Past tense

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: MultipleChoice_MTYzMjA=
Past tense 2: GapFillTyping_MTYzMjE=

Average

Do you need to improve your English grammar?

Join thousands of learners from around the world who are improving their English grammar with our online courses.

Find out more

Hi , i hope you feeling well. Why we use past perfect here after which why we can’t use simple present?

That this type of writing represents a kind pf literary genre is a point which some critics had failed to notice

sorry i mean simple past not simple present

Hello hanieh1315,

You can use the simple past here (...some critic failed to notice) as well as the past perfect (...some critics had failed to notice). The past perfect emphasises that the critics failure to notice ended - presumably at a time made clear by the broader context. In other words, the critics did not notice only up until a particular point, and after that they did notice.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

got it .Thanks for your answering🌹

Hi, could you please explain to me which one of these following sentences is grammatically correct:

1. She worked there for five years but was fired last week.
2. She had been working there for five years but was fired last week.
3. She had worked there for five years but was fired last week.

I presume that it has something to do with conveying the emphasis in each sentence, but I'm not entirely sure what the actual difference is.

Hello _Chris_,

All three of those are grammatically correct, though the situations we'd use them in are different.

There are so many possibilities here that I can't describe them all, and the differences between the situations are so general it's also difficult to say something useful. But, for example, 1 could be used in lots of situations; it's quite neutral. If I had to choose one of these three on a test, this is the one I'd choose, though I'd also want to ask whoever wrote the test what their thinking was to be sure.

If you can give us any more context for this, perhaps we can explain it better. You're also welcome to propose contexts for each of the three sentences and we can comment on how you see them if you'd like.

All the best,
Kirk
LearnEnglish team

Could you send some points we must keep in mind while attempting questions related to past and present tenses...
Any helpful tips which are useful for scoring 100% in grammar...

Hello SaadBinSiyad2008,

I'm afraid we don't provide long general explanations of grammar points -- for that kind of thing, please see the explanations on our different pages. I'd also recommend trying the exercises and finding out where your weak points are so that you can improve on them.

We're happy to help with specific questions about our explanations or exercises, so please don't hesitate to ask us any of those types of questions.

All the best,
Kirk
LearnEnglish team

Hi Petet, Kirk and Jonathan,
When I was a child, I lived in France.
Would it be incorrect if I wrote was living in France. Please clarify.
.

Hello y jitu_jaga,

Both forms are possible. The simple form (wrote) suggests that you lived permanently in France - it was your home, at least for a time, and you did not consider it temporary. The continuous form (was living) suggests that you saw it as temporary - you knew that you were going to leave. In other words, it's really a question of how the speaker saw the situation, not a question of fact.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello Peter,
Are there any other verbs which we can use
same way?

Hello Team. Could you please help me? In the following sentence, which tense is the correct one or both? Why?
- First, my brother (got- had got) a visa. Then, he booked a flight to Canada.
Thank you.

Hello Ahmed Imam,

I'd choose 'got' here because the two sentences are clearly narrating a sequence of actions ('first', 'then'). In such cases, we normally use the past simple.

It's possible to use 'had got' in a similar situation ('My brother had got a visa before booking his flight'), but in most cases the past simple is probably best. It really depends on the rest of the situation and the meaning intended, which I can't really speculate about here.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

When she got home, she realized that while she ….. someone has stolen her wallet!
A. had been walking
B. Was working

Hello Alaa El Baddini,

As I said on another page, I'm afraid we don't provide answers for questions from other sources. We're happy to explain points of grammar or answer other questions about the language, but if we began simply giving answers to tasks we would end up doing our users' homework and tests for them, which is not our job!

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

I wish I heard information soon.
I could learning well if I really tried.
If I had started 1 year ago I would have a good job.
I wonder if these sentences are right ?

Hi Anhle,

Let me make some suggestions.

The meaning isn't clear for me. If you say this because you want somebody to send you the information, it should be --> "I hope to hear from you soon". If you want to tell somebody that you will get the information soon, it should be --> "I hope to get the information soon."
Looks good but it should be --> "I could learn well ...". After "could", use the base verb form (not the -ing form).
Looks good but it's not clear what "started" means. It could be, for example, "If I had started looking for a job one year ago, I would have a good job now".

I hope that helps.

Jonathan

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello ,
During summer i stayed in a hotel.
During summer i was staying in a hotel.
which one is correct and why?
And is "stay" a state verb?

Hello jitu_jaga,

Both the past simple ('I stayed') and the past continuous ('I was staying') are possible here, but we would say one or the other depending on the situation or the meaning we want to convey. It's difficult to explain much more to you because there are so many different reasons that one or the other form would be better that I can't explain them all. Did you have a specific situation in mind?

If not, I'd suggest reading the explanations on the pages I linked to. We're also happy to try to explain a more specific situation if you can tell us more about it.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

which is correct?

while i was living in England, i was taking a course on english grammar.

when i was living in England, i took a course on english grammar.

Hello Qirat2004,

Both of those are grammatically correct, but which one is correct for a specific situation depends on the situation and what you want to say. If you can explain the situation and what you mean in more detail, we can help you choose the best form.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Hi Kirk & Peter,
She was half listening to the music as
she flipped through the magazine.
She was half listening to the music as
she was flipping through the magazine.
Is there any difference in the meaning? Or any one is grammatically incorrect. Could you please explain?

Hello jitu_jaga,

In this case you can use the two forms interchangeably. The context makes it clear that both actions were in progress simultaneously. If another action was being described instead of 'flipping through' then there might be a need to highlight whether or not it was completed during the other action (listening) or in progress.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Thank you.

