talking about the past
1 Talking about past events and situations:
We use the past simple:
- when we are talking about an event that happened at a particular time in the past
We arrived home before dark
The film started at seven thirty.
- when we are talking about something that continued for some time in the past
Everybody worked hard through the winter.
We stayed with our friends in London.
When we are talking about something that happened several times in the past we use
- the past simple:
Most evenings we stayed at home and watched DVDs.
Sometimes they went out for a meal.
- … or used to
Most evenings we used to stay at home and watch DVDs.
We used to go for a swim every morning.
- ... or would
Most evenings he would take the dog for a walk.
They would often visit friends in Europe.
WARNING: We do not normally use would with stative verbs.
We use the past continuous:
- when we are talking about something which happened before and after a given time in the past
It was just after ten. I was watching the news on TV.
At half-time we were losing 1-0.
- when we are talking about something happening before and after another action in the past:
He broke his leg when he was playing rugby.
She saw Jim as he was driving away.
2 The past in the past
When we are looking back from a point in the past to something earlier in the past we use the past perfect:
Helen suddenly remembered she had left her keys in the car.
When we had done all our shopping we caught the bus home.
They wanted to buy a new computer, but they hadn’t saved enough money.
They would have bought a new computer if they had saved enough money.
3 The past and the present:
We use the present perfect:
- when we are talking about the effects in the present of something that happened in the past:
I can’t open the door. I’ve left my keys in the car.
Jenny has found a new job. She works in a supermarket now.
- When we are talking about something that started in the past and still goes on:
We have lived here since 2007. (and we still live here)
I have been working at the university for over ten years.
4 The future in the past
When we talk about the future from a time in the past we use:
- would as the past tense of will
He thought he would buy one the next day.
Everyone was excited. The party would be fun.
- was/were going to
John was going to drive and Mary was going to follow on her bicycle.
It was Friday. We were going to set off the next day.
- the past continuous:
It was September. Mary was starting school the next week.
We were very busy. The shop was opening in two weeks time.
English Grammar
- Pronouns
- Determiners and quantifiers
- Possessives
- Adjectives
- Adverbials
- Nouns
- Verbs
- irregular verbs
- question forms
- verb phrases
- present tense
- past tense
- perfective aspect
- continuous aspect
- active and passive voice
- to + infinitive
- -ing forms
- talking about the present
- talking about the past
- talking about the future
- verbs in time clauses and if clauses
- wishes and hypotheses
- the verb be
- link verbs
- delexical verbs like have, take, make and give
- Modal verbs
- double object verbs
- phrasal verbs
- reflexive and ergative verbs
- verbs followed by to + infinitive
- verbs followed by -ing clauses
- verbs followed by that clause
- Clause, phrase and sentence
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Comments
Hello
Could you explain use of past continous in future.
It was September. Mary was starting school the next week.
We were very busy. The shop was opening in two weeks time.
and also difference in everybody or everyone.Can we use everyone instead of everybody.
Everybody worked hard through the winter
team
Hello missarshmah!
If you look on our talking about the future page, you'll see we use present continuous to talk about scheduled or planned arrangements in the future.
When we tell a story or talk about the past, however, we move tenses into the past. At the actual time of the story, your examples would be:
[now] It is September. Mary is starting school next week. (scheduled arrangement)
[now] We are very busy. The shop is opening in two weeks' time. (planned arrangement)
But because this already happened, we change the tenses into the past to make your two example sentences:
[past] It was September. Mary was starting school the next week [a week after the time you are talking about].
In answer to your other question, yes, you can use everyone or everybody. Everyone is a little more formal.
Hope that helps!
Regards
Jeremy Bee
The LearnEnglish Team
hi everyone!i can't make difference between exp. watched ,had watched .was watching i dont know how to use these words on the sentences can anybody help me ?
Regards,
Blerina
team
Hello blerinacoka!
That's a very big question! If you don't follow the grammar explanation above, I suggest you focus on understanding when we use the past simple (He watched) first. This is the most important past tense, and the one we use most often. Try doing a search on past simple using the search box on the top right of the page. You'll see lots of examples and other exercises there. Have a look at our Johnny Grammar video about past simple, too.
Then have a look at the past continuous, was watching. Again, a search will help you to see examples, and you can also have a look at this page about the differences between past continuous and past simple. There's another Johnny Grammar video to watch, too.
The last tense past perfect (had watched) is much less common, so don't worry about it too much now. Come back to it when you're comfortable with past simple and past continuous, and you may be able to understand it better.
Hope that helps!
Jeremy Bee
The LearnEnglish Team
Please tell me why I should use, (Q.No. 6) -- 'We had never seen anything quite so extraordinary in our lives.' instead of using -- 'We never saw anything quite so extraordinary in our lives.' . I assume the speaker is in present.
Thank you.
Hello there,
Does anyone knows an idea to improve the writing skills? please help me as my formal writing is very weak :(
team
Hello Hasan Badran,
Writing can be really difficult, as many of us don't write very often in our own languages - never mind a second language!
Reading from a variety of sources, such as newspapers, magazines and articles here on LearnEnglish is a good way to develop vocabulary, but it is important that you read actively. That is, making note of useful expressions and collocations that you might use in your own writing in the future.
A good dictionary for learners of English should also help you find ways to express yourself clearly and efficiently - very important for formal writing!
Regards,
Stephen Jones
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello The LearnEnglish Team
Could you explain me please why the word "time" is placed at the end of the next sentence and what does it means?
- We were very busy. The shop was opening in two weeks time.
Thank you
... I meant, in these sentences in particular:
1. Most evenings he would take the dog for a walk.
2. They would often visit friends in Europe
...
Thank you
Hello The LearnEnglish Team,
I was wondering why we use the modal "would" to make up the past. What does "would + verb" means there? Maybe does it express something that couldn't be done?
Thank you.