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Past tenses - English lesson

Past tenses

The infinitive	Present participle	Past participle
To + verb	verb + ing	verb+ d or ed Mind the irregular verbs
To close ,To walk	Closing, Walking	Closed ,Walked
To drink	Drinking	Drunk
To take	Taking	Taken

The simple past

Simple past	The rule	Example
He was/he drank/he went/he played Yesterday, last week, last month, last year, a month ago....	verb+d or ed	I visited New York City a month ago.
		He ate chicken yesterday.
		James smoked for most of his life. (Maybe for 30 years)

Question

Did + verb

Did you find the answer?

Negation

Did not (didn't)+ verb

I didn't find the answer.

I did not find the answer.

Short answer

Did

Did not (didn't)

Yes, I did.

No, I did not (didn't).

Past Continuous (Progressive)	The rule	Example
he was playing/he was eating All night, all day, while, yesterday..)	Was / were+ verb+ing	I was reading a novel yesterday evening. (I spent the whole evening reading)
		I was reading a novel, while he was playing. (At the same time)
		They were living in Moscow. (Now, they live in London)

Note

We can use the past simple and the past continuous in the same sentence.

I was reading a novel, when the phone rang.

We were playing games, when she arrived.

Past perfect

The rule

Example

He had played/he had gone

Had+past participle

I had finished my work by nine o’clock.

I had played games before I went to bed.

(Two actions: one action before the other one )

Past perfect continuous

The rule

Example

He had been playing
He had been going

Had+been+ present participle

Really, I was very tired! I had been revising all evening.

I had been waiting for James for thirty minutes when he finally arrived.

(James arrived after thirty minutes )

Exercise: Choose the right answer.

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We TV for two hours when my grandmother joined us.

When I , the telephone rang.

I the National Museum one week ago.

When I got to the bus station, the bus .

After he lunch, he went out to join his friends.

Sarahwas singing while they .

Anna as a teacher for ten years. She is now retired.

In 2003, we in France.

Peter video games all day.

They lunch when I arrived.

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