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Feb 2004

Simple Past Tense

I sang

The simple past tense is sometimes called the preterite tense. We can use several tenses to talk about the past, but the simple past tense is the one we use most often.

In this lesson we look at the structure and use of the simple past tense, followed by a quiz to check your understanding:

	Structure: how do we make the simple past tense?
	Use: how do we use the simple past tense?
	Simple Past Quiz

How do we make the Simple Past?

To make the simple past tense, we use:

	past form only or
	auxiliary did + base form

Here you can see examples of the past form and base form for irregular verbs and regular verbs:

	V1 base	V2 past	V3 past participle
regular verb	work explode like	worked exploded liked	worked exploded liked	The past form for all regular verbs ends in -ed.
irregular verb	go see sing	went saw sang	gone seen sung	The past form for irregular verbs is variable. You need to learn it by heart.
			You do not need the past participle form to make the simple past tense. It is shown here for completeness only.

The structure for positive sentences in the simple past tense is:

subject	+	main verb
		past

The structure for negative sentences in the simple past tense is:

subject	+	auxiliary verb	+	not	+	main verb
		did				base

The structure for question sentences in the simple past tense is:

auxiliary verb	+	subject	+	main verb
did				base

The auxiliary verb did is not conjugated. It is the same for all persons (I did, you did, he did etc). And the base form and past form do not change. Look at these examples with the main verbs go and work:

	subject	auxiliary verb		main verb
+	I			went	to school.
+	You			worked	very hard.
-	She	did	not	go	with me.
-	We	did	not	work	yesterday.
?	Did	you		go	to London?
?	Did	they		work	at home?

Exception! The verb to be is different. We conjugate the verb to be (I was, you were, he/she/it was, we were, they were); and we do not use an auxiliary for negative and question sentences. To make a question, we exchange the subject and verb. Look at these examples:

	subject	main verb
+	I, he/she/it	was		here.
+	You, we, they	were		in London.
-	I, he/she/it	was	not	there.
-	You, we, they	were	not	happy.
?	Was	I, he/she/it		right?
?	Were	you, we, they		late?

How do we use the Simple Past?

We use the simple past tense to talk about an action or a situation—an event—in the past. The event can be short or long.

Here are some short events with the simple past tense:

The car exploded at 9.30am yesterday.
She went to the door.
We did not hear the telephone.
Did you see that car?

past

present

future

The action is in the past.

Here are some long events with the simple past tense:

I lived in Bangkok for 10 years.
The Jurassic period lasted about 62 million years.
We did not sing at the concert.
Did you watch TV last night?

past

present

future

The action is in the past.

Notice that it does not matter how long ago the event is: it can be a few minutes or seconds in the past, or millions of years in the past. Also it does not matter how long the event is. It can be a few milliseconds (car explosion) or millions of years (Jurassic period). We use the simple past tense when:

	the event is in the past
	the event is completely finished
	we say (or understand) the time and/or place of the event

Note that:

In general, if we say the time or place of the event, we must use the simple past tense; we cannot use the present perfect.

Here are some more examples:

	I lived in that house when I was young.
	He didn't like the movie.
	What did you eat for dinner?
	John drove to London on Monday.
	Mary did not go to work yesterday.
	Did you play tennis last week?
	I was at work yesterday.
	We were not late (for the train).
	Were you angry?

Note that when we tell a story, we usually use the simple past tense. We may use the past continuous tense to "set the scene", but we almost always use the simple past tense for the action. Look at this example of the beginning of a story:

"The wind was howling around the hotel and the rain was pouring down. It was cold. The door opened and James Bond entered. He took off his coat, which was very wet, and ordered a drink at the bar. He sat down in the corner of the lounge and quietly drank his..."

Note that:

This page shows the use of the simple past tense to talk about past events. But note there are some other uses for the simple past tense, for example in conditional or if sentences.

Click here to go to the Simple Past Quiz

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Past Continuous Tense

I was singing.