Hello and happy new year,
Culturally, Europe made so many significant advances during the Renaissance that it (would be) impossible to describe them in a brief speech.
Why (would be) is used here? I mean the reason? Is it referring to the future? or imaginary?
Thank you

Hello Hosseinpour,

Yes, 'would' is used to speak about a hypothetical (imaginary) action here. By saying this, the speaker shows that she is not going to describe them in a brief speech because it is impossible to do so.

Does that make sense?

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Thanks a lot sir. Thank you.

please I would like to know which of the following sentences is grammatically correct:

" I thought they have increased the wages"
" I thought they had increased the wages"

Hello Haroun,

The second sentence is correct. 'Thought' takes place in a finished past time whereas 'have increased' describes an unfinished past>present time, so they are not logically compatible here.

Peter
The LearnEnglish Team

Hi , Could you tell me whether the following sentence is correct:
'As John had been shopping in the duty free area his flight took off.'
Or it's better to say
As John was shopping in the duty free area his flight took off.
Thank you

Hi aeg,

The second one is better. The past simple action (his flight took off) happened in the middle of the past continuous action (John was shopping).

The first sentence uses past perfect (John had been shopping), but that is used for an action that took place before another action and which had some kind of logical connection to it (e.g., a cause and effect - "As John had been shopping, he arrived at the departure gate late" - it means he arrived late because he had been shopping). But it seems unlikely that his flight took off BECAUSE he had been shopping, so I wouldn't use that here.

I hope that helps.

Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team

Thank you Jonathan...
So, let me see if I understood correctly
The passengers had been waiting (not were waiting) in the airport for two hours when a bomb scare occurred.
(Logical connection?)

Hi aeg,

Yes, I think the past perfect continuous version is more likely. Using the past perfect continuous shows that the actions (passengers waiting / bomb scare occurred) happened in sequence, one after the other.

Some people might use the past continuous version, but I think it is less preferable because the phrase "for two hours" suggests the action is complete (rather than ongoing) when the bomb scare occurred. The past continuous would be more likely if the "for two hours" phrase was deleted.

Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team

You're asking me: "What did you do yesterday"
I'am answering:"I wrote a book"
What will you think ?
(A) That I wrote some pages of book (didn't finish the book).
(B) That I wrote a whole book (finished the book) ?
How should I answer in option (A) ?

Hello PeterNosov,

'I wrote a book' would normally mean that you wrote a whole book. If you wrote but didn't finish the book, you could say 'I wrote some pages for my book' or 'I did some writing' or 'I worked on my book'. There are other options, too, but these are some common ways to express that idea.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Thank you, Mr. Kirk !

Hi Team, Could you tell me whether the following sentence is correct: The air turned cold. (cold as in the opposite of hot). I know that the word 'cold' is an adjective and not an adverb (which presumably should follow the verb 'turned'), so that is the reason for my query. Thanks for your help, lexeus.

Hello lexeus,

Yes, it's correct to use an adjective after the verb 'turn' when it means 'become'. If you follow the link and look at the example sentences under the fourth entry (look for the words 'turn verb (BECOME' in purple), you'll see a sentence very similar to the one you're asking about.

All the best,

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Hi, I came across this sentence in a news article: It is also a crime if a North Korean is aware of the sale but did not report it. May I know, if using "did not" in the sentence is applied due to referring to the present or future in hypotheses? If that is the case, should we use "were" to replace "is" as the if-conjuncture is about hypotheses?

Hello CareBears07,

I'm afraid I can't be completely sure what time this refers to without knowing the full context, but it sounds to me as if it's referring to a hypothetical present situation (being aware) that is conditioned by a past action (not reporting).

It wouldn't be correct to change 'is aware' to 'were aware' because 'it is a crime' at the beginning of the sentence clearly sets up a first conditional for the main sentence. You could, however, write 'It would also be a crime if a North Korean were aware of the sale but hadn't reported it.'

Hope this helps.

All the best,

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Thank you, Kirk! Now I have a better understanding.

Hello Cmd94,

Both forms are possible. You can look at this as a present result of a past action (I have developed) or as a past action (I developed). It's a question of emphasis and speaker choice.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

I meant "when I was in China"

Can you please help me? which variant is correct: Did you eat anything interesting in China? or Have you eaten anything interesting in China? and why? thanks a lot)

Hi elena108108,

Both questions are grammatically correct, and they have different meanings.

The first question is in the past simple. It refers to a past time that is finished, e.g. Did you eat anything interesting when you went to China last year / in 2018?

The second question is in the present perfect. This is used for unfinished time periods. If you ask Have you eaten anything interesting in China?, the person you are speaking to is probably in China right now, i.e. the time period for the action continues up to and includes the present moment. (The past simple question, on the other hand, probably means that the person you are speaking to is not in China any more, i.e. that time period is now finished.)

Does that make sense?

Jonathan

The LearnEnglish Team

Thanks a lot! now it's clear :)

What does Lean Toward mean? I have looked up some online dictionaries but they aren't comprehensible to me. Could you please give me some examples of it?

Hi amit_ck,

Lean means to move your head or the top part of your body closer to something. Your legs and feet stay in the same place. Towards shows the direction of the movement (i.e. what you are going to reach or touch). Here are some examples.

He leaned towards her because he couldn't hear her clearly.
If I cannot see the computer screen clearly, I lean towards the screen.

Apart from that physical meaning, lean towards is also used figuratively, with a similar meaning: to move towards something in your feelings, interests or preferences.

For example:

I haven't decided which university to apply to yet, but I'm leaning towards New University.
The designers usually lean towards bright, bold colours.

Does that make sense?

Jonathan

The LearnEnglish Team