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1. Past Simple2. Past Continuous

3. Past perfect

Past Simple• Actions, events, states that started and

finished in the past (…ago, last …, yesterday… )

• Regular verbs: -ed• * Be careful with spelling changes• Irregular verbs: Unfortunately

this forms need to be memorized

For list of irregular verbs, see :• New English File (page 156)• English Grammar in Use (page 293)

Remember –ed spelling rules?

English Grammar in Use (pages 298-299)

Tell your partner – use past tense verbs!

• What did you do yesterday?• What did you do Friday night?• Where were you Saturday morning?• What did you do to celebrate your last birthday?

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Past ContinuousSubject + was / were + verb+ing

Negation:Subject + was / were + not + verb+ing

Yes/ No Question:Was / Were + subject + verb+ing ?

Information Question:(WH) + Was / Were + subject + verb+ing ?

Remember –ing spelling rules?

http://www.eflnet.com/tutorials/spellinging.phpEnglish Grammar in Use (pages 298-299)

• Some verbs are NOT tipically used in the continuous tense. Instead, we prefer to use these verbs in the simple tenses (simple present or past).

• These verbs are called STATIVE (or non-action) verbs. Here are some examples:– want, like, love, hate, know, need, see, hear,

believe, understand, have (possession) forget, remember, belong

Examples

I liked RomeNOT: I was liking RomeShe had a headache.NOT: She was having a headache.I knew the answer.NOT: I was liking the answer.

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Past Continuous: Three Uses• Use 1: Past actions that were in progress at a particular time in

the past; actions that were not yet finished at a past time

Erika’s Schedule8 – 9: had breakfast9 – 10: finished her homework10 – 11: exercised11 – 12: cooked lunch12 – 2: shopped2 – 5: talked to a friend on the phone

At 8:30, Erika _________________ breakfast.

At 9:15, she ___________________ her homework.

At 10, she _____________________.

At 11:30, she ___________________.

At 1, she ____________________ lunch.

At 3, she ______________ to a friend.

Tell a classmate – use past continuous verbs: I was _______ing

• Where were you last Thursday at 8 p.m.? What were you doing?

• What were you doing Sunday morning at 7 a.m.? Who were you with?

• What were you doing last night at this time?• What were you doing last week at this time?• What were you doing last year at this time?

Past Continuous 2• Use 2: Two (or more) actions that were in

progress in the past at the same time

• Use while• Examples:Sorry, I wasn’t listening to you while you were

talking.While I was reading, he was writing.

Using past simple and past continuous together

• Use past continuous to say what was in progress– I was crossing the

street …• Use simple past for

the interrupting action– when the driver ran

the red light.

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Other examples:

I was sleeping when the telephone rangand woke me up.

He was driving too fast when he crashedthe car.

More Examples:

We were watching the news when the announcer made a special live report.

I was trying to study when you called.

Student examples:

Final Tips …• Use while for two actions in progress at

the same time in the past: – She was talking while he was driving.

• Use when when telling about sequence of events (one action that was in progress that was interrupted by another event in the past):– I was just leaving when you called.

(first action in progress) (interrupting event)

Punctuation with When and While

• When and while at the front of a sentence, use a comma:– When you called, I was watching TV.

– While he was washing the clothes, I was doing the dishes.

• When and while in the middle of a sentence, no comma– I was watching TV when you called.– I was doing the dishes while he was washing

the clothes.

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PAST PERFECT

Subject + had + past participle

Negation:Subject + had + not + past

participle

Yes/ No Question:Had + subject + past participle

Examples

• You had studied English before you moved to New York.

• Had you studied English before you moved to New York?

• You had not studied English before you moved to New York

.

PAST PERFECT

• We use the past perfect to talk about an action which happened before another action in the Past– Ali had played football before he went back

home.

Look at this example.

he made a telephone call.

After he had takenhis music lesson,

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What had Ali done before he went fishing?

before he went fishing.

Ali had repaired his car,