The Past Tense

1. Introduction
2. Past simple
   • Froming the Past Simple
   • Use of the Past Simple
   • Adverbs related to the Past Simple
3. Past Continuous
   • Forming the Past Continuous
   • Use of the Past Continuous
   • Adverbs related to the Past Continuous
4. Differences between the Past Simple and the Past Continuous
5. Verbs in the Past Tense
   • Regular verbs in the Past Tense
   • Irregular verbs in the Past Tense

1 Introduction

We use the past tense when we want to share our adventures and experience from the past. In English there are two types of past tense: the Past Simple and Past Continuous. We are able to talk about the past with them. However, they differ in certain matters. We’ll explain them both gradually.

2 Past Simple

Imagine that you are sitting at dinner with your friends and they start to ask about your day. You don’t want to develop your answer, just briefly describe what happened. This is precisely what the Past Simple is for:

• I went to the swimming pool.
• I read a book.
• I finished the project.

We will discuss in more detail the situations in which this tense is used, in the Use of Past Simple sub-section. For now let’s look at how this tense is formed.

• Adverbs beginning with LAST

Other words associated with the Past Simple include adverbs that begin with the word LAST. We usually place this adverb at the end of the sentence. But if we want to emphasize them, we’ll place them at the beginning:

Many other adverbs are related to the word LAST: LAST MONTH, LAST SATURDAY, etc.

• Adverbs ending with AGO

We apply the same rules for adverbs ending with AGO as for the adverbs beginning with LAST. However, if we want to emphasize them, we put them at the beginning:

3 Past Continuous

We use the Past Continuous when we want to say that something was happening at a certain moment in the past.  It differs from the Past Simple where we just briefly say that something happened in the past. With the Past Continuous we talk about the duration.

Imagine that you are having coffee with your friend and she/he is asking about your date. You want to describe what happened on the date as best as you can and that is why you use the Present Continuous.

• For the whole evening, we were sitting in the restaurant, drinking wine and talking to each other.

But before we explain in detail how to use this tense, let’s look at how it is formed.

We are talking about two events that were happening at the same time

• • With this sentence, we are saying that at the same time as I was studying my mother was cooking. Both of these events were happening at the same time in the past.

We are talking about an activity that is time-determined by the different event

• The first part of the sentence I was reading is in the Past Continuous because it is about the event that was happening at a certain time in the past. This time is expressed by the second part of the sentence when the phone rang which is in the Past Simple because its duration is not important – it is just about what happened.
• If we want to emphasize the duration of the ringing, the sentence would look like this:
  • I was reading when the phone was ringing.
    • Usually, however, the person doesn’t just read while the phone is ringing but puts away their book and goes to pick the phone up. That is why we don’t come across this type of sentence.

• Again, here the first part of the sentence Were you cooking is in the Past Continuous because we ask about the duration of the activity. The second part of the sentence when he arrived determines what happened.
• If we wanted to use the Past Continuous in both parts of the sentence, the meaning would change:
  • Were you cooking when he was arriving?

We’re talking about a time slot

If we are talking about a time slot, we use the word BETWEEN, e.g. BETWEEN 5 AND 6 or FROM – TO, e.g. FROM 5 TO 6.

We are talking about two simultaneous events

When we are talking about two events that took place at the same time, we use WHEN, WHILE or AND.

• WHILE and WHEN can be placed either at the beginning of a sentence or between the two events referred to:

• AND can be only placed between the two events referred to:

4 Difference between the Past Simple and the Past Continuous

Let us once again summarize what the difference is between the Past Simple and the Past Continuous.

• When we say “The phone rang.”, we’re only telling you that it happened. We’re not developing it, we’re just saying that it rang.
• If we say “The phone was ringing.”, we emphasize that the ringing has been going on for a while, and you have, for example, been cooking, cleaning or doing other things.

Chart of irregular verbs: