Narrative tenses
Present Perfect, Simple Past, Past Continuous,
Past Perfect, Past Perfect Continuous
Simple Past Tense
Affirmative Negative Interrogative
I studied English. I didn't study English. Did I study English?
You worked hard. You didn't work hard. Did you work hard?
He/She came late. He/She didn't come late. Did he/she come late?
It rained hard yesterday. It didn't rain hard yesterday. Did it rain hard yesterday?
We enjoyed the party. We didn't enjoy the party. Did we enjoy the party?
You helped a lot. You didn't help a lot. Did you help a lot?
They got up early. They didn't get up early Did they get up early?
1.Bu tense'i geçmişte yaptığımız eylemleri, olayları ve durumları anlatırken
kullanırız. Eylemlerin/olaylarn/durumların gerçekleştiği zaman bellidir, zaten
biliniyordur ya da ima edilmiştir.
They spent their holidays in Switzerland last winter. They had a great time.
Columbus discovered America.
How did it happen? When I got home, I went to bed straight away.
2. Geçmişte birbiri ardına olmuş eylemleri, olayları ve durumları anlatırken.
First, he read the message. Then, he called his boss. The boss didn’t answer the
phone.
3. Geçmişte bellli bir periyot boyunca geçerli olan alışkanlık ve durumları
anlatmak için.
When I was a child, I visited my grandma every weekend.
When my brother was young, he liked leek.
Where did you go to primary school?
4. Artık yaşamayan insanların hayatından bahsederken.
Shakespeare wrote many great plays and poems.
Whitney Houston lived in the USA.
Past Continuous Tense
Affirmative Negative Interrogative
I was working. I wasn't working. Was I working?
You were studying. You weren't studying. Were you studying?
He/She/It was eating lunch He/She/It wasn't eating lunch. Was he/she/it eating lunch?
We were laughing. We weren't laughing. Were we laughing?
You were talking. You weren't talking. Were you talking?
They were arguing. They weren't arguing. Were they arguing?
1. Geçmişte belirli zamanda devem etmekte olan eylemi/eylemleri anlatmak
için. Eylemin/eylemlerin ne zaman başladığına veya bittiğinden bahsetmeyiz.
At 3 o’clock yesterday afternoon, they were sitting at
an outdoor cafe.
At 9 o'clock, I was sitting on the train.
A few minutes ago, they were still dancing.
Sorry, can you repeat that? I wasn't listening.
2. Başka bir eylem/eylemler onu kesintiye uğrattığında devam etmekte olan
eylemi/eylemleri anlatmak için. Devam etmekte olan eylem/eylemler (uzun
olan eylem/eylemler) için past continuous, kesintiye uğratan eylem/eylemler
(kısa eylem/eylemler) için simple past tense kullanırız.
He was walking when he slipped on a banana skin.
When I called her, she was studying.
When Şevval went out, it was raining.
They were arguing when I went into the room.
3. Geçmişte aynı anda devam etmekte olan iki eylemi anlatmak için (eş
zamanlı eylemler).
He was talking on her mobile phone
while he was driving to work.
Halil Burak was talking as İlknur was
listening to the teacher.
While the students were studying, the
teacher was looking out of the window.
4. Bir hikayenin girişinde atmosferi, olayın geçtiği yeri vs. anlatmak için.
Todd and Emily were riding through the forest. The
sun was shining and the birds were singing.
One beautiful autumn aftertoon, Ben was strolling
down a quiet country lane. The birds were singing
and the leaves were rustling.
The cottage was looking so cosy. A fire was burning
in the grate, music was playing, and from the
kitchen were coming the most delicious smells.
NOT: when, while, as, all day/night/morning vs. Past
Continuous Tense’te sıkça kullandığımız zaman bildiren ifadelerdir.
Past Perfect Tense
Affirmative Negative Interrogative
I had finished my work. I hadn’t finished my work. Had I finished my work?
You had studied hard. You hadn’t studied hard. Had you studied hard?
He/She/It had eaten lunch. He/She/It hadn’t eaten lunch. Had he/she/it eaten lunch?
We had seen the film. We hadn’ts een the film. Had we seen the film?
You had helped her. You hadn’t helped her. Had you helped her?
They had heard the news. They hadn’t heard the news. Had they heard the news?
1. Geçmişte bir eylemden olmuş başka bir eylemi anlatmak için veya geçmişte
belli bir zamandan önce gerçekleşmiş eylemi/eylemleri anlatmak için.
They had already reserved the table when they went to the restaurant.
They had already sat down for dinner by 8 pm.
She had finished work when she met her friends for coffee.
She had finished work by 9 pm.
They had all arrived by 10 o'clock.
2. Geçmişte bitmiş olan ve yine etkisi geçmişte görülebilen eylem/eylemler
için.
Bill had injured his legs in a car accident, so he had to use a wheelchair for six
months.
He was happy. He had signed an important contract.
She had just eaten lunch.
NOT: Past Perfect Tense, Present Perfect Tense’in past biçimi olarak da
düşünülebilir.
He had broken his leg, so he couldn’t walk He had fixed the old armchair. It looked
( “had broken” eylemi geçmişte olmuştur ve brand new (“had fixed” eylemi geçmişte
sonucu olan “couldn’t walk” eylemi geçmişte olmuştur ve sonucu “looked brand new”
görülebilen birşeydir). durumu geçmişte görülebilen birşeydir)
He has broken his leg, so he can’t walk (“has He has fixed the old armchair. It looks
broken” geçmişte olmuştur ve etkisi olan brand new (“has fixed ” geçmişte olmuştur
“can’t walk”eylemi şu an ve etkisi olan “looks brand new” durumu şu
görülebilmektedir). an görülebilmektedir).
