2024-2025 Fall ITU SFL/DDP
Main Course/Week 3
Past Tenses
Week 3
Prepared by the DDP
Past Simple
To describe a complete action in
the past
• I bought a new mobile phone yesterday.
To describe completed actions • I walked up to the till, paid and then left
that happened one after the
other in the past the shop.
To describe past habits or • When I was younger, I often went jogging in
repeated actions in the past the park.
To describe permanent situations • Jake lived with his grandparents when he
in the past was young.
To describe an action in the past
that interrupted a longer action • I was sleeping when the phone rang.
in progress
Time Expressions
WHAT ELSE?
Last
Ago Yesterday In 1998 week/month/ye
ar
Past Progressive
To describe an action in progress at a •What were you doing at 10 o’clock last night? I was having a
certain time in the past shower.
To describe actions that were
happening at the same time in the •While/As John was cooking, Lynn was sleeping.
past
•There were a lot of people at the station. Some were talking
To set the scene in a story on their mobiles; others were sleeping and a few were
walking up and down.
To describe temporary past states or •My grandfather was writing a play in those days.
actions
To describe repetitive or annoying •My brother was always taking my toys when we were young.
actions
To describe an action in progress in
the past that was interrupted by •While I was driving, I saw a cat in the street.
another action
Past Simple & Past Progressive – Time Clauses
(when, while, as, as soon as)
One action is interrupted by another; Past Progressive is used for the longer
action & Past Simple for the shorter action
As/While/When
they were I was having a
walking in the bath when the
forest, they saw lights went out.
a bear.
As soon as (with
Past Simple)
• As soon as we arrived on the
island, we ran to the beach.
Used to & Would
Used to + base form Would + base form
• To describe permanent past states • To describe past habits
I used to be overweight when I was My grandmother would always wake
younger. up at 5 o’clock in the morning.
• To describe past habits • To describe typical behavior in the
My father used to drive to work, but past
now he walks. Every night, Linda would turn on the
radio, sit down on the sofa and drink
• To describe repeated actions in the
a hot cup of coffee after dinner.
past
We used to go out every day, but we
don’t anymore.
Past Perfect Simple
• To describe an action which was completed before a
specific point of time in the past
My mom had done the washing-up by midnight.
• To describe an action that was completed before
another action in the past. The second action is in
the Past Simple.
The film had already started when we got to the
cinema.
Already
Ever
Time
Expressions Never
Just
When
WHAT ELSE?
By the time
After
By
Before
Past Perfect Progressive
• To emphasize the duration of an action that took
place before another action in the past
He had been living in London for 15 years when he
moved to Glasgow.
• To refer to an action whose duration caused visible
results at a later point of time in the past
They were tired because they had been cleaning the
house all day.
Already
Time
By the time
Expressions For
Since
WHAT ELSE? After
Before
When
How long
• https://create.kahoot.it/share/c1-
Kahoot Game grammar-narrative-tenses/7bce8
24c-91ab-4f5c-a097-591a778f0c
31
