Grammar

B1+
past tenses

Recommended for:
Gold Experience
Focus
High Note

2019 1
 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 and the past perfect simple.
3. Used to and would.

When do we use the

past simple and the past
continuous?

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 Function: When do we use them?
1. past simple and past continuous I left the swimming pool at 5pm. I
went to watch a weird film at the
What did you cinema at 5.30pm, and then I walked
do last night? home. I was back in the house by
7.30pm. You?
I was still studying in the library at
7.30pm! At around 8pm, I was It was a horror movie. Monsters
putting my books away when I were running around the city for
remembered about the science test the whole film and nothing really
this morning. Why was the film happened. It wasn’t very good!
weird?

past simple past continuous

Look at the
different uses of For finished An action in An action To give
the past simple actions/events in the progress at a interrupted by background or set
and continuous past; or a sequence specific time in another action in the scene for an
in the table. of events. the past. the past. action/event in a
Match the story.
examples in bold I left the swimming I was putting my Monsters were
I was (still)
from the pool, I went to books away running around
studying at
conversation to watch a film, then I (when I the city for the
7.30pm!
the uses. walked home. remembered...) whole film.
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 Function: When do we use them?
past simple
1. For finished actions/events in the past; or a sequence of
events. These events all
I left the swimming pool at 5pm. I went to watch a weird film at happened in this
the cinema at 5.30pm, and then I walked home. order.
past continuous
7.30pm is a specific time in the past.
1. An action in progress at a specific time in the past. Look at the timeline:
7.30pm
I was (still) studying in the library at 7.30pm!

I was studying.
2. An action interrupted by another action in the past.
I was putting my books away when I remembered about the
The interrupting
science test this morning.
action is usually
in the past
3. To give background or set the scene for an action/event in a simple.
story.
Monsters were running around the city for the whole film. When do we use the
past perfect?
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 Function: When do we use them?
2. past simple and past perfect simple

I didn’t get home until 10.00pm! When I arrived, my brother had already gone to
bed. I had only eaten an apple before coming home and I had never felt so hungry,
so I made a sandwich and went to sleep.

Look at the next part 10.00pm

of the conversation.
Now put these events
on the timeline.

I arrived home. My brother had I had eaten

gone to bed. an apple.
I made a I went to sleep.
sandwich.

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 Function: When do we use them?
past simple and past perfect simple
1. For actions, events and situations that happened before another past action.
The main
When I arrived, my brother had already gone to focus of the
bed. story is here.

10.00pm

My brother had gone to bed. I had eaten an apple.I arrived home. I made a sandwich. I went to sleep.

These two actions/situations

happened before the other
actions in blue, so we use the
past perfect simple. This implies ‘in my life’. It
is in the past perfect
2. With ever/never + superlative adjectives. simple because she is
referring to a feeling she
had before the main focus
I had never felt so hungry.
of the story (it happened Something to consider…
before 10.00pm).
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Something to consider… Look at the next part of
the conversation.

Earlier in the day, I had been out for lunch with my classmates. We talked
about our English project and made plans for the following week.

Notice how:
We do not continue talking in the past perfect simple after the first sentence because the
listener now knows what time period the speaker is referring to.

Remember that we don’t use

The story continues in the state verbs in the continuous
past simple tense. tenses (see Unit 1 for more
details on this).

When do we use
used to and would?
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 Function: When do we use them?
3. used to and would
When I was a I remember that! You
teenager, I used to used to have blue hair
rollerblade to school and we would point at
every day. you from the bus!

An activity/habit.

‘I used to rollerblade A
every day.’ In this ‘You used to have blue situation/state.
sentence, is this an hair.’ In this sentence, is
It was repeated/ activity/habit or a this an activity/habit or a
a habit. situation/state? situation/state?

Take notice ‘I used to rollerblade

of when we every day.’ Was this a An
use used to one-time event or an ‘We would point at you.’ activity/habit.
and/or action that was repeated/ In this sentence, is this
would here. a habit? an activity/habit or a
situation/state?
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 Function: When do we use them?
used to and would
used to would
For past habits or activities. For past habits or activities.
I used to rollerblade to school every day. We would point at you from the bus!
For past situations or states.
You used to have blue hair.

Notice how we can only use

used to for states and We can only use would
situations, e.g. with habits and activities.
We CANNOT say, for
State: She used to have a Ferrari. example, ‘I would live in
New York’, as this is a
Situation: She used to live in New situation, not an activity.
York.

How do we form
sentences in the past
tenses?
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 Form: How do we make sentences?
past simple past continuous
I left the swimming pool at 5pm. I didn’t eat I was studying. You weren’t
Look at the
anything. Did you enjoy the film? studying. What were you doing?
examples and
+ subject + verb in past simple + subject + was/were + verb -ing try to work out
the structures.
- subject + did + not + verb bare infinitive - subject + was/were + not + verb -ing The first one is
done for you.
? (question word) + did + subject + verb bare infinitive ? (question word) + was/were + subject + verb -ing

past perfect simple used to would

When I arrived home, my brother had gone to I used to rollerblade to We would point at you from
bed. I hadn’t eaten. Had you eaten? school. I didn’t use to walk. the bus! We wouldn’t laugh.
Did you use to walk?
+ subject + had + past participle + subject + used to + bare + subject + would + bare
infinitive infinitive
- subject + had + not + past participle
- subject + did not (didn’t) + - subject + would not
? (question word) + had + subject + past participle use to + bare infinitive (wouldn’t) + bare infinitive

? (qu. word) + did + subject +

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 Form: How do we make sentences?
past simple past continuous
I left the swimming pool at 5pm. I didn’t eat I was studying. You weren’t In connected
anything. Did you enjoy the film? studying. What were you doing? speech, /wɒz/
becomes /wəz/.
+ subject + verb in past simple + subject + was/were + verb -ing
We do not stress the
- subject + did + not + verb bare infinitive - subject + was/were + not + verb -ing to in used to, so we
pronounce it /tə/.
? (question word) + did + subject + verb bare infinitive ? (question word) + was/were + subject + verb -ing

past perfect simple used to would

When I arrived home, my brother had gone to I used to rollerblade to We would point at you from
bed. I hadn’t eaten. Had you eaten? school. I didn’t use to the bus! We wouldn’t laugh.
walk. Did you use to walk?
+ subject + had + past participle + subject + used to + bare + subject + would + bare
infinitive infinitive
- subject + had + not + past participle
- subject + did not (didn’t) + - subject + would not
? (question word) + had + subject + past participle use to + bare infinitive (wouldn’t) + bare infinitive
Remember that we commonly use
contractions, e.g. didn’t, hadn’t, wasn’t. ? (qu. word) + did + subject + Let’s practise!
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 Practice activities
Correct the errors in these sentences and justify why. Some of the sentences are correct.
used to
1. My uncle used to be a firefighter. He isn’t very fit now, but he would be when he was younger.
had started
2. Tina started watching the film when I arrived, so I didn’t understand the story at all.

3. It was raining heavily when we left the house.

4. I didn’t use to like vegetables but now I’m vegetarian!

5. A: You didn’t come last night! B: No. When Laura came round, I was already sleeping.
Were you driving called was
6. A: Did you drive when I was calling last night? B: Yes, I did.

7. I looked so tired when I got home because I hadn’t slept very well the night before.
Did move
8. A. Hadn’t your parents moved house last year? B. Yes. They live in the south now.

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