Past Perfect Continuous Tense
Affirmative Negative Interrogative
I had been working. I hadn’t been working. Had I been working?
You had been sleeping. You hadn’t been sleeping. Had you been sleeping?
He/She/It had been eating. He/She/It hadn’t been eating. Had he/she/it been eating?
We had been waiting. We hadn’t been waiting. Had we been waiting?
You had been dancing. You had’t been dancing. Had you been dancing?
They had been talking. They had’t been talking. Had they been talking?
1. Geçmişte bir eylemden önce başlamış ve bitmiş, süreç anlatan
eylemi/eylemleri anlatmak için.
They had been looking for a house for six months before they found one they
liked.
They had been skating together for five years before they entered the
competition.
We had been waiting for him for 3 hours when he finally came.
The child’s eyes were watery, because he had been crying.
2. Geçmişte bir süre devam etmiş ve yine etkisi geçmişte görülebilen
eylemler için.
Last Friday John had to fly to New York. His flight was delayed. He was annoyed.
He had been waiting at the airport for 3 hours.
She had been working hard that day, so she was tired.
I had been getting up at five o'clock all week, so on Friday I was completely
exhausted.
NOT: Past Perfect Continuous Tense, Present Perfect Continuous Tense’in
past biçimi olarak da düşünülebilir.
He had been waiting for hours, so he was I had been driving for 10 hours, so I felt
bored (“had been waiting” eylemi geçmişte exhausted (“had been driving” eylemi geçmişte
bir süre devam etmiştir ve sonucu olan “was bir süre devam etmiştir ve sonucu olan “felt
bored” durumu geçmişte görülebilmektedir). exhausted” durumu geçmişte
görülebilmektedir).
He has been waiting for hours, so he is I have been driving for 10 hours, so I feel
bored (“has been waiting” eylemi geçmişte exhausted (“have been driving ” eylemi
başlamıştır ve sonucu olan “is bored” geçmişte başlamıştır ve sonucu olan “feel
durumu şu an görülebilmektedir). exhausted ” durumu şu an görülebilmektedir).
Time clauses in Past Perfect Tense
1. after (“after” ile öncelik sonralık anlatırken, hem yan cümlede hem ana
cümlede simple past tense” kullanılabilir).
After she had graduated from university, she went to England= After she
graduated from university, she went to England.
She felt better after she had taken an aspirin= She felt better after she took an
aspirin.
After we had travelled on a coach for ten straight hours, we continued our
journey by horse to get to the mountain village=After we travelled on a coach for
ten straight hours, we continued our journey by horse to get to the mountain
village.
2. before (“before” ile öncelik sonralık anlatırken, hem yan cümlede hem
ana cümlede simple past tense kullanılabilir).
Before she came to live in this city, she had lived in İzmir= Before she came to
live in this city, she lived in İzmir.
I had finished my exam paper before the bell rang.= I finished my exam paper
before the bell rang.
3. till/until ("Until/till" ile Past Perfect kullanımı çok yaygın değildir. Ancak,
yan cümledeki eylemin temel cümledeki eylemden önce tamamlanmış
olduğunu vurgulamak istersek, Past Perfect kullanabiliriz. Aksi takdirde,
Simple Past kullanmamız yeterlidir).
I didn't interrupt him until/till he finished/had finished his speech.
They didn't leave the office until I had completed my report.
She didn't give up studying prepositions until she had learnt them by heart.
4. as soon as/once ("As soon as", temel cümleyle yan cümlenin eylemleri
arasında geçen zamanın çok kısa olduğunu vurgular. Eylemleri oluş sırasına
göre dizdiği için, Past Perfect kullanmak zorunlu değildir. Onun yerine
simple past kullanabiliriz).
As soon as the guests left/had left, I went straight to bed.
I went to see her as soon as I heard/had heard the news.
The students burst into laughter as soon as the teacher left/had left the
classroom.
Once I’d found out where he lived, I went to see him.
5. "No sooner ... than" & "hardly/barely/scarcely ... when (As soon as ile
aynı anlamı veren daha vurgulu kalıplardır. Bu kalıplar cümlenin başında
yer alırsa devrik cümle yapısı kullanılır).
The young couple had no sooner left the party than people began to gossip about
them.
No sooner had the young couple left the party than people began to gossip about them.
The executive had hardly begun his speech when his assistant interrupted him.
Hardly had the executive begun his speech when his assistant interrupted him.
I had barely stepped into the bath when the telephone rang.
Barely had I stepped into the bath when the telephone rang.
6. when ("When", kullanırken dikkat edilmesi gereken bağlaçlardan biridir.
Çünkü, kullandığımız tense'e göre, eylemlerin birbirleriyle olan ilişkisi
farklılık gösterir, anlam değişir).
When he left home, I was washing the
dishes.
She was preparing dinner when I got
When he left home, I washed the home.
dishes.
She prepared dinner when I got home.
When he left home, I had washed the
She had prepared dinner when I got
dishes.
home.
7. by the time+ simple past (Geçmişte bir eylem olduğunda/oluncaya kadar,
diğer bir eylem olmuştu" anlamı verir).
By the time they came, I had finished cleaning.
By the time I arrived at the station, the train had left.
Many people had died of tuberculosis by the time scientists found a cure.
The film had already begun by the time we got to the cinema.
PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS or PAST CONTINUOUS
• When I went home, he was studying.
• When I went home, he had been studying for two hours.
The other members were discussing the agenda when I got to the meeting.
The other members had been discussing the agenda for the last half hour when I got to the
meeting.
o They were staying at a hotel near the sea when I met them in Bodrum.
o They had been staying at a hotel for five days when I met them in Bodrum.
