Past Tense

Past Tense

With to be

Is the past tense that uses the verb "to be" in its structure.

The past form of to be is:

was: I/he/she/it

were: you/we/they/you(plural)

The past negative form of to be is:

was: wasn't

were: weren't

The negative past form of to be is:

was: wasn't

were: weren't

Examples:

1. The dog was very hungry this morning.

2. They weren't in the pool yesterday.

Questions Structure

Wh word + verb to be + subject + complement

Example:

Why was she angry?

Where were the kids yesterday?

Short Answers (Yes/No Questions):

Yes, + subject + was/were

No, + subject + wasn't/weren't

Simple Past

Is used for finished past actions. That means, the time of this tense is past.

Is used for:

1. Actions finished in the past.

2. Past facts.

3. Past habits

Examples:

1. I ate an apple this morning for breakfast.

2. The Berlin Wall fell in 1989.

3. I played the piano since I was 12 years old.

Keywords.

Yesterday, 3 days ago, last week, in 2000,

Regular verbs:

Dance - danced

accept - accepted

enjoy - enjoyed

Irregular Verbs

Write - wrote

Speak - spoke

read - read

Past Progressive

Past Perfect

Is used to refer to actions continuosly happening at a certain moment in the past.

Structure:

subjec + had + past participle

Examples:

1. We were playing football this afternoon.

2. It was raining last night.

3. I was watching TV in my room yesterday.

Is used for two actions happening at the same time in the past.

Examples:

1. I was cooking while my friends Jorge and Durán were working in the English proyect.

2. Cordero was reading while I was practicing for the math exam.

3. Boys were swiming while girls were running.

Is used for interruptions while certain actions are happening in the past.

Examples:

1. They were driving home when it rained.

2. When his brothers came, he was taking lunch.

3. I was doing my homework when the phone rang.

Negative form:

subjetc + wasn't/weren't + (verb+ing)

Is used to express a past action finished befero another action in the past.

Examples:

1. When I came back, a waiter had given my table to someone else.

2. She asked him where he had gone yesterday.

3. After 25 minutos had passed, the teacher finally finished checking our exams.

We also use the Past Perfect to show that something happened before a specific time in the past.

Example:

1. This had never happened to her before this morninG

Structure of negative form:

Subject + hadn't + past participle

Structure of questions:

Had + subject + past participle

Past perfect continuous

Is used for activities that started in the past, but before something else in the past.

Structure:

Subject + had + been + (verb+ing)

Structure of negative form:

Subject + hadn't + been + (verb+ing)

Structure for questions:

had + subject + been + (verb+ing)

Examples:

1. He had been playing videogames before his mom cooked the dinner.

2. Gabriel had been making a lot of noise.

3. Had they been doing the English project?

4. She hadn't been listening to the explanation.