past tenses in English

PAST TENSES IN ENGLISH PAST SIMPLE FORM:

walked / wrote

did you write?

He didn´t walk

USES: 1. Completed actions in the past ( they started and finished at a specific time in the past); Sometimes it is not mentioned, but it´s in mind e.g I saw a really thrilling movie last night.

2. A series of completed actions in the past ( one action after another) e.g. I finished work, walked to the beach and found a nice place to sunbathe.

3. When-clauses + past simple ( we ask or say when something happened) e.g When I gave her an euro, she answered my question e.g When did you visit the Eiffel Tower?

4. Actions not connected with the present (historical events) e.g How many symphonies did Beethoven compose?

PAST CONTINUOUS FORM:

Past of TO BE + -ing Was / were writing

was he coming? They weren´t shouting

USES: 1. Actions in progress at a certain time in the past e.g At 3 he was having lunch

e.g What were you doing at 7?

2. Actions in progress at the same time at a certain time in the past e.g Were you listening while the teacher was talking?

3. Interrupted actions in progress

While I was tidying up my room, he knocked on my door When he knocked on my door I was tidying up my room. e.g She was filling in a form when the pen ran out of ink e.g Were you having a bath when I phoned you? e.g I was walking down the street when somebody stopped me and asked where the post office was.

4. Something took place while something else was happening e.g I met David while I was living in London e.g I lost my watch while I was running

5. Irritation: used along with always / constantly e.g He was always making up excuses e.g She was constantly talking and that annoyed everyone 6. Polite question: I was wondering‌ = could you‌? e.g I was wondering if you could do me a favour 7. Atmosphere. Parallel actions to describe the atmosphere at a particular time in the past. e.g Just as I opened the window, the sun was shining, the birds were singing and the wind was not blowing

PRESENT PERFECT FORM: have / has + Past participle e.g. I have / He has been to London many times (I´ve been… He´s been … e.g Has she had her hair cut recently? e.g We have not bought a new car yet / (we haven´t …) it hasn´t rained for hours USES: 1. To give new information or announce a recent happening that occurred at a specific time before now. E.g. I´ve lost my key / She´s travelled to Japan / have

you seen Carol ?

2. To talk about our life experience. E.g I´ve worked for too many

different firms 3. It is used with periods of time which are not finished at the time of speaking (today, This morning / week..) E.g. She´s smoked ten cigarettes this

morning 4.. It is used with JUST ( a short time ago) E.g. We´ve just had lunch 5. It is used with FOR / SINCE to say how long something has been happening

E.g He hasn´t seen Paul for ten days / She´s lived here since 2006 *6. It is used with the adverbs ALREADY /YET

E.g Have you seen that movie yet? No, I haven´t seen it yet / Yes, I´ve already seen it 7. EVER / NEVER are often used with the present perfect

E.g Have you ever eaten caviar? No, I´ve never eaten caviar 8. With the expressions: IT´S / THIS IS THE FIRST TIME… or multiple actions at different times . E.g This is the first time I´ve been to China / She´s been to

Paris several times

9. It is used after a superlative. E.g It´s the most thrilling film I´ve

seen

PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS FORM: Have / has been doing USES: 1. We use the continuous form to say how long something has been happening

e.g Ann has been writing letters all day We use the simple form to say how much we have done, how many things we have done or how many times we have done something.

e.g. Ann has written ten letters 2. It is used when we talk about an action that began in the past and has recently stopped or just stopped.

e.g That man is bright red. I think he ´s been sunbathing e.g Why are you sweating? Because I´ve been running

PAST PERFECT 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.

EG. -I had never seen such a beautiful beach before I went to Kauai -By the time Alex finished his studies, he had been in London for over eight years.

-They felt bad about selling the house because they had owned it for more than forty years.

EXERCISES COMPLETE THIS TEXT WITH PAST SIMPLE OR PAST CONTINUOUS.

I………………….(catch) the nine o´clock bus home last night.It ……………………… (get) dark and it……………………… (rain) hard as well. When I …………………….(get) off the bus, there was no one in the street, only an old man who…………………….

(take) his dog for a walk. He ……………………. (walk) in the opposite direction.

Suddenly, I ………………….. (hear) footsteps behind me and I ……………….......... (begin) to run but they ………………………… (come) closer and closer. I ……………………….. (run) faster and faster, and I shook with fright.

I finally ……………………….(reach) home,but just as I ……………………..(put) the key in the door, I ……………………… (feel) a hand on my shoulder.

