English_Grammar_C1_Past_Tense_Presentation.pptx

It’s easier to understand when we
use the different past tenses if we
compare them.
Let’s look at:
1. The past simple and the past continuous.
2. The past simple, past perfect simple, and past perfect continuous.
3. used to and would.
Copyright © 2018 by Pearson Education Gold Experience 2nd Edition C1
When and why do we use
them?

Function: When
do we use them?
1. past simple and past continuous
Specific
time: 2006-
2008
It started
and finished
in the past
Visited all the
Hawaiian
islands
I was working
in a bank.
My friends
were always
complaining…
Between 2006 and 2008, I
visited nearly all of the
Hawaiian islands. I was
working at a bank at the
time so had a bit of money.
My friends were always
complaining that I was
never at home!
Is there a specific
time in the past
the girl talks about
or is it a general
past?
Has the time
period finished or
does it continue
to now?
Which part of the
statement refers
to a repeatable
activity?
During this time,
which of the actions
in bold was
continuous
throughout?
While this continuous
action was in
progress, what
specific event did the
girl do?

past simple past continuous
Completed or finished actions and events in the past. A continuous action or one in progress when other events
occur in the past.
Often used with finished time expressions. Can be an action in progress which is interrupted (so we
don’t know if it continued).
Can also be used with always and forever to emphasise a
repeated action which was irritating.
Between 2006 and 2008, I visited nearly all of the Hawaiian islands. I was working at a bank
at the time so had a bit of money. My friends were always complaining that I was never at
home!
Function: When
do we use them?
1. past simple and past continuous
This period of time
finished in the past
She visited the islands
in the past – it is
completed.
This is something that
happened a lot.
This action was in
progress when she
visited the islands

Function: Things to consider...
Notice how this part of the
sentence is in the past simple and
not the past continuous. This is
an example of a state verb (not
an action).
I was working at a bank at the time so had a bit of money.
● We do not use state verbs in the continuous structures. They are always in the simple
tenses.
● Some verbs can be state verbs or action verbs depending on the context.
● Example:
I was thinking about Laura when she walked in.
Think here is an action verb. You can imagine the speaker’s brain working.
I think he’s German.
Think here is a state verb meaning the same as believe.

Function: When do we use them?
2. past perfect simple and past perfect continuous
I realised I had forgotten
my keys when I was already
performing in the concert.
Before I left the house, I had
been cleaning all day.
Look at the three parts of the
girl’s statement. Put them in
order on the timeline below.
1. I realized something.
2. I forgot my keys.
3. I was cleaning the house.
Notice how the order of events
affects the tense we use.
I left the house.
I was performing in the concert.
1
2
3

past perfect simple past perfect continuous
To talk about an action that
occurred before another action in
the past (almost like we look
back in time).
A continuous action that
occurred over a period of time up
to another specific time in the
past.
I realised I had forgotten my keys when I was already
performing in the concert. Before I left the house, I had
been cleaning all day.
2. past perfect simple and past perfect continuous
I had been cleaning was an action in progress before the 2nd past action I left the house.
Here, the speaker is talking about two different times in the past – one further in the past than the other.
Perfect structures always compare two
different times. E.g. The past perfect
simple and continuous compare a time in
the past with another time in the past.
Look...
I had been cleaning.
I left the house.
…I had forgotten my keys.
I was performing in the concert.
I realised…

● We do not continue talking in the past perfect simple or continuous after the first
original sentence because the listener now knows what time period the speaker is
referring to.
Function: Things to consider...
Look at the
continuation of the
girl’s statement.
I realised I had forgotten my keys when I was already
performing in the concert. Before I left the house, I had been
cleaning all day. My house was really dirty, so I cleaned
every room from top to bottom. I even swept under the bed!
Her conversation
continues in the past
simple tense.

