PAST TENSES

1. Past Simple

Form:

· Positive: Subject + verb + -ed (regular) / irregular form. I stayed with my friend last night.

· Negative: Subject + did not (didn't) + verb. I did not stay with my friend last night.

· Questions: Did + subject + verb? Did you stay with her?

Pronunciation of the -ed ending:

· /d/: after vowels and voiced consonants. tried, planned, listened

· /t/: after /p/, /f/, /k/, /s/, /ʃ/, /tʃ/. worked, stopped, passed

· /ɪd/: after /d/ and /t/. started, waited, added

Use:

· A single completed action in the past: He died in 1539.

· Repeated actions in the past: He learned several native American languages.

· A series of actions (when one thing happens after another) in the past: We arrived in Rome at 11 o'clock and took a taxi...

· Situations that finished in the past: Children didn't have so many electric toys when I was young.

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2. Past Progressive (Past Continuous)

Form:

· Positive: Subject + was/were + verb-ing. I was waiting for you.

· Negative: Subject + was not (wasn't) / were not (weren't) + verb-ing. I wasn't waiting long.

· Questions: Was/Were + subject + verb-ing? Were you waiting long?

Use:

· To describe an action or situation happening at or around a time in the past: I wasn't feeling well that day.

· For temporary past situations: We were living in Beijing at the time of the 2008 Olympics.

· For two actions/situations happening at the same time: While Rob was playing his match, I was waiting in the car outside.

· To criticise another person's actions, often with always: He was always getting into trouble.

· Interrupted actions: We use the past progressive and the past simple together to show that one action (past simple) interrupts another action (past progressive):

· The bus was going too fast and it hit the car. (The continuous action stops.)

· We were having dinner when she arrived. (The continuous action doesn't stop.)

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3. Past Perfect

Form (had + past participle):

· Positive: Subject + had + past participle. I had already finished the job.

· Negative: Subject + had not (hadn't) + past participle. I hadn't finished.

· Questions: Had + subject + past participle? Had you finished?

Use:

· The order of past actions (to show which action happened first): Before I finally found a job, I had been to about thirty interviews.

· In stories to show a series of events in the past: Time had stopped here... Where had she gone?...

· To express past action which had a visible result in the past: She felt much safer after she had locked all the doors.

· Giving reasons (often with because): Emily was unhappy because her husband hadn't bought her a birthday present.

· Superlatives:

· +ever with superlative adjectives: It was the worst meal I had ever eaten!

· it was the first, second, etc: It was the first time we'd travelled outside Europe.

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