A man´s voice ………………………..(say) “Excuse me Miss, here´s your umbrella, you ……………………… (leave) it on the bus” . I ………………… (thank) him and …………………. (say) “ I ……………………… (wonder) if I could invite you to dinner..”

Complete the text with the past simple or the past progressive of the verbs in brackets.

I will never forget that night for as long as I live. It (1) _____________ (get) dark outside and the wind (2) ____________ (blow). I (3) ______________ (stand) by the window when I (4) _____________ (hear) the front door open and shut. I (5) ____________ (think) it was my mum, but I soon (6) ____________ (realise) how wrong I was. The room suddenly (7) _____________ (become) very cold. When I (8) ______________(turn) around, I (9) ___________ (see) a man sitting on the edge of the bed. He (10) _____________ (look) strange. His face was white and he (11) _____ (wear) funny clothes, the kind of clothes people used to wear a hundred years ago. I (12) ____________ (want) to scream but I couldn´t. Suddenly the man (13) _____________ (get up) and (14) ______________ (disappear)

Present perfect / Past simple:

Rewrite the sentences using the words in brackets: 1. The last time we went on holiday was in 2002. (since) 2. Tomorrow Paul is seeing a cricket game for the first time (never) 3. Susie is no longer in my class. (last year) 4. Have you got any experienced working in a shop? (ever) 5. I´ve known Paul for four years. (ago) 6. It´s been two weeks since I last saw you. (for) 7. It last rained in October. (hasn´t)

Complete the text with the correct past tense (past simple, past continuous or past perfect) While I (1) ____________ (travel) around the Far East las year I (2) ____________ (meet) quite an unusual man. I (3) ____________ (sit) in a cafÊ enjoying a cup of tea when I (4) ___________ (notice) him staring at me. He (5) ______________ (look) at me for about ten minutes before he (6) ____________ (stand) up and (7)_____________ (approach) me. He sat down opposite me and (8) ____________ (begin) talking. He knew my name, address, occupation,in fact, everything. It was as if he (9) _____________ (read) a book about my life. As soon as he (10) _____________ (finish), I (11) _____________ (ask) him how he (12) _____________ (get) all this information about me. He (13) ______________ (say) he was a mind reader, but I didn´t believe him. I was sure that somebody (14) _______________ (give) him all this information and I (15) _____________ (start) feeling a bit frightened.

PAST SIMPLE / PRESENT PERFECT / PAST PERFECT 1. When I (arrive) ______________ home last night, I discovered that Jane (prepare) ____________________ a beautiful candlelight dinner.

2. Since I began acting, I (perform) ______________ in two plays, a tv commercial and a tv drama. However, I (speak,never) ________________ publicly before I came to Hollywood in 1990.

3. By the time I got to the office, the meeting (begin,already) ________________ without me. My boss (be) ______________ furious with me and I (be) ____________ fired.

4. When I (turn) _______________ the radio on yesterday, I (hear) ______________ a song that was popular when I was in high school. I (hear,not) ___________________ the song in years, and it (bring) ________________ back some great memories.

5. Last week, I (run) _________________ into an ex-girlfriend of mine.

We (see,not)__________________ each other for years, and both of us (change) ____________ a great deal. I (enjoy) ________________ talking to her so much that I (ask) _____________ her out on a date. We are getting together tonight for dinner.

6. When Jack (enter) ______________ the room, I (recognize,not) ______________ him because he (lose) ______________ so much weight and (grow) ______________ a beard. He looked totally different!!

7. I (visit) so many different places since I (come ) _________________ to Utah. Before moving here, I (hear,never) ________________ of Bryce, Canyon, Zion or Arches.

ANSWER KEY: EXERCISES COMPLETE THIS TEXT WITH PAST SIMPLE OR PAST CONTINUOUS.

I…caught……………….(catch) the nine o´clock bus home last night.It ……was getting………………… (get) dark and it…was raining…………………… (rain) hard as well. When I …………got………….(get) off the bus, there was no one in the street, only an old man who was taking……………………. (take) his dog for a walk. He …was walking…………………. (walk) in the opposite direction. Suddenly, I ……heard…………….. (hear) footsteps behind me and I …began…………….......... (begin) to run but they ………were coming………………… (come) closer and closer.

I ………ran……………….. (run) faster and faster, and I shook with fright.

I finally …reached…………………….(reach) home,but just as I …was putting…………………..(put) the key in the door, I ……felt………………… (feel) a hand on my shoulder.

A man´s voice ………said………………..(say) “Excuse me Miss, here´s your umbrella, you ……left………………… (leave) it on the bus” . I …thanked……………… (thank) him and …………said………. (say) “ I …was wondering…………………… (wonder) if I could invite you to dinner..”

