Past Time Expressions

Time expressions

Time expressions indicate the tense.

Present Simple - Usually, never, generally, always, seldom, often, sometimes, every day/week/month/year
Present Continuous - At present, now, at the moment – listen, look (verbs)

Present Perfect - Already, just, yet, recently, lately, ever, never.

Present perfect or present perfect continuous tense - Since, for

Past Simple - Yesterday, last week, two hours ago
Past Continuous - at this time yesterday, at 4:30 yesterday, when he came, while he was reading.
Future Simple - Tomorrow, next week, next year
Future Progressive (Continuous) - at this time tomorrow

Past Perfect Simple:

by the time + past tense: By the time I got home, he had gone to sleep.

after/before + past tense: After I had eaten, I went to school.

Past Perfect Continuous:

for - since + when/before - something happened: I had been reading for an hour when he came.

when: When John got home, his brother had been surfing the web for five hours.

Fill in the Blanks

1. David ………………. (take) this book yesterday from the library. His brother ………… (read) it now. He ………………. (return) it tomorrow. He …………….. (borrow) books from the library for the last few years.

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2. We …………….. (move) to Mumbai when I ………… (be) six. I …………… (be) twenty-eight now. We ……………… (live) in this city for twenty-two years.

Fill in the Blanks

3. Today I ……………… (reach) the railway station a little late. My friend ……………… (be) waiting there for me. He ……………….. (say) that he …………….. (wait) for me for half an hour.

Fill in the Blanks

4. We have no house of our own and we …………… (want) to build one. Last month, we ………………. (buy) a plot of land. The construction of the house ………………. (not begin) yet. We ……………… (start) work next month.