Past Tenses Review

Past Tenses
Review

I was
You were
He was
She was
It was
We were
You were
They were

​Verb to be

1. Past Simple

Rest of verbs

Negative
I wasn't here yesterday.
I was not here yesterday.

You weren't ready.
You were not ready.

Questions
Was I here yesterday?
Were you invited?

I liked
You liked
He liked
She liked
It liked
We liked
You liked
They liked

Negative
He didn't like the food.
He did not like the food.

Questions
Did they like the movie? (verb goes in infinitive)
What did you do yesterday? (with wh-question)

​Affirmative

2. Past Continuous

​subject + was/were + verb-ing

Negative (no in the was/were)

Questions (was/were moves to the beginning)

I wasn't studying English last night.
He was not playing soccer with his friends.
We weren't cooking dinner in our kitchen.
They were not being very patient at the doctor's office.

I was studying English last night.
You were watching TV when I called.
He was playing soccer with his friends.
She was reading a book in the park.
It was raining heavily this morning.
We were cooking dinner in our kitchen.
They were being very patient at the doctor's office.

Were you watching TV when I called?
Was she reading a book in the park?
Where were you cooking? (with wh-question)

Open Ended

Transform the following sentence into the past continuous.

We had lunch at 5pm.

I had finished my homework before dinner.
You had visited the museum last year.
He had had coffee before going to work.
She had read the book before the movie came out.
It had stopped raining by the time we left.
We had eaten lunch before the meeting started.
They had completed the project before the deadline.

​subject + HAD + past participle
(Auxiliary verb)

3. Past Perfect

3. Past perfect

Had she tasted sushi before that night?

What had they done when you arrived in the office? (wh-question)

Questions

She had not tasted sushi before that night.
She hadn't tasted sushi before that night.
She had never tasted sushi before that night.

Negative

Key words for past tenses

Claire arrived while Henry was walking up and down.

While I was sitting at my desk, I started healing lots of noises.

While
The verb after "while" goes in the past continous.

When he finished his military service in 1945, he opened his first store.

We were talking about you when you rang.

​When
The verb after "when" goes in the past tense.

​Specific moments in the past= past continuous (most times but not always)

This morning the coffee machine wasn't working.

At 11 am, I was taking a shower.

By June 2009, nobody was using the app.

Key words for Past Perfect

The verb after the word "before" goes in past simple. The other verb in a sentence using "before" is usually in past perfect.

She had read the book before the movie came out.

Before he celebrated his 26th birthday, he had founded his own company,

​Before

By the 19th century, the Industrial Revolution had transformed the world.

Printing had developed in China by the 3rd century.

By the age of 80, he had written more than 100 books.

​By the (time)...

Key words for Past Perfect

For an event before "when", use the past perfect. After the word "when" use past simple.

​When

We went out after we had eaten breakfast.

After I had finished my presentation, I felt relaxed.

After

The verb following the word "after" often goes in the past perfect.

If the sequence of events is clear, the past simple can be used: I called my friend after I finished my work.

The train had just left when we got to the station.

When she checked her phone, her mother had already called three times.

Multiple Choice

Before she _________ this company, she had worked for three years in the fashion industry.

• started

• start

• was starting

• had started

Multiple Choice

The company ________ in 2005.

• close

• closed

• was closing

• had closed

Multiple Choice

When Amir ______ in Japan he suffered from culture shock.

• teach

• was teaching

• taught

• had taught

Multiple Choice

Heidi ________ in London when I first met her.

• Studies

• studied

• was studying

• had studied

Multiple Choice

Consuela was excited because she ___________ to that part of the world before.

• doesn't travel

• didn't travel

• wasn't travelling

• hadn't travelled

Multiple Choice

Gabriella_______ in many countries after joining the company.

• work

• was working

• worked

• had worked

Multiple Choice

Have you finished preparing the presentation?

• I finished it before I went home yesterday.

• I had finished it last night.

• I was finishing it last night.

Multiple Choice

Where were you going when I saw you earlier?

• I went to the "papelería" to get more paper.

• I was going to lunch in the canteen.

• I had been to the marketing department.

Multiple Choice

When had the law firm (despacho) closed?

• It was closing for six years now.

• It closed a month ago when the partners retired.

• It had closed two months before the building was bought.

Multiple Choice

When did you go to New York?

• I didn't go in the end. I went to Boston instead.

• I was going to San Francisco instead.

• I had gone last year.