Past Simple Past Continuous - Past Perfect

The past simple is used for actions which happened immediately one after the other in the past.When Jim come home, they watched a film on TV. (Jim came home ant then they watched a film together.)

Last Monday, Lisa and her husband fed the children when he come home. (Her husband came home and then they fed the children together.)

The past continuous is used fot a past action which was in progress when another action interrupted it.When Jim came home, Mary was watching a film on TV. (She was still watching the film when Jim came home.)

Last Tuesday, Lisa was feeding the children when her husband came home. (She was still feeding the children when her husband came home.)

The past perfect is used for an action which happened before another past action on a specific time in the past.When Jim came home, Mary had already watched the film on TV. (she watched the film first. Jim come home afterwards.)

Last Friday, Lisa had already fed the children when her husband came home. (She fed the children first. Her husband came home afterwards.)