Complete the text with the past simple or the past progressive of the verbs in brackets.

I will never forget that night for as long as I live. It (1) _was getting__(get) dark outside and the wind (2) _was blowing__ (blow). I (3) _was standing_ (stand) by the window when I (4) _heard__(hear) the front door open and shut. I (5) __thought__(think) it was my mum, but I soon (6) _realised_ (realise) how wrong I was. The room suddenly (7) ___became__ (become) very cold. When I (8) __turned__(turn) around, I (9) __saw__ (see) a man sitting on the edge of the bed. He (10) _was looking__ (look) strange. His face was white and he (11) _____was wearing (wear) funny clothes, the kind of clothes people used to wear a hundred years ago. I (12) _wanted (want) to scream but I couldn´t. Suddenly the man (13) got up__ (get up) and (14) _disappeared__(disappear)

Present perfect / Past simple:

1. wrong. Wrote 2.wrong. was 3.right 4.wrong. has had 5.right 6.wrong. discovered 1. bought, 2.has had,3.arrived,had,went,4.did you visit,5.has taken,6.did you give,7.didn´t eat, didn´t feel,8.didn´t Jim want,9.has gone,did he go.

Rewrite the sentences using the words in brackets: 1. The last time we went on holiday was in 2002. (since) We haven´t been on holiday since 2002.

2. Tomorrow Paul is seeing a cricket game for the first time (never) We have never seen a cricket game before 3. Susie is no longer in my class. (last year)

Susie hasn´t been in my class since last year 4. Have you got any experienced working in a shop? (ever) Have you ever worked in a shop?

5. I´ve known Paul for four years. (ago) I met Paul four years ago.

6. It´s been two weeks since I last saw you. (for) I haven´t seen you for two weeks 7. It last rained in October. (hasn´t) It hasn´t rained since October

1. have lost,2.have you been working,3.has broken,4.have been reading, haven´t finished,5.haven´t been waiting,6.have been cleaning, have cleaned,7.have you been cooking,8.has appeared,9.has been playing,10.has played,11. has smoked

Complete the text with the correct past tense (past simple, past continuous or past perfect) While I (1) __was travelling__________ (travel) around the Far East last year I (2) _met___________ (meet) quite an unusual man. I (3) _was sitting___________ (sit) in a café enjoying a cup of tea when I (4) _noticed__________ (notice) him staring at me. He (5) _had been looking_____________ (look) at me for about ten minutes before he (6)

__stood__________ (stand) up and (7)__approached___________ (approach) me. He sat down opposite me and (8) _began___________ (begin) talking. He knew my name, address, occupation,in fact, everything.

It was as if he (9) _had read____________ (read) a book about my life.

As soon as he (10) finished_____________ (finish), I (11) _____asked________ (ask) him how he (12) ____had got_________ (get) all this information about me. He (13) ______said________ (say) he was a mind reader, but I didn´t believe him. I was sure that somebody (14) ____had given___________ (give) him all this information and I (15) _____started________ (start) feeling a bit frightened.

PAST SIMPLE / PRESENT PERFECT / PAST PERFECT 1. When I (arrive) __arrived____________ home last night, I discovered that Jane (prepare) ___had prepared_________________ a beautiful candlelight dinner.

2. Since I began acting, I (perform) ____have performed__________ in two plays, a tv commercial and a tv drama. However, I (speak,never) __had never spoken______________ publicly before I came to Hollywood in 1990.

3. By the time I got to the office, the meeting (begin,already) _had already begun_______________ without me. My boss (be) _was_____________ furious with me and I (be) _____was_______ fired.

4. When I (turn) ___turned____________ the radio on yesterday, I (hear) ____heard__________ a song that was popular when I was in high school. I (hear,not) _____had not heard______________ the song in years, and it (bring) __brought______________ back some great memories.

5. Last week, I (run) __ran_______________ into an ex-girlfriend of mine. We (see,not)__hadn´t seen________________ each other for years, and both of us (change) _changed___________ a great deal. I (enjoy) __enjoyed______________ talking to her so much that I (ask) ____asked_________ her out on a date. We are getting together tonight for dinner.

6. When Jack (enter) entered____the room, I (recognize,not) __didn´t recognise____ him because he (lose) __had lost___ so much weight and (grow) __had grown___a beard. He looked totally different!!

7. I (visit) ___ have visited so many different places since I (come ) ___came______________ to Utah. Before moving here, I (hear,never) _had never heard_______________ of Bryce, Canyon, Zion or Arches.