3. used to and would
Used to.
I used to go to
the beach and
I would play in
the sea.
Yes.
No.
Is the girl talking about a specific trip
to the beach?
Was this something she did a
lot? A habit?
Which two of the phrases
in bold are actions?
My hair used to be blonde is not an
action; it’s a state or a description.
Do we use used to or would?
I used to go to the beach every
weekend when I was a kid. I would
play in the sea all day, so my hair
used to be white blonde, not like
now.

used to would
To talk about past habitual actions. To talk about past habitual actions.
To talk about past states, which often aren’t true now.
I used to go to the beach every weekend when I was a kid. I would play in the sea all day, so my
hair used to be white blonde, not like now.
3. used to and would
Notice how we don’t
generally use would when
talking about states.
Would can sometimes
sound more literary or
almost like the speaker
enjoys reminiscing about
the past.
How do I use them?

I realised I had forgotten my keys when I was already performing in the concert. Before I left the
house, I had been cleaning all day.
Form: How do we use them?
Which auxiliary verbs are
used in the past
continuous, past perfect
simple, and past perfect
continuous?
What auxiliary verb do we
add in the past simple in
the negative or question
form?
Look at this example.
Did or
didn’t
Past continuous: was/were
Past Perfect Simple: had
Past Perfect Continuous:
had been

subject auxiliary verb(s) main verb complement
past simple I
Subject
+
- left
verb in past
the house.
past continuous I
Subject
+
was
was/were +
performing
verb -ing
in the concert.
past perfect simple I
Subject
+
had
had
+
forgotten
past participle
my keys.
past perfect
continuous
I
Subject
+
had been
had + been +
cleaning
verb -ing
the house all day.
All these examples are in
the affirmative. Think
about how you would put
these examples in the
negative or interrogative
form.
And used to/would?

I used to go to the beach every weekend, but I didn’t use to stay for long.
What form of the verb
follows used to in the
affirmative?
In the negative, what
changes in this structure?
Look at this example.
We use use
to, not used
to.
The bare
infinitive
form

used to
affirmative I
Subject +
used to
used to +
go
verb infinitive +
to the beach.
complement
negative I
Subject +
didn’t
didn’t +
use to
use to +
have
verb inf +
blonde hair.
complement
interrogative (Where)
Qu. Word +
did
did +
you
subject +
use to
use to +
go?
verb inf + ?
Notice how we use use to - not used to - in the
negative and interrogative.
would
I
Subject +
would
would +
play
verb infinitive +
in the sea all day.
complement

I was working at a bank.
I had been cleaning all day.
I used to go to the beach every weekend.
/wəz/
/bɪn/
/tə/
I had forgotten my keys.
I would play in the sea.
I’d
Think about pronunciation…
When we speak naturally in connected
speech, many auxiliary verbs become
weak because we don’t stress them.
Weak forms often use the schwa sound
/ə/. For example, instead of saying
/wɒz/, we say /wəz/. Look at the weak
forms here and practice saying them.
Remember that when speaking we would
usually use contractions.
Time to practise...

My brother hates dogs now, but when we were children, he ……..…….. (be) obsessed with them. Every time we
saw one, he ……..………..…….. (chase) it and then he …….……..…….. (cry) if it ran away. But that all changed
on his 8th birthday. He ……...……..…….. (play) outside on the street all afternoon when my mother ………. (call)
him to come in for his dinner. As he ….……..…….. (walking) towards the house, he …….. (see) it – a big fluffy
brown Labrador. As usual, he …….... (start) running to it and ……....…….. (not notice) the 3 tiny puppies behind it.
The dog didn’t have an owner and ……..………….. (live) in the park by our house for a few weeks. By the time
my brother was next to the dog, it ……..…….. (move) 2 of the babies, but the 3rd was still by its legs. Suddenly,
the Labrador turned and …….... (bite) my brother’s leg. My mother ……..……..…..…….. (watch) everything
and ……..…….. ( come) to help, so luckily, it only bit him once. He never chased dogs again!
used to be
used to/would chase used to/would cry
had been playing called
was walking saw
started didn’t notice
had been living
had moved
bit had been watching
had come
Practice activities
Use the correct form of the verbs in brackets to complete the gaps. Justify your choices.

English_Grammar_C1_Past_Tense_Presentation.pptx

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