The past continuous tense is an important tense in English. We use it to say what we were in the middle of doing at a particular moment in the past.

In this lesson we look at:

Structure: how do we make the past continuous tense?

Use: how do we use the past continuous tense?

Past continuous tense + simple past tense

How do we make the Past Continuous Tense?

The structure of the past continuous tense is:

subject	+	auxiliary verb BE	+	main verb
		conjugated in simple past tense		present participle
		was were		base + ing

For negative sentences in the past continuous tense, we insert not between the auxiliary verb and main verb. For question sentences, we exchange the subject and auxiliary verb. Look at these example sentences with the past continuous tense:

	subject	auxiliary verb		main verb
+	I	was		watching	TV.
+	You	were		working	hard.
-	He, she, it	was	not	helping	Mary.
-	We	were	not	joking.
?	Were	you		being	silly?
?	Were	they		playing	football?

How do we use the Past Continuous Tense?

The past continuous tense expresses action at a particular moment in the past. The action started before that moment but has not finished at that moment. For example, yesterday I watched a film on TV. The film started at 7pm and finished at 9pm.

At 8pm yesterday, I was watching TV.
past	present	future
--------8pm--------
At 8pm, I was in the middle of watching TV.

When we use the past continuous tense, our listener usually knows or understands what time we are talking about. Look at these examples:

	I was working at 10pm last night.
	They were not playing football at 9am this morning.
	What were you doing at 10pm last night?
	What were you doing when he arrived?
	She was cooking when I telephoned her.
	We were having dinner when it started to rain.
	Ram went home early because it was snowing.

We often use the past continuous tense to "set the scene" in stories. We use it to describe the background situation at the moment when the action begins. Often, the story starts with the past continuous tense and then moves into the simple past tense. Here is an example:

" James Bond was driving through town. It was raining. The wind was blowing hard. Nobody was walking in the streets. Suddenly, Bond saw the killer in a telephone box..."

Past Continuous Tense + Simple Past Tense

We often use the past continuous tense with the simple past tense. We use the past continuous tense to express a long action. And we use the simple past tense to express a short action that happens in the middle of the long action. We can join the two ideas with when or while.

In the following example, we have two actions:

long action (watching TV), expressed with past continuous tense

short action (telephoned), expressed with simple past tense

past	present	future
Long action.
I was watching TV at 8pm. --------8pm-------- You telephoned at 8pm.
Short action.

We can join these two actions with when:

I was watching TV when you telephoned.

(Notice that "when you telephoned" is also a way of defining the time [8pm].)

We use:

	when + short action (simple past tense)
	while + long action (past continuous tense)

There are four basic combinations:

	I was walking past the car	when	it exploded.
When	the car exploded		I was walking past it.
	The car exploded	while	I was walking past it.
While	I was walking past the car		it exploded.

Notice that the long action and short action are relative.

	"Watching TV" took a few hours. "Telephoned" took a few seconds.
	"Walking past the car" took a few seconds. "Exploded" took a few milliseconds.

Click here to go to the Past Continuous Quiz

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Mar 2004

Past Perfect Tense

I had sung.

The past perfect tense is quite an easy tense to understand and to use. This tense talks about the "past in the past".

In this lesson we look at:

	Structure: how do we make the past perfect tense?
	Use: how do we use the past perfect tense?

How do we make the Past Perfect Tense?

The structure of the past perfect tense is:

subject	+	auxiliary verb HAVE	+	main verb
		conjugated in simple past tense		past participle
		had		V3

For negative sentences in the past perfect tense, we insert not between the auxiliary verb and main verb. For question sentences, we exchange the subject and auxiliary verb. Look at these example sentences with the past perfect tense:

	subject	auxiliary verb		main verb
+	I	had		finished	my work.
+	You	had		stopped	before me.
-	She	had	not	gone	to school.
-	We	had	not	left.
?	Had	you		arrived?
?	Had	they		eaten	dinner?

