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02.04.2014
Melinda Makkos
English Grammar
All About the Past: Simple, Continuous, Perfect, Perfect Continuous
The past is a ghost, the future a dream, and all we ever have is now. Bill Cosby
I had been thinking a lot about how to start this article then I decided to use a quote.
I was looking for quotes on a website when I came across Bill Cosbys wonderful thought.
After I had read it a couple of times, I found that it would make a really nice opening line.
As you can see, there are several different past forms used in the above paragraph. To be exact, there are four: Past
Simple, Past Continuous, Past Perfect and Past Perfect Continuous. In your own language, there may be much
fewer structures that can be used to talk about the past. If you would like to learn when and how to use the different
past forms in English, keep reading.
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, went to the bathroom and had a shower. (First, I got up, then I went to the bathroom, then I had a
shower.)
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Difference Between LOOSE LOSE LOSS and LOST
PAST CONTINUOUS
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).
In progress means that the action was started before and finished after that point in time. For example:
I started having a shower at 7.30 and finished it at 7.45. (That means that at 7.35 I was having a shower.) At
7.40 I was still having a shower.
Or:
PAST PERFECT
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.
More examples:
I had been working in the same school for twenty years when I retired.
You had been working in the same school for twenty years when you retired.
He/She had been working in the same school for twenty years when he/she retired.
We had been working in the same school for twenty years when we retired.
You had been working in the same school for twenty years when you retired.
They had been working in the same school for twenty years when they retired.
Use Past Perfect Continuous to express that an action was IN PROGRESS for some timebefore/until another action
or time in the past.
Id 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 started working there in 1985 and retired in 2005.
More examples:
Tom had been going out with Mary for a year when he decided to propose to her. That night he took Mary to the best
restaurant in town.
He wanted to give her the ring at the end of the meal. They had finished eating and were speaking about their plans
for the future when suddenly Tom went down on his knees and popped the question.
Mary said yes and everybody cheered. When the waiter brought them the bill, Tom realized that he had left his wallet
at home, so he asked Mary to pay for the dinner.
Do you understand why certain past forms are used in the above sentences? If not, feel free to ask questions in the
comment area below.
For more practice, watch this funny video and read about what happened to Mr Bean. Afterwards, see if you can tell
the story without looking at the sentences.