Let's Learn English

Past Tenses in English

Good afternoon everyone! I am back with another part of Let's Learn English.

In English there are four past tenses: simple past, past continuous, past perfect, and past perfect continuous.

• Simple Past or Past Simple: To talk about things that happened or existed before the current moment.

• Past Continuous: (This one can be confusing) Actions or events that occured in a time before now but they began in the past and continued to go on when some other event occurred.

• Past Perfect: To show an action that took place either once or many times before in the past. 

• Past Perfect Continuous: An action that started in the past that continued up until another time in the past.

Examples:

🔹For Simple Past... (completed action in a time before now)

Last year, I didn't travel to Korea.

She washed the car.

I watched a movie last night.

(All of the simple PAST tense in English always happened in a previous time. If you are going to talk about something that is happening now it will not be considered from the past)

🔸For Past Continuous... (actions/ events that started before now but they started in the past and continued to happen even when something interrupted the action or event)

He was waiting at home all day when she sent him the message. (Waiting still occurred and could still happening even though he got a text from the girl)

I was not sleeping when you got home last night. (The person was not sleeping and sine they noticed that the person came home they were most likely still awake, so the person that was not asleep is still not asleep since they realized the person came home.)

🔹 For Past Perfect... (action completed at some point in the past before another action happened)

I had been to London twice by the time I got a job in New York. (This person went to London two times and finished that action before the job in New York started.)

He had met her before the party.

I had written the email before he apologized to me.

🔸 Past Perfect Continuous...  (action that started in the past and continued up to another point in the past)

They were playing tennis for an hour when it started to rain.

The construction workers finished the roof before it started to rain.

We had been trying to open the door for five minutes when Jane found her key.

(All the examples for past perfect continuous are about an action being completed before another past event happened.)

Thank you for reading! I hope this helps each and every single one of you. If anyone has any questions please feel free to comment or message me. The future tenses will be coming soon! Hopefully everyone is staying safe 💖 Have a good one!