1. PAST TENSES
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Past simple - I swam / I didn’t swim
Past continuous - I was swimming
Present perfect simple - I have swum
Past perfect simple - I had swum

2. PAST SIMPLE
Help Fernando get to school. In this
game, you have to write the simple
past of the verb before he falls. BE
FAST!
Too easy? Try this a game of Jeopardy.
The past simple describes:
• completed actions and
past situations.
• something that happened
repeatedly in the past
• a past state

3. PRESENT PERFECT
Examples
• He has lived here since he was young.
(came many years ago, still here)
• I have been to London, but I haven't
been to New York. (at some/any time
in my life)
• Have you found the book you were
looking for? (between the time you
started looking and now)
• She has just arrived. (a short time
ago; here she is)
Practice here.
The present perfect connects
past and present. It is used to
refer to:
• an action or situation which
began in the past and is still
current
• an action or event which
took place in the past, where
the exact time of the event is
not specified or not clear
• an action or event which has
just happened

4. PAST CONTINUOUS
Choose the correct option: past simple
or past continuous.
Watch the video of “Don’t you want
me?” and read along with the lyrics.
The past continuous
describes:
• an action in progress at a
certain time in the past
• a past action which was
interrupted by another
action
*with “while”, we often use
the past continuous!

5. PAST PERFECT SIMPLE
Example:
By the time / When Carol arrived, Sam
had already cooked dinner.
Sam had already cooked dinner by the
time / when Carol arrived.
Remember! The order of information
in the sentence may be reversed.
At English Page, you have extensive
notes on past perfect, and if you scroll
to the bottom, there are several
interactive practice activites.
The past perfect simple is
used to refer to an even
or situation which took
place before another
past event.