This document summarizes different uses of verb tenses in the past, including the past simple, past continuous, and past perfect tenses. It provides examples of how to use each tense to describe finished actions, ongoing actions, repeated actions, and actions that took place before or after other past events using time conjunctions like before, after, as soon as, and by the time.

1. Adapted from Isabel Bastida

2. • Past Simple
• Past Continuous
• Past Perfect
• Time conjunctions.

3. Finished actions in the past.
Peter threw a stone and broke a
car window last night.
I spent all my childhood in
Scotland.

4. What were you doing on
Sept 11th 2001?
I was watching the news
when a plane crashed
against the Twin Towers .
The phone rang while I was
having a bubble bath.
As background actions (+
as, when, while)

5. Things that happened repeatedly, often annoying
habits.
Aunt Irma was always telling us what to do. She
was such a pain in the neck.

6. Past in the past.
When I arrived at the party,
they had already opened all the
presents.

7. AS/WHILE/ WHEN As/ While/ When I was watching a horror movie, I heard a
noise outside.
As/ While/When I was slaving away, my brother was
chilling out.
BEFORE/ AFTER Before we left, I (had) filled up with petrol.
I (had) filled up with petrol before we left.
After I (had) filled up with petrol, we left.
We left after I (had) filled up with petrol.
AS SOON AS
(immediately after)
As soon as he went/had gone outside, it started raining.
It started raining as soon as he went/had gone outside.
BY THE TIME By the time the police arrived, the robbers had run away.
The robbers had run away by the time the police arrived.