Tenses Explanation ( REVISION ON PAST TENSES USES)

Simple Past

The simple past (also called past simple) is used to show that a completed action took place at a specific time in the past. The simple past is also frequently used to talk about past habits and generalizations.

Simple Past Uses

USE 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.

USE 2 A Series of Completed Actions

To list a series of completed actions in the past. These actions happen 1st, 2nd, 3rd

Simple Past

The simple past (also called past simple) is used to show that a completed action took place at a specific time in the past. The simple past is also frequently used to talk about past habits and generalizations.

Simple Past Uses

USE 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.

USE 2 A Series of Completed Actions

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.
• He arrived from the airport at 8:00, checked into the hotel at 9:00, and met the others at 10:00.
• Did you add flour, pour in the milk, and then add the eggs?

USE 3 Habits in the Past

To describe a habit which stopped in the past. It can have the same meaning as "used to." To make it clear that we are talking about a habit, 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.

USE 4 Past Facts or Generalizations

The simple past can also be used to describe past facts or generalizations which are no longer true.

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.

 

Past Continuous

The past continuous (also called past progressive) is used to show that an ongoing past action, which usually interrupted, was happening at a specific moment, , or that two or more ongoing actions were happening at the same time.

Past Continuous Uses

USE 1 Ongoing Action in the Past (usually interrupted)

Use the past continuous to indicate that an action was taking place in the past. This action is usually interrupted. The interruption is often a shorter action in the simple past.

Examples:

• I was watching TV when she called.
• When the phone rang, she was writing a letter.
• While we were having the picnic, it started to rain.
• What were you doing when the earthquake started?
• I was listening to my iPod, so I didn't hear the fire alarm.
• You were not listening to me when I told you to turn the oven off.
• While John was sleeping last night, someone stole his car.
• Sammy was waiting for us when we got off the plane.
• While I was writing the email, the computer suddenly went off.
• A: What were you doing when you broke your leg?
  B: I was snowboarding.

USE 2 Parallel Actions

When you use the past continuous with two actions in the same sentence, it expresses the idea that both actions were happening at the same time. The actions are parallel.

Examples:

• I was studying while he was making dinner.
• While Ellen was reading, Tim was watching television.
• Were you listening while he was talking?
• I wasn't paying attention while I was writing the letter, so I made several mistakes.
• What were you doing while you were waiting?
• Thomas wasn't working, and I wasn't working either.
• They were eating dinner, discussing their plans, and having a good time.

USE 3 Repetition and Irritation with "Always"

The past continuous with words such as "always" or "constantly" expresses the idea that something irritating or shocking often happened in the past.

Examples:

• She was always coming to class late.
• He was constantly talking. He annoyed everyone.
• I didn't like them because they were always complaining.

Past Continuous Tips: While vs. When

"when" is most often followed by the verb tense simple past, whereas "while" is usually followed by past continuous. "While" expresses the idea of "during that time."

Example:

• I was studying when she called.

Past Perfect Simple

The past perfect is used to show that an action took place once or many times before another point in the past.

Past Perfect Uses

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.

Examples:

• I had never seen such a beautiful beach before I went to Kauai.
• I did not have any money because I had lost my wallet.
• Tony knew Istanbul so well because he had visited the city several times.
• Had Susan ever studied Thai before she moved to Thailand?
• She only understood the movie because she had read the book.
• Kristine had never been to an opera before last night.
• We were not able to get a hotel room because we had not booked in advance.
• A: Had you ever visited the U.S. before your trip in 2006?
  B: Yes, I had been to the U.S. once before.

USE 2 Duration Before Something in the Past (State Verbs)

With non-continuous verbs (or state verbs), we use the past perfect to show that something started in the past and continued up until another action in the past.

Examples:

• We had had that car for ten years before it broke down.
• 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.

Although the above use of past perfect is normally limited to non-continuous verbs and non-continuous uses of mixed verbs, the words "live," "work," "teach," and "study" are sometimes used in this way even though they are NOT non-continuous verbs.