7 Types of Past Tenses in English Grammar
- Rose Sensei
- Nov 21, 2023
- 8 min read
Updated: Oct 4
What are the 7 Past Tenses in English?
- We use these 7 different tenses & forms for talking about past events:
✔️ Past Simple
✔️ Past Continuous
✔️ Present Perfect
✔️ Present Perfect Continuous
✔️ Past Perfect Simple
✔️ Past Perfect Continuous
✔️ 'used to'
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🎥Check out the YouTube Video:7 Different Past Tenses In English
📌 7 Types of Past Tenses used in English when talking about the past
Tenses / Example Sentence
✅ (Past Simple)
e.g. Bob and Claire had a wonderful time at the beach yesterday.
✅ (Past Continuous)
e.g. They were having lunch when it suddenly started to rain.
✅ (Present Perfect Simple)
e.g. Claire hasn't done the laundry yet.
✅ (Present Perfect Continuous)
e.g. She has been learning English for 2 years.
✅ (Past Perfect Simple)
e.g. She was on the way to the shops when she realised she had left her umbrella at home.
✅ (Past Perfect Continuous)
e.g. He had been saving money for 10 years before he moved to London.
✅ ('Used to')
e.g. Kamio's parents used to work long hours at the bakery. Now they are retired.
How to use the 7 Different Past tenses - Grammar Explanation & Rules
✔️ Uses, Spelling Changes & Example
✔️ How to Form the Past Simple verbs
✔️ How to use the Past Simple form in a sentence
The Past Simple - Uses, Spelling Changes & Example Sentence
a) We use the Past Simple for the following situations:
for past, completed action,
for a finished event in the past with exact time expressions,
for telling stories
b) The Past Simple form
🟰[subject + verb (past simple) + fixed time expression]
🗣️Example:
It rained last night.
It didn't rain last night.
Did it rain? Yes, it did. No, it did not.
When did it rain?
(c) How to form verbs in the Past Simple - Rules & Spelling Changes
Spelling Rules
✅ most regular verbs → +'-ed'
e.g. work → worked
✅ verbs ending '-e' → + '-d'
e.g. dine → dined
✅ verbs ending '-y' → drop '-y' + '-ied'
e.g. fry → fried
✅ verbs ending 'vowel - consonant' → add 'consonant' + '-ed'
e.g. tip → tipped
🎯Vocabulary Check!
Meaning:
vowel 🟰 a,e,i,o,u
consonant 🟰 b,c,d,f,....z
✅ Irregular past forms
e.g. be → was, were
(d) How to use the Past Simple tense - Example sentence
1. My grandpa was born in 1930.
2. We were at the dinner party last night.
3. Did you make it on time to the office this morning? Yes, I did. No, I didn't.
4. She didn't say anything about the meeting last evening.
5. Where did she go after lunch yesterday?
✏️For more Grammar Tips - Past Simple Tense forms, examples & exercises
2. Past Continuous - Uses, Spelling Changes & Example Sentences
(a) We use the Past Continuous for the following situations:
an action happening at a time in the past
usually used with the Past Simple to talk about 2 actions in the past
temporary actions & situations in the past
(b) The Past Continuous Form
🟰 [was / were + present participle (verb -ing]
e.g. The children were having breakfast when their grandma called.
(c) How to form verbs in the Past Continuous - Rules & Spelling Changes
Spelling Rules
✅ most regular verbs → +'-ing'
e.g. work → working
✅ verbs ending '-e' → drop '-e' > + '-ing'
e.g. dine → dining
✅ verbs ending '-ie' → drop '-ie' > + '-y + -ing'
e.g. tie → tying
✅ verbs ending 'vowel - consonant' → add 'consonant' + '-ing'
e.g. t i p → tipping
(d) How to use the Past Continuous tense - Example sentence
It was raining when I left for work this morning.
Tom was running in the park while his wife was in bed.
They were partying in the garden when it suddenly rained.
We met when we were taking English lessons at British Council.
This time last year Mike and Meg were holidaying in Malaysia.
🎯Vocabulary Check!
'holiday' can be both a verb & noun
e.g. My colleague Pat is on holiday for 3 weeks. (noun)
UK / US Difference
(UK) - holiday, (US) - vacation
✏️For more Grammar Tips - Past Continuous Tense, examples & exercises
3. Present Perfect Simple - Uses, Spelling Changes & Example
(a) We use the Present Perfect Simple for the following situations:
an action in the past (but we do not know exactly when)
a recent past (recently finished action /event)
a time from the past until now (experience)
(b) Present Perfect Simple Form
🟰has / have + past participle
e.g. We have been to South America before.
(c) How to form verbs in the Present Perfect Simple - Rules & Spelling Changes
The Past Participle
Spelling Rules
✅Regular Past Participles → +'-ed' to base form of verb
e.g. work → worked
✅ Irregular Past Participles
There are many irregular Past Participles in English.
Example
be → been
take → taken
buy → bought
(d) How to use the Present Perfect Simple - Example sentence
Jen has not eaten at that restaurant before.
We have never been to the flea market.