When speaking with the past perfect tense, we often contract the subject and auxiliary verb:

I had	I'd
you had	you'd
he had she had it had	he'd she'd it'd
we had	we'd
they had	they'd

Note that:

The 'd contraction is also used for the auxiliary verb would. For example, we'd can mean:

	We had or
	We would

But usually the main verb is in a different form, for example:

	We had arrived (past participle)
	We would arrive (base)

It is always clear from the context.

How do we use the Past Perfect Tense?

The past perfect tense expresses action in the past before another action in the past. This is the past in the past. For example:

The train left at 9am. We arrived at 9.15am. When we arrived, the train had left.

The train had left when we arrived.
past	present	future
Train leaves in past at 9am.
...9am...9:15....
We arrive in past at 9.15am.

Look at some more examples:

	I wasn't hungry. I had just eaten.
	They were hungry. They had not eaten for five hours.
	I didn't know who he was. I had never seen him before.
	"Mary wasn't at home when I arrived." "Really? Where had she gone?"

You can sometimes think of the past perfect tense like the present perfect tense, but instead of the time being now the time is past.

past perfect tense			present perfect tense
had \| done \| > \|				have \| done \| > \|
--------------------------------------------			---------------------------------------------
past	now	future	past	now	future

For example, imagine that you arrive at the station at 9.15am. The stationmaster says to you:

"You are too late. The train has left."

Later, you tell your friends:

"We were too late. The train had left."

We often use the past perfect tense in reported speech after verbs like said, told, asked, thought, wondered:

Look at these examples:

	He told us that the train had left.
	I thought I had met her before, but I was wrong.
	He explained that he had closed the window because of the rain.
	I wondered if I had been there before.
	I asked them why they had not finished.

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Past Perfect Continuous Tense

I had been singing.

How do we make the Past Perfect Continuous Tense?

The structure of the past perfect continuous tense is:

subject	+	auxiliary verb HAVE	+	auxiliary verb BE	+	main verb
		conjugated in simple past tense		past participle		present participle
		had		been		base + ing

For negative sentences in the past perfect continuous tense, we insert not after the first auxiliary verb. For question sentences, we exchange the subject and first auxiliary verb. Look at these example sentences with the past perfect continuous tense:

	subject	auxiliary verb		auxiliary verb	main verb
+	I	had		been	working.
+	You	had		been	playing	tennis.
-	It	had	not	been	working	well.
-	We	had	not	been	expecting	her.
?	Had	you		been	drinking?
?	Had	they		been	waiting	long?

When speaking with the past perfect continuous tense, we often contract the subject and first auxiliary verb:

I had been	I'd been
you had been	you'd been
he had she had been it had been	he'd been she'd been it'd been
we had been	we'd been
they had been	they'd been

How do we use the Past Perfect Continuous Tense?

The past perfect continuous tense is like the past perfect tense, but it expresses longer actions in the past before another action in the past. For example:

Ram started waiting at 9am. I arrived at 11am. When I arrived, Ram had been waiting for two hours.

Ram had been waiting for two hours when I arrived.
past	present	future
Ram starts waiting in past at 9am.
9am---------11am
I arrive in past at 11am.

Here are some more examples:

	John was very tired. He had been running.
	I could smell cigarettes. Somebody had been smoking.
	Suddenly, my car broke down. I was not surprised. It had not been running well for a long time.
	Had the pilot been drinking before the crash?

You can sometimes think of the past perfect continuous tense like the present perfect continuous tense, but instead of the time being now the time is past.

past perfect continuous tense			present perfect continuous tense
had \| been \| doing \| >>>> \|	\| \| \| \|		\| \| \| \|	have \| been \| doing \| >>>> \|
--------------------------------------------			---------------------------------------------
past	now	future	past	now	future

For example, imagine that you meet Ram at 11am. Ram says to you:

"I am angry. I have been waiting for two hours."

