Open Mind

Upper Intermediate
Unit 1 Grammar 1
REVIEW OF PAST
TENSES
 REVIEW OF PAST TENSES

1. What tense is Speaker A using? past simple

2. What tense is Speaker B using? past simple
3. Can you notice an error?

A: When did you

B: I moved here two years ago
move to New York?
and got a job in a restaurant.
My boyfriend, John, worked
was working
here, too, at that time.
 REVIEW OF PAST TENSES

Which past tenses can you identify?

I tried to fit in, but I was much older than the others.
past simple past simple (be)
I was training at the pool every other day.
past continuous
I did like it at first, but now I’m tired of it.
past simple (emphasis)
I had seen the film before I read the book.
past perfect past simple
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Other examples of the past simple, past continuous

and past perfect:

• I saw a recruitment ad this morning for bilingual

English-Russian speakers and decided to apply.

• What were you doing last night when I called?

• Well, I was wasting my time all afternoon watching

a silly reality show.

• I had started on the assignment, but I didn’t get

very far.
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What is the difference between the answers?

It was happening while I was indoors.

When did
the storm
happen? It happened last weekend.

It had happened before I woke up.

TIP: We use the past perfect TIP: We use the past continuous
to talk about an earlier past for actions that were not complete
time. at a particular time.
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examples

I misunderstood the information.

Past simple
Did you bring a map?

Past simple
with did for I did think that, but I don’t anymore.
emphasis
Past We were watching the performance when the lights
continuous suddenly went out.
She had been there twice before.
Past perfect I hadn’t read any information or seen any pictures
before I went to Yellowstone Park.
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Match the past tense form with the rule.

1. This tense describes something that starts and

finishes before another main past event.

2. This tense describes something that starts before

another event starts and might not be finished.

3. This tense describes one finished action in the

past.

PAST SIMPLE PAST CONTINUOUS PAST PERFECT

 REVIEW OF PAST TENSES

Choose the correct grammar form in each sentence. Explain

why it is correct.

It was / had been a big change when I was moving / moved

from a small town in Estonia to London.

I had started / was starting / started English lessons when I

arrived / was arriving. English had been / was difficult to learn
at first, but I had watched / was watching a lot of films in English
before I had got / got to England, so I was used to the language.

In fact, I watch / was watching / had watched Dr. Who just last
night when I got a call from an employment agency with a fantastic
new job offer. My effort to study English had been worth it!
 REVIEW OF PAST TENSES

Ask your partner what they were doing at and before

some particular times in the past.

What were you doing (this time

last year)?

on your a decade
birthday ago

last on your
last holiday this
weekend morning
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Grammar wrap-up
Match the sentence halves to complete the rules.

1. We use the past simple to speak about …

2. We use the past continuous to speak about …

3. We use the past perfect to speak about …

a. … an action in progress at a particular time in the past.
b. … a past action that happened before another past action.
c. … a completed action in the past.