Have you ever worked with that marketing team before?
Where have you been lately?
Mum hasn't invited the party guests yet.
e) Present Perfect Simple vs Past Simple Difference
✔️(Present Perfect Simple)
e.g. Have you seen my keys? I can't find them anywhere.
✔️(Past Simple)
e.g. Did you take my keys last night? I can't find them anywhere.
🎯Grammar Check!
Note that we use exact time expression with the Past Simple.
e.g. last night, 2 days ago, a few years ago etc.
✏️For more Grammar Tips - Present Perfect Simple Tense, examples & exercises
4. Present Perfect Continuous - Uses, Spelling Changes & Examples
a) We use the Present Perfect Continuous for the following situations:
✔️continuing activity from the recent past, over a period of time till the present moment
b) Present Perfect Continuous Form
🟰has / have + been + verb-ing (present participle)
Example:
Greg has been living in Japan for more than 10 years.
Has he been working there for a long time? Yes, he has. No, he hasn't.
c) How to use the Present Perfect Continuous - Example sentence
Jane has been talking to the client for quite a while.
We have been singing at the karaoke box since lunchtime.
How long have you been practising yoga?
What have you been doing all week?
Mike hasn't been working for the past month due to his illness.
✏️For more Grammar Tips - Present Perfect Continuous, examples & exercises
5. Past Perfect Simple - Uses, Spelling Changes & Example Sentences
a) We use the Past Perfect Simple for the following situations:
✔️for talking about 2 events that happened in the past:
✔️past perfect simple for the event that happened first
✔️past simple for the second event
b) Past Perfect Simple Form
🟰had + past participle
e.g.
[Past Perfect] [Past Simple]
↓ ↓
I had done the laundry when my husband reached home.
(earlier action) (2nd action)
(c) How to use the Past Perfect Simple - Example sentence
When Ed arrived at the office the meeting had already started.
She was late for the show because she had taken the wrong bus.
Ed was so heartbroken. His girlfriend had broken up with him.
The bus had already departed before we reached the station.
By the time she arrived home her husband had cooked dinner.
✏️For more Past Perfect Simple Tense tips, examples & exercises
Past Perfect Continuous - Uses, Spelling Changes & Example
a) We use the Past Perfect Continuous for the following situations:
✔️We use the past perfect continuous with past simple to talk about an event that was happening before another activity happened.
Past Perfect Continuous for the action that was continuing &
Past Simple for the completed action
b) Past Perfect Continuous Form
🟰had been + verb-ing (present participle)
e.g. She had been cooking all morning when she realised that it was already past lunchtime.
c) How to use the Past Perfect Continuous - Example sentence
Mike had been waiting at the station for an hour before the bus arrived.
By the time Pip and Rex got married, they had been dating for 5 years.
We had been learning English for a few years before we moved to London for my dad's work.
My neighbour had been looking for her lost pet for hours by the time she told us about it.
My friend had been living in the old flat for 20 years before she bought her new house.
🔗For more Grammar Tips - Past Perfect Continuous examples & exercises
7. 'used to' - Uses, Spelling Changes & Example Sentences
a) We use 'used to' for the following situations:
✔️past habits,
✔️repeated past actions,
✔️a change from past situation and now
b) 'used to'
🟰'used to' + verb (infinitive)
e.g. Joy used to walk her dog every morning, but now her husband does it.
c) How to use 'used to' - Example sentence
This area used to be so lively, now it's so quiet after dark.
Sara and Kenton used to date for years but now they're seeing other people.
3. Did he use to play tennis at school? Yeah, he did.
4. My son didn't use to like vegetables.
5. Helen used to work in a bank. Now she's a teacher.
For more Grammar Tips -'used to' examples & exercises
Grammar Practice
🎬 Let's Recap!
We use Past Tenses in 7 different types / ways to talk about the past:
Tenses / Forms
✔️ Past Simple (for a past completed action)
e.g. She spent last evening knitting at home.
✔️ Past Continuous (past - continued action)
(used with the Past Simple - shorter action that interrupt the 1st action)
e.g. Mum was chatting to her neighbour when I called her.
✔️ Present Perfect (past action with no exact time it happened)
e.g. We've been to this cafe many times before.
✔️ Present Perfect Continuous (past action continuing to present)
e.g. I've been working on this painting for the past 3 months.
✔️ Past Perfect Simple (earlier past action)
e.g. When I reached the station, the first train had already left.
✔️ Past Perfect Continuous (earlier past continued action)
e.g. By the time we reached the hotel, we had been walking for the past 2 hours.
✔️ used to (past situation which is now changed)
e.g. There used to be a cafe at the corner of this street. Now, it's a supermarket.
📌Check out related Grammar and Quiz videos:
🎥 YouTube Channel Playlist
🔗 English Tenses Made Simple - Lessons + Stories https://tinyurl.com/5n6s4zp5
🔗Learn Grammar Through Engaging Stories https://tinyurl.com/bvwvckfu
🔗Grammar Challenge - Test Your English Skills https://tinyurl.com/y23ajb24
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