Later, you tell your friends:

"Ram was angry. He had been waiting for two hours."

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Apr 2004

Simple Future Tense

I will sing.

The simple future tense is often called will, because we make the simple future tense with the modal auxiliary will.

How do we make the Simple Future Tense?

The structure of the simple future tense is:

subject	+	auxiliary verb WILL	+	main verb
		invariable		base
		will		V1

For negative sentences in the simple future tense, we insert not between the auxiliary verb and main verb. For question sentences, we exchange the subject and auxiliary verb. Look at these example sentences with the simple future tense:

	subject	auxiliary verb		main verb
+	I	will		open	the door.
+	You	will		finish	before me.
-	She	will	not	be	at school tomorrow.
-	We	will	not	leave	yet.
?	Will	you		arrive	on time?
?	Will	they		want	dinner?

When we use the simple future tense in speaking, we often contract the subject and auxiliary verb:

I will	I'll
you will	you'll
he will she will it will	he'll she'll it'll
we will	we'll
they will	they'll

For negative sentences in the simple future tense, we contract with won't, like this:

I will not	I won't
you will not	you won't
he will not she will not it will not	he won't she won't it won't
we will not	we won't
they will not	they won't

How do we use the Simple Future Tense?

Simple future tense for No Plan

We use the simple future tense when there is no plan or decision to do something before we speak. We make the decision spontaneously at the time of speaking. Look at these examples:

	Hold on. I'll get a pen.
	We will see what we can do to help you.
	Maybe we'll stay in and watch television tonight.

In these examples, we had no firm plan before speaking. The decision is made at the time of speaking.

We often use the simple future tense with the verb to think before it:

	I think I'll go to the gym tomorrow.
	I think I will have a holiday next year.
	I don't think I'll buy that car.

Simple future tense for Prediction

We often use the simple future tense to make a prediction about the future. Again, there is no firm plan. We are saying what we think will happen. Here are some examples:

	It will rain tomorrow.
	People won't go to Jupiter before the 22nd century.
	Who do you think will get the job?

Simple future tense with BE

When the main verb is be, we can use the simple future tense even if we have a firm plan or decision before speaking. Examples:

	I'll be in London tomorrow.
	I'm going shopping. I won't be very long.
	Will you be at work tomorrow?

Note that:

Note that when we have a plan or intention to do something in the future, we usually use other tenses or expressions, such as the present continuous tense or going to.

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Go to Handouts

Future Continuous Tense

I will be singing.

How do we make the Future Continuous Tense?

The structure of the future continuous tense is:

subject	+	auxiliary verb WILL	+	auxiliary verb BE	+	main verb
		invariable		invariable		present participle
		will		be		base + ing

For negative sentences in the future continuous tense, we insert not between will and be. For question sentences, we exchange the subject and will. Look at these example sentences with the future continuous tense:

	subject	auxiliary verb		auxiliary verb	main verb
+	I	will		be	working	at 10am.
+	You	will		be	lying	on a beach tomorrow.
-	She	will	not	be	using	the car.
-	We	will	not	be	having	dinner at home.
?	Will	you		be	playing	football?
?	Will	they		be	watching	TV?

When we use the future continuous tense in speaking, we often contract the subject and will:

I will	I'll
you will	you'll
he will she will it will	he'll she'll it'll
we will	we'll
they will	they'll

For spoken negative sentences in the future continuous tense, we contract with won't, like this:

I will not	I won't
you will not	you won't
he will not she will not it will not	he won't she won't it won't
we will not	we won't
they will not	they won't

Note that:

We sometimes use shall instead of will, especially for I and we.

How do we use the Future Continuous Tense?

The future continuous tense expresses action at a particular moment in the future. The action will start before that moment but it will not have finished at that moment. For example, tomorrow I will start work at 2pm and stop work at 6pm:

At 4pm tomorrow, I will be working.
past	present	future
--------------4pm---------------
		At 4pm, I will be in the middle of working.

