Презентация по теме "Past tenses"

• The past tenses in English.

Past simple

Use this form to refer to a single action/state in the past. The time when it happened is either given in the sentence, or understood from the context:

• I got up early yesterday.  (when? yesterday)
• Picasso was an outstanding artist.  (when? understood: He isn’t alive anymore.)

You can also use it talk about past events in the order they happened:

• I got up, went to the bathroom and had a shower.  (First, I got up, then I went to the bathroom, then I had a shower.)

V2

Past Continuous

THE STRUCTURE

NEGATIVE

subject + wasn’t (was not)/weren’t (were not) + verb-ing

INTERROGATIVE

(question word) + was/were + subject + verb-ing

I  wasn’t watching  the match when Tom called.

AFFIRMATIVE

What  was I watching  when Tom called?

subject + was/were + verb-ing

I  was watching  the match when Tom called.

WHEN TO USE?

Use Past Continuous to express that an action was IN PROGRESS at a specific time in the past:

• At 7.40 this morning  (specific time),  I was having a shower  (this action was in progress).
• I was living in Paris  (action in progress)  when I met my husband  (specific time).

You can also use Past Continuous to give a time frame to an action in the past:

• I was having a shower from 7.30 to 7.45.
• I was living in Paris from 2005 to 2009.

WHEN TO USE?

Past Continuous can also be used to talk about two actions that were in progress at the same time:

• I was listening to music while I was doing my homework.
• While my husband was washing the windows, I was making lunch.
• What were you doing while I was trying to call you?

Past Perfect

THE STRUCTURE

AFFIRMATIVE

  subject + had + past participle of the verb (3rd form)

NEGATIVE

subject + had not + past participle of the verb (3rd form)

I had done my homework before I went out with my friends.

INTERROGATIVE

I had not done my homework before I went out with my friends.

(questions word) + had + subject + past participle of the verb (3rd form)

Had I done my homework before I went out?

When to use?

Use Past Perfect to express that an action happened BEFORE a specific time/another action in the past.

• ’ I had done my homework before I went out.’  

In this example, ’doing homework’ happened first and ’going out’ happened later.

You can also say:

•  ’ I had done my homework before/by 5pm.’  

We use Past Perfect to make it clear which of the actions happened first.

Past Perfect Continuous

THE STRUCTURE

AFFIRMATIVE

subject + had been + verb-ing

NEGATIVE

subject + hadn’t (had not) been + verb-ing

We had been waiting long when Suzy arrived.

INTERROGATIVE

We hadn’t been waiting long when Suzy arrived.

(question word) + had +subject +been + verb-ing

How long had we been waiting when Suzy arrived?

When to use?

Use Past Perfect Continuous to express that an action was  IN PROGRESS  for some time before/until  another action or time in the past.

• ’ I’d been working in the same school for twenty years when I retired.’  

Means that ’working’ was in progress for twenty years BEFORE my retirement.

• I’d been looking for my keys for hours when I found them.
• It had been snowing for days before Christmas.
• I had been living with my parents until I got my first job.

The Key Words

The tense

Key words

Past Simple

  yesterday, last week, last month, this morning (when meaning is past), etc.

Past Continuous

  while, at 5 o’clock yesterday, when

Past Perfect

already, before, by the time, after

Past Perfect Continuous

for, since, before, until