Past Tenses - English Grammar

3. an action occured at a definite
time (stated or implied) in the
past

4. for actions that happened
immediately one after the
other in the past

5. habits or states which are now
finished (used to can can also
be used for habits / repeated
actions in the past

6. Formula
Subject + V2/ed +Object
Ex
He went to Market.
Negative
Subject + did not + V + Object
Ex
He did not go to Market.
Question
Did + Subject + V+ Object ?
Ex
Did he go to Market ?

7.  yesterday, then, when, How long ago...?, last
night / week / month / year / Friday /
October etc, three days / weeks etc ago, in
1999, etc.

9. an action which was in
progress (past continuous)
when another action
interrupted it (past simple)

10. two or more simultaneous
actions in the past

11. an action which was in progress
at a stated time in the past; it is
not mentioned when the action
started or finished

12. the atmosphere, setting, etc &
to give background
information in a story

13. Positive
Subject +was/ were+ V-ing +Object
Ex
Children were eating ice cream.
Negative
Subject + wasn’t/ weren’t+ V-ing+ Object
Ex
They were not swimming in the pool at 3.00 p.m today.
Question
Was/ Were+ Subject + V-ing+ Object ?
Ex
Was she using the internet yesterday afternoon?

14.  While
 when, as
 all morning / evening / day / week (in the past)
 at 2.00 yesterday etc.

16. an action happened before
another past action or before
a stated time in the past

17. an action which finished in the
past, and whose result was
visible at a later point in the
past

18. Positive
Subject +HAD+ V 3/ed+Object
Ex
He had studied really hard.
Negative
Subject + had not + V 3/ed+Object
Ex
He had not gone to Market.
Question
Had + Subject + V 3/ed+Object ?
Ex
Had he paid his all bills ?

19.  before, after, already, just, for, since,
till/until, when, by the time, never, etc.

21. to put emaphasis on the duration
of an action which started and
finished in the past, before another
action and or stated time in the
past, usually with for or since

22. an action which lasted for
some time in the past and
whose result was visible in the
past

23. Positive
Subject +HAD BEEN+ V-ing+(Since/For) +Object
Ex
She had been waiting for me for three hours.
Girls had been sewing the dresses since morning till evening.
Negative
Subject + had not + been+ V-ing + (since/For)+ Object
Ex
He had not been watching the TV for five hours.
Question
Had + Subject + Been+ V-ing +(Since/For)+ Object ?
Ex
Had they been talking since evening ?

24.  for, since, how long, before, until, etc.