Grammar Reference. Unit 3.

3.0 Introduction to past tenses

We use different past tenses to focus on different moments and periods of time in the past.

Look at the sentences. It's 10:00 now.

When Mary arrived at work at 9:00 a.m., her secretary opened the post (at 9:30).
When Mary arrived at work at 9:00 a.m., her secretary was opening the post (at 9:00).
When Mary arrived at work at 9:00 a.m., her secretary had opened the post (at 8:30).


3.1 Past Simple

The form of the Past Simple is the same for all persons.

Positive

I arrived yesterday.
We left two weeks ago.
They ate at 5 o'clock.

Negative

I didn't finish yesterday.
She didn't leave at 5 o'clock.
You didn't eat this morning.

Question

When did she get married?
When did you finish the report?
When did they come?

Short answer

Did you enjoy the meal?
Yes, I did.
No, we didn't.

The Past Simple is used to express:

1. A finished action in the past.

We met in 1999.
I went to London last week.
John left two minutes ago.

2. Actions that follow each other in a story.

Mary walked into the room and stopped. She listened carefully. She heard a noise coming from behind the curtain. She threw the curtain open, and then she saw...

3. A past situation or habit.

When I was a child, we lived in a small house near the sea. Every day I walked for miles on the beach with my dog.

This (past) use is often expressed with used to:

We used to live in a small house. I used to walk for miles.

Spelling of verb + -ed

1. Most verbs add -ed to the base form of the verb.

worked, wanted, helped, washed

2. When the verb ends in -e, add -d.

liked, used, hated, cared

3. If the verb has only one syllable, with one vowel + one consonant, double the consonant before adding -ed.

stopped, planned, robbed

But we write cooked, seated, and moaned because there are two vowels.

4. The consonant is not doubled if it is -y or -w.

played, showed

5. In the most two-syllable verbs, the end consonant is doubled if the stress is on the second syllable.

preferred, admitted

But we write entered, visited because the stress is on the first syllable.

6. Verbs that end in a consonant + -y change the -y to -ied.

carried, hurried, buried

But we write enjoyed, because it ends in a vowel + -y.

There are many common irregular verbs.
 

Past Simple and time expressions.

Look at the time expressions that are common with the Past Simple.

I met her last night.
two days ago, yesterday morning, in 1999, in summer, when I was young

3.2 Past Continuous

Positive and negative form

Questions

Short answer

Were you looking for me?
Yes, I was.
No, I wasn't.

Were they waiting outside?
Yes, they were.
No, they weren't.

We often use the Past Continuous in sentences with the Past Simple. The Past Continuous refers to longer, background activities, while the Past Simple refers to shorter, completed actions.

The children were playing in the garden when their grandparents arrived.

The Past Continuous is used:

1. To express activities in progress before, and probably after, a particular time in the past.

At 7 o'clock this morning I was having my breakfast.
I walked past your house last night. There was an awful lot of noise. What were you doing?

2. For descriptions.

Mary looked beautiful. She was wearing a green cotton dress. Her eyes were shining in the light of the candles that were burning nearby.

3. To express an interrupted past activity.

When the phone rang, I was having a shower.
While we were praying, it started to rain.

4. To express an incomplete activity in the past in order to contrast with the Past Simple that expresses a completed activity.

I was reading a book during the flight. (I didn't finish it.)
I watched a film during the flight. (The whole film.)

Note: The Past Simple is usually used to express a repeated past habit or situation. But the Past Continuous can be used if the repeated habit becomes a long setting for someone.

Compare:
I went out with Jenny for ten years.
I first met Mary while I was going out with Jenny.
 

3.3 Past Simple or Past Continuous?

1. Sometimes we can use the Past Simple or the Past Continuous. The Past Simple focuses on past actions as simple fact. The Past Continuous focuses on the duration of past situations and activities.

Compare:

- I didn't see you at the party last night.
- No. I stayed at home and watched football.

- I didn't see you at the party last night.
- No, I was watching football at home.

2. Questions in the Past Simple and Past Continuous refer to different time periods: the Past Continuous asks about activities before. The Past Simple asks about what happened after.

When the war broke out, Peter was studying medicine at medical school. He decided that is was safer to go home to his parents and postpone his studies.

What was Peter doing when the war broke out?
He was studying.

What did Peter do when the war broke out?
He went home to his parents.

3.4 Past Perfect

Perfect means "before", so Past Perfect refers to an action in the past that was completed before another action in the past.

The form of the Past Perfect is the same for all persons.

Positive and negative

I'd seen him before.
You had seen him before.
He'd seen him before.
She hadn't seen her before.
We had not seen them before.
You hadn't finished work at 5 o'clock.
They'd finished work at 5 o'clock.

Question

Where had you been before?
Where had they been before?

Short answer

Has he already left?
Yes, he had.
No, he hadn't.

Use:

1. The Past Perfect is used to make clear that one action in the past happened before another action in the past.

When I got home, I found that someone had broken into my apartment and had stolen my TV, so I called the police.

from PAST to NOW
My TV was stolen / I arrived home / I called the police

Action 1: Someone broke into my apartment and stole my TV.
Action 2: I got home and called the police

I didn't want to go to the theatre with my friends because I'd seen the play before.

from PAST to NOW
I saw the play / my friends saw the play

Action 1: I saw the play.
Action 2: My friends went to the theatre to see the play.

2. Notice the difference between the following sentences:

When I got to the party, Peter went home.
(First I arrived, then Peter left.)

When I got to the party, Peter had gone home.
(First Peter left, then I arrived.)

3.5 Past tenses in the passive

Form:

Past Simple Passive : was/were + past participle
Past Continuous Passive : was/were being + past participle
Past Perfect Passive : had been + past participle

Use:

The uses are the same in the passive as in the active.

The bridge was built in 1999. (finished action in the past)
The bomb was being defused when it exploded. (interrupted action in the past)
The letter didn't arrive because it had been sent to my old address. (one action before another action in the past)