Past Tenses Usage and Form

 Past Simple:

1-Usage:

we use past simple to talk about an action that happened in the past, happened before the moment speaking, or happened at a specific time in the past.

2- The form of the sentence in the past simple:

subject+verb+ed (verb2) 

e.g.: I played football last week.

       She lived in Syria in 2013.

3- Keywords of past simple:

last+ period( last day, week, month,...etc.), yesterday, in(past year), ago.

3- Examples:

- I broke my leg three years ago.

- He went to Japan in 2010. 

- They ate lunch 2 hours ago.

Past Progressive:

1-Usage:

We use the past progressive to talk about an action that happened in the past and progressed at a specific time in the past. It is used to describe an action that started in the past and was interrupted by another action.

2-The formation of the sentence in the past progressive:

Subject+ was/were+ present participle of the verb(V ing)

e.g.: -I was eating my lunch.

       - He was writing when the phone rang.

3- Keywords of the past progressive:

While, when

Note: This tense is typically used with the past simple tense.

4- Examples:

-While she was studying, he played music.

-We were going to school when the bus ran out of fuel.

-I was doing my homework when my mum called me.

Note: in academic writing we use “were” with the pronoun “I”, and “was” is used in everyday speech. E.g. ( I was eating when she find me. I were doing my research when you needed me.)

 

Past Perfect:

1-Usage:

We use the past perfect to talk about an action that happened in the past and finished before a second point in the past and to talk about the unreal and imaginary things in the past.

2-The formation of the sentence in the past perfect:

Subject+ had+ past participle of the verb (verb 3)

e.g.: -I published my first blog when I was 24 years old.

        - He had finished all the food before we arrived home.

3-Keywords of the past perfect:

Before, by, until that moment, not yet

4-Examples:

-He had travelled to London by the time we went to Syria.

-They had not gone to Homs Until that moment.

-When I arrived, the party had not started yet.

 

Past Perfect Progressive:

1-Usage:

It is used to talk about an action that started before a particular time in the past and is still in progress up to that time in the past. E.g. I had been working on my essays the night before my exams.

2-The formation of the sentence in the past perfect progressive:

Subject+ had+ been+ present participle of the verb(V+ ing)

E.g. -I had been studying English when my grandfather passed away.

3-Keywords of the past perfect progressive:

When, since, for, and before are words may see used alongside past perfect progressive.

4-Examples:

-I had been walking 3 miles a day before I went to university.

-the series that was stopped, had been showing new ideals since it started.

 

That’s all. Hope that was helpful.