1. UNDERSTANDING PAST TENSES
By Group 2
1. DINA NOFIRNA
2. SUCI RAHMADANI
3. OSNA MARIA
4. NELVIRA AURRIA

2. Past Tense
The simple past tense is used to talk about
a completed action or state that occurred in the
past. Past tense is used to express an old world
action that happened.

3. We use the past tense to talk about :
 Something that happened once in the past
Example : 1. I met my wife in 1983.
2. We went to Spain for our holidays.
3. They got home very late last night.
 Something that happened again and again in the past
Example : 1. When I was a boy, I walked a mile to school every
day.
2. We swam a lot while we were on holiday.
3. They always enjoyed visiting their friends.

4.  For more on these questions see question forms
We use didn’t (did not) to make negatives with the past tense.
Example : 1. They didn’t go to Spain this year.
2. We didn’t get home until very late last night.
3. I didn’t see you yesterday.
 For an action done repeatedly, habitually or at regular times in the
past
Example : 1. We saw the movie 'Titanic' several times at the
cinema.
2. Brian was always a heavy drinker in the old days.
3. He phoned his mother every Sunday until her death.
 For telling Situation in the past

5.  Something that was true for some time in the past
Example : 1. I lived abroad for ten years.
2. He enjoyed being a student.
3. She played a lot of tennis when she was
younger.
 We often use phrases with ago with the past tense
Example : 1. I met my wife a long time ago.
2. Suci watched television three days ago.
3. Vira played Barbie doll with her friends few
weeks ago.

6. Regular and irregular verbs
We form the simple past tense of most verbs
by adding –ed to the verb. These verbs are called
regular verbs. Most verbs are regular verbs.
The simple past tense of some verbs does
not end in –ed. These verbs are the irregular
verbs.
The simple past tense irregular verbs can only be
used in the positive, not negative.

7. Adverb of Time in
Past
Tense
 Just Now
 This Morning  3 Days Ago
 Yesterday  2 Months Ago
 This Afternoon  Last Year
 Last Week  Yesterday Morning
 Today  An Hour Ago
 Last Month  Last Sunday
 Last Night

8. Past Continuous Tense
This tenses is used to express an action
which is happened in past time. and at the same
time happened other action. This Tense
emphasize is the happening of the action not its
have. The past continuous is formed from the past
tense of be with the -ing form of the verb.

9. We use the past continuous to talk about the past :
 Duration in the past
Example :
I was watching TV yesterday in the evening.
She was sleeping on the couch.
The dog was barking.
 to show that something continued for some time
Example : 1. My head was aching.
2. Everyone was shouting.

10.  For something that was happening again and again
Example :
I was practising every day, three times a day.
They were meeting secretly after school.
They were always quarrelling.
 with verbs which show change or growth
Example :
The children were growing up quickly.
Her English was improving.
My hair was going grey.
The town was changing quickly.

11.  Actions in progress at the same time
Example :
I was singing when she was cooking.
My mother was watching TV while my friends came to my
house.

12. To form a sentence in the Past Continuous, you need :
1. Auxiliary verb "to be"
The past form of the auxiliary verb "to be" is :
For the first and third person singular : "was"
For all others : "were"
Example : 1. She was always coming late for dinner.
2. You were always coming late for dinner.
2. The Present Participle
The present participle is of a verb is a verb form that appears
with present tenses. The present participle is formed by adding -ing to
the verb.
talk + ing = talking
be + ing = being

13. Adverb of time
Adverb of time that we use in the past continuous tense :
 All of time in the past tense
 At 4 o’clock
 …when…
 All day yesterday
 …while…
 … as …
When (follow simple past tense)
While (follow past continuous tense)

14. Simple past tense + while + past continuous tense
Example : Rina came to my house while I was helping my brother
Simple Past Tense Past continuous tense
While + Past continuous tense + Simple past tense
Example : While we were watching TV, someone knocked the door.
Past continuous tense Simple past tense
While + Past Continuous Tense + Past Continuous Tense
Example : While my brother was sleeping, my father was reading a magazine
Past Continuous Tense Past Continuous Tense
When + Simple Past Tense + Past Continuous Tense
Example : When my father came home, we were studying in the living room.
Simple Past Tense Past Continuous Tense
Past Continuous Tense + When + Simple Past Tense
Example : She was reading a magazine when the phone rang.
Past Continuous Tense Simple Past Tense

15. Past Perfect Tense
It is the same with Past Continuos Tense nor
selfsupporting as simple sentence but have to provide with
Past Tense sentence. this used to express an action which
have been done in past time. The past perfect is used in
the same way as the present perfect, but it refers to a time
in the past, not the present.

