PAST TENSES

PAST TENSES

1. PAST SIMPLE

   • USES
     • action finished in the past
       • Lucía and Sandra PRACTICED gymnastics when they were younger
     • series of completed actions in the past
       • Sandra first TOOK a shower, then she ATE her breakfast
     • interrupted an action which was in progress in the past.
       • Sandra WAS DOING her homework when Lucía RANG her

2. PAST PERFECT SIMPLE

   • USES
     • Completed Action Before Something in the Past
       • I HAD never HAD such a good friend before I met Lucía.
     • Duration Before Something in the Past
       • Lucía felt bad about stop playing the piano because she had played it for more than 8 years.

3. PAST PERFECT CONTINOUS

   • USES
     • to show that something started in the past and continued up until another time in the past
     • Cause of Something in the Past
       • Sandra was tired because he had been studying

4. PAST CONTINUOUS

   • USES
     • Interrupted Action in the Past *(the same as in p.simple)
     • background of a story
       • the sun was shining and in the cafés people were laughing and chatting
     • Temporary habits or habits that happen more often than we expect in the pas
     • To emphasise that something lasted for a while
     • action progressed in the past
       • I was just opening the door