The Past is Vast
Past Verb Forms
Simple
Past |
Past
Continuous |
Past
Perfect |
| I ate | I was eating | I had eaten |
| You ate | You were eating | You had eaten |
| He/she ate | He/she was eating | He/she had eaten |
| We ate | We were eating | We had eaten |
| You ate | You were eating | You had eaten |
| They ate | They were eating | They had eaten |
Formation
of Past Tense Verb Forms |
|||
Simple
Past |
Past Continuous |
Past Perfect |
|
Auxiliary
verb |
----- |
Past of to
be |
Past of to have |
Formation |
Past conjugation
of verb |
Past conjugation of "be" plus
-ing form |
Past conjugation of "have" plus
past participle |
Time
line |
Past and complete
|
During the past (clauses usually start with "while")
|
Action started in the past
and continued until another event in the past |
Past continuous negative |
Past continuous questions |
Past Perfect Negatives |
Present Perfect Questions |
| I was not eating in class | Was I eating in the theater? | I had not eaten when the meeting started | Had I eaten lunch already? |
| You were not eating on the bus | Were you eating with her yesterday? | You had not eaten all day | Had you already eaten when you arrived? |
| He/she was not eating when I saw her | Was she eating with him? | She had not eaten before her boyfriend came | Had she eaten meat that day? |
| We were not eating together that day | Were we eating with them? | We had not eaten before the game | Had we eaten before the show? |
| You were not eating in the temple | Were you eating with your parents all week? | You had not eaten when the bus came | Had you eaten ice cream with them? |
| They were not eating breakfast together | Were they eating dinner together? | They had not eaten before school | Had they eaten when they came over? |
Practice with Past Continuous
Past Continuous |
Past Continuous Negative |
Past Continuous Questions |
Past Continuous Negative
Questions |
I was
working all day |
I was not working
yesterday |
Was I running late? |
Wasn't I doing it
right? |
You were playing
cards when I called |
You weren't digging in the garden,
were you? |
Were you working late again? |
Weren't you walking the dog? |
He was walking his
dog last night |
He wasn't doing his homework
last night |
Was he repairing his car? |
Wasn't he riding his bike? |
We were talking
to him all night |
We weren't spending much time
together |
Were we dancing that night? |
Weren't we laughing hard? |
You were watching
TV |
You weren't coming in on time |
Were you yelling at the kids? |
Weren't you playing piano last
night? |
They were singing
all day |
They weren't talking any more |
Were they cancelling their trip? |
Weren't they making cookies? |
Practice with Past Perfect
Past Perfect |
Past Perfect Negative |
Past Perfect Questions |
Past Perfect Negative Questions |
I had
gone to sleep |
I had not worked
for 2 months |
Had I run late? |
Hadn't I done
it right? |
You had played cards
with them all day |
You had not been to the park,
had you? |
Had you worked late last Monday? |
Hadn't you walked the dog by
then? |
He had walked his
dog after 10:00 |
He had not done his homework
last night |
Had he repaired his car in time? |
Hadn't he rode his bike that
day? |
We had talked for
five hours |
We hadn't spent much
time with her |
Had we danced on stage by then? |
Hadn't we finished painting
it? |
You had watchedTV
until you fell asleep |
You had not been home in years |
Had you told the
truth? |
Hadn't you played ball that
night? |
They had sung
all day |
They had not traveled far |
Had they cancelled their trip? |
Hadn't they finished their project? |