I changed jobs, I had been working on a
plan to reduce production costs.
 Verb Tense Exercise 24

Simple Present / Simple Future

Present Continuous / Future
Continuous
• Lars: Excuse me, which movie are you waiting for?

Tony: We (wait) for the new Stars Wars movie. In

fact, we (wait) here for more than five hours.

Lars: Five hours? When did you arrive?

Tony: We (get) here at 6:00 o'clock this morning.

More than forty people (stand, already) here
waiting for tickets when we arrived.
• Lars: I can't believe that! Are you serious?

Tony: Yeah, people (take) Star Wars movies

seriously. In fact, this particular showing has
been sold out for over a week. We (wait, just)
in line to get a good seat in the theater.

Lars: When did you buy your tickets?

• Tony: I (buy) them last week by phone. I (know)
tickets would be hard to get because I (see) a
news interview with a group of people standing in
line to get tickets. They (wait) in line for almost a
month to buy tickets for the first showing.

Lars: I don't believe that!

Tony: It's true. They (camp) out in front of

Mann's Chinese Theater in Los Angeles for about a
month because they (want) to be the first
people to see the movie.
Answers 。。。
• Lars: Excuse me, which movie are you waiting for?

Tony: We (wait) are waiting for the new Stars Wars

movie. In fact, we (wait) have been waiting here for
more than five hours.

Lars: Five hours? When did you arrive?

Tony: We (get) got here at 6:00 o'clock this morning.

More than forty people (stand, already) were already
standing here waiting for tickets when we arrived.

Lars: I can't believe that! Are you serious?

• Tony: Yeah, people (take) take Star Wars movies
seriously. In fact, this particular showing has been
sold out for over a week. We (wait, just) are just
waiting in line to get a good seat in the theater.

Lars: When did you buy your tickets?

Tony: I (buy) bought them last week by phone. I

(know) knew tickets would be hard to get because I
(see) had seen a news interview with a group of
people standing in line to get tickets. They (wait) had
been waiting in line for almost a month to buy tickets
for the first showing.
The End..