16. We use the past perfect tense :
 For something that started in the past and continued up to a given time in
the past
Example :
When George died he and Anne had been married for nearly fifty years.
She didn’t want to move. She had lived in Liverpool all her life.
 For something that happened in the past but is important at the time of
reporting
Example :
I couldn’t get into the house. I had lost my keys.
Teresa wasn’t at home. She had gone shopping.

17.  We use the past perfect to talk about the past in
conditions, hypotheses and wishes
Example :
I would have helped him if he had asked.
It was very dangerous. What if you had got lost?
I wish I hadn’t spent so much money last month.

18. Form
To form a sentence in the Past Perfect, what you need is :
1. Auxiliary verb "to have"
The past form of the auxiliary verb "to have" is "had":
Example : Mary had finished her homework before Mike came
home.
2. The Past Participle
The past participle of a verb is a verb form that appears
with the perfect tenses. The past participle can be either regular
or irregular verb.

19. Adverb of Time
Adverb of time that we use in the past perfect tense :
For
 …as soon as….
 Since
 Until
 …before…
 …after….
Example :
The student had gotten a verbal warning before his
parents called.
I came to the party after he had invited me.

20. Past Perfect Continuous Tense
Past perfect tense continuous tense
emphasizes the duration of an activity that was in
progress before another activity or time in the past.

21. We use the past perfect continuous to :
 look back at a situation in progress
Example :
It was a good time to invest. Inflation had been falling for several months.
Before I changed jobs, I had been working on a plan to reduce production costs.
We had been thinking about buying a new house but then we decided to stay
here.
 to say what had been happening before something else happened
Example :
It had been snowing for a while before we left.
We had been playing tennis for only a few minutes when it started raining.
He was out of breath when he arrived because he had been running.

22.  When reporting things said in the past
Example :
She said she had been trying to call me all day.
They said they had been shopping.
I told you I had been looking for some new clothes.
 to show cause of an action or situation in the past
Example :
John was in a detention because he had been misbehaving.
The road was wet because it had been raining.
I had to go on a diet because I had been eating too much sugar.
Jessica got sunburnt because she had been lying in the sun too long.

23. Describe duration of a past action
Example :
The boys had been quarreling for half an hour when we arrived home.
I had been dating Angelina for 3 years before we got married.

24. Questions
Fill in the blank with the correct answer !
1. I ... (play) football with my friends yesterday.
2. They ... not smoke) while we were drinking just now.
3. She ... (read) a novel at library last week.
4. I ... (sleep) when my friend came to my house yesterday.
5. Male students ... ( not play) around ... (when / while) female
ones were chitchatting.
6. My car … (break down) five times before I decided to sell it.
7. Via ... (travel) around in Bali before she got married last
month.
8. When they came to lamongan in 1981, they …. (play)
badminton.
9. Lia ….. (walk) alone for 10 minutes.
10. Farmers in Jati Bali…. (grow) rice crops before I came to this
village in 1985.

25. Key Answers
1. I played football with my friends yesterday.
2. They were not smoking while we were drinking just now.
3. She read a novel at library last week.
4. I was sleeping when my friend came to my house yesterday.
5. Male students were not playing around while female ones
were chitchatting.
6. My car had broken down five times before I decided to sell it.
7. Via had traveled around in Bali before she got married last
month.
8. When they came to lamongan in 1981, they had been playing
badminton.
9. Lia had been walking alone for 10 minutes.
10. Farmers in Jati Bali had grown rice crops before I came to this
village in 1985.

26. Biography
Dani K. 2002. Tenses 16 Bentuk Waktu. Surabaya : Putra Harsa
Gusriani. 2008/2009. Hand Out Bahasa Inggris Kelas X
Johanna, dkk. 2007. Pendidikan bahasa Inggris. Jakarta : UT
http://www.myenglishgrammar.com/simple-past-tense.html
(accessed on 3 October 2012)
http://www.englishtenses.com/tenses/past_continuous
(accessed on 3 October 2012)
http://www.englishtenses.com/tenses/past_perfect
(accessed on 3 October 2012)
http://www.englishtenses.com/tenses/past_perfect_continuous#use1
(accessed on 3 October 2012)