When we use the future continuous tense, our listener usually knows or understands what time we are talking about. Look at these examples:

	I will be playing tennis at 10am tomorrow.
	They won't be watching TV at 9pm tonight.
	What will you be doing at 10pm tonight?
	What will you be doing when I arrive?
	She will not be sleeping when you telephone her.
	We 'll be having dinner when the film starts.
	Take your umbrella. It will be raining when you return.

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May 2004

Future Perfect Tense

I will have sung.

The future perfect tense is quite an easy tense to understand and use. The future perfect tense talks about the past in the future.

How do we make the Future Perfect Tense?

The structure of the future perfect tense is:

subject	+	auxiliary verb WILL	+	auxiliary verb HAVE	+	main verb
		invariable		invariable		past participle
		will		have		V3

Look at these example sentences in the future perfect tense:

	subject	auxiliary verb		auxiliary verb	main verb
+	I	will		have	finished	by 10am.
+	You	will		have	forgotten	me by then.
-	She	will	not	have	gone	to school.
-	We	will	not	have	left.
?	Will	you		have	arrived?
?	Will	they		have	received	it?

In speaking with the future perfect tense, we often contract the subject and will. Sometimes, we contract the subject, will and have all together:

I will have	I'll have	I'll've
you will have	you'll have	you'll've
he will have she will have it will have	he'll have she'll have it'll have	he'll've she'll've it'll've
we will have	we'll have	we'll've
they will have	they'll have	they'll've

Note that:

We sometimes use shall instead of will, especially for I and we.

How do we use the Future Perfect Tense?

The future perfect tense expresses action in the future before another action in the future. This is the past in the future. For example:

The train will leave the station at 9am. You will arrive at the station at 9.15am. When you arrive, the train will have left.

The train will have left when you arrive.
past	present	future
		Train leaves in future at 9am.
9am...............9:15am
		You arrive in future at 9.15am.

Look at some more examples:

	You can call me at work at 8am. I will have arrived at the office by 8.
	They will be tired when they arrive. They will not have slept for a long time.
	"Mary won't be at home when you arrive." "Really? Where will she have gone?"

You can sometimes think of the future perfect tense like the present perfect tense, but instead of your viewpoint being in the present, it is in the future:

present perfect tense			future perfect tense
	\| have \| done \| > \|				will \| have \| done \| > \|
--------------------------------------------			---------------------------------------------
past	now	future	past	now	future

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Go to Handouts

Future Perfect Continuous Tense

I will have been singing.

How do we make the Future Perfect Continuous Tense?

The structure of the future perfect continuous tense is:

subject	+	auxiliary verb WILL	+	auxiliary verb HAVE	+	auxiliary verb BE	+	main verb
		invariable		invariable		past participle		present participle
		will		have		been		base + ing

For negative sentences in the future perfect continuous tense, we insert not between will and have. For question sentences, we exchange the subject and will. Look at these example sentences with the future perfect continuous tense:

	subject	auxiliary verb		auxiliary verb	auxiliary verb	main verb
+	I	will		have	been	working	for four hours.
+	You	will		have	been	travelling	for two days.
-	She	will	not	have	been	using	the car.
-	We	will	not	have	been	waiting	long.
?	Will	you		have	been	playing	football?
?	Will	they		have	been	watching	TV?

When we use the future perfect continuous tense in speaking, we often contract the subject and auxiliary verb:

I will	I'll
you will	you'll
he will she will it will	he'll she'll it'll
we will	we'll
they will	they'll

For negative sentences in the future perfect continuous tense, we contract with won't, like this:

I will not	I won't
you will not	you won't
he will not she will not it will not	he won't she won't it won't
we will not	we won't
they will not	they won't

How do we use the Future Perfect Continuous Tense?

We use the future perfect continuous tense to talk about a long action before some point in the future. Look at these examples:

	I will have been working here for ten years next week.
	He will be tired when he arrives. He will have been travelling for 24 hours.

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