Past tenses
Use the four past tenses to order and describe past events.
After the present tenses, we now step back in time. The four past tenses help you tell stories and show clearly which event happened first.
The past tenses are four verb forms (simple, continuous, perfect and perfect continuous) that describe actions and situations in past time.
Examples
- We watched a play at the town hall on Saturday.
- The children were playing cricket when it started to rain.
- By the time I woke up, Mother had made breakfast.
- Kiran had been working for hours, so she felt sleepy.
- Did you see the lunar eclipse last month?
How it works
Simple past
Use the past form of the verb (-ed for regular verbs) for an action finished at a known time. In questions and negatives, use did + base verb.
Grandma did not go to the market yesterday.
Past continuous
Use was/were + -ing for an action in progress at a past moment, often interrupted by a shorter action in the simple past.
I was cooking when the doorbell rang.
Past perfect
Use had + past participle for the earlier of two past actions. Words like before, after, by the time and already often signal it.
The film had started before we found our seats.
Past perfect continuous
Use had been + -ing to show how long an action went on before another past event. It often appears with for or since.
The farmers had been waiting for rain for weeks before the clouds came.
Quick reference
| Tense | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Simple past | past form; did + base verb in questions and negatives | She called me last night. |
| Past continuous | was / were + -ing | She was calling me when the line went dead. |
| Past perfect | had + past participle | She had called twice before I answered. |
| Past perfect continuous | had been + -ing | She had been calling for an hour before I answered. |
Common mistakes
✕I have seen that film last Sunday.
✓I saw that film last Sunday.
A finished time such as last Sunday needs the simple past.
✕Did you went to work today?
✓Did you go to work today?
After did, use the base form of the verb.
✕When I reached the stop, the bus already left.
✓When I reached the stop, the bus had already left.
The bus left first, so its action takes the past perfect.
Worked example
Exercise 1
Choose the correct form.
We ___ the Taj Mahal last winter. (visited / have visited / visit)
✓We visited the Taj Mahal last winter.
Last winter is a finished time, so the simple past is used.
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