Level: intermediate
Past tense
There are two tenses in English – past and present.
The past tense in English is used:
- to talk about the past
- to talk about hypotheses (when we imagine something)
- for politeness.
There are four past tense forms in English:
Past simple: | I worked |
Past continuous: | I was working |
Past perfect: | I had worked |
Past perfect continuous: | I had been working |
We use these forms:
- to talk about the past:
He worked at McDonald's. He had worked there since July.
He was working at McDonald's. He had been working there since July.
- to refer to the present or future in hypotheses:
It might be dangerous. Suppose they got lost.
This use is very common in wishes:
I wish it wasn't so cold.
and in conditions with if:
He could get a new job if he really tried.
If Jack was playing, they would probably win.
For hypotheses, wishes and conditions in the past, we use the past perfect:
It was very dangerous. What if you had got lost?
I wish I hadn't spent so much money last month.
I would have helped him if he had asked.
and also to talk about the present in a few polite expressions:
Excuse me, I was wondering if this was the train for York.
I just hoped you would be able to help me.
- Past tense 1
- Past tense 2
Hello lima9795,
Get when used as a main verb means something similar to receive. For possession, we don't use get as a main verb but rather in the form have got (had got etc). In your example, you could replace didn't have with hadn't got.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Ahmed Imam,
That's not quite right. We would use the verb 'moved (to)' rather than 'lived (in)':
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Ahmed Imam,
Both sentences are grammatically possible.
The first sentence (she left) implies the following sequence: first she left school, then she learnt many things.
The first sentence (she had left) implies the following sequence: first she learn many things, then she left school.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Badagoni.Naresh,
'went on to win' is the correct form. In this case, the phrasal verb 'to go on' is followed by an infinitive.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Kapil Kabir,
I'm afraid ...ordered me that I... is not a correct construction, irrespective of the form of the verb which follows.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Kapil Kabir
There are explanations of this on our Reported speech 1, 2 and 3 pages. Please have a look at those pages and try the exercises on them. If you have any further question, don't hesitate to ask us on one of those pages.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Santinder,
As presented and without any other context, neither sentence is correct. The present perfect (have seen) is not used in a finished time context (yesterday). The past perfect (had seen) is only used when there is a second past reference, not a present time reference (want).
The most natural way to form this sentence is with a past simple verb:
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Marmar234
You can choose whether to speak about it in the present or in the past. In general, if you want to focus on your visit and your experience there, the past is probably a better choice. If you want to focus on the place, then the present might make more sense. The same is true for speaking about people.
You might find the Talking about the past page useful.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello mehransam05
'to' is not used before the object of the verb 'fight' -- we just say 'fight the enemy' here.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Baruwanku
I can't say for sure without knowing the context, but, for example, if this is the introduction to a book, since it is explaining the contents of the book, which still exists, the present tense makes sense. If you were explaining an event that happened in the past, then the past tense would be better.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Anubhav
That is grammatically correct. It indicates that she had the boyfriend in the past (when you were in college), but it doesn't say anything about the moment of speaking.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi jitu_jaga,
When we express a point of view or an opinion we use the simple form, whether in the present or past:
When we want to use 'think' to mean 'consider' then we can use the continuous form:
Occasionally, you can find examples of the continous form used to emphasise an opinion which changed, but this is quite unusual:
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello sumanasc
Yes, it is a past simple form. You can find this kind of information in a good dictionary (follow the link).
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello sumansc,
Those verbs seem fine to me.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello rosario70
Both are possible, but are slightly different in meaning. The first one means that you felt sorry in the past -- you could also say 'I was sorry to have kept you waiting' but there's not much difference between it and your first suggestion -- and the second one means that you feel sorry now.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Ahmed Imam
It would essentially mean the same thing, since you use 'a lot' in the first version. Though 'would' would imply it was a habit, whereas the simple past is not as specific -- it could be just what happened, rather than being a habit, for example.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Shaban Nafea
The first one is correct. The first sentence clearly speaks about a finished past event, and so the past simple is the tense you should use to refer to it, not the present perfect.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Ahmed Imam
Yes, 2 is strange or even incorrect because 'when' is speaking about a specific moment in time and the past simple is the best form to speak of such a moment in time.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello ahlinthit
The simplest way to say it is something like 'They said that he had to go to school'. You should of course change 'they' to the person who is reporting the speech.
Thanks for telling us that the comment box didn't work for you. If you were on Reported speech 1 or 2, that's because we are currently revising those pages. Once they're finished, you will be able to comment there. In any case, on this reported speech page you can ask any other questions you have.
Thanks and best wishes
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello sirmee
Without knowing what you are trying to say, I can't say for sure, but I would recommend saying 'update their status' in the first sentence. I understand the second sentence, but it is not correct in standard English: say 'This is the first time I've seen ...' instead.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello sirmee,
Yes, that sentence is fine. The present perfect can express a change in the past which is still true at the moment of speaking.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team