Past Tenses: Comparison

• Simple Past: completed action at a definite time
I visited my grandparents last weekend.

• Past Continuous: action in progress at a specific time in the past
I was studying at 8 p.m. yesterday.

• Past Perfect: action completed before another past action
The train had left before we arrived.

• Past Perfect Continuous: action continuing up to another past action/time
She had been waiting for an hour when the bus came.

Time Expressions

• Simple Past: yesterday, last night, two days ago, in 2010, then
I saw him yesterday.

• Past Continuous: while, at 9 o’clock yesterday, all morning, at that moment
I was sleeping at 11 p.m.

• Past Perfect: before, after, by the time, already, just, never, ever
He had finished the report before the meeting.

• Past Perfect Continuous: for, since, how long, before, by the time
They had been playing football for two hours.

Common Mistakes

• ❌ I didn’t went to school.
✅ I didn’t go to school.

• ❌ Did you saw the film?
✅ Did you see the film?

• ❌ I was study when he called.
✅ I was studying when he called.

• ❌ She had went home before I arrived.
✅ She had gone home before I arrived.

• ❌ While I was reading, the phone was ringing.
✅ While I was reading, the phone rang.

Practice: Fill in the Blanks

When I arrived, they ________ (watch) TV.
She ________ (finish) her homework before dinner.
I ________ (walk) home when it started to rain.
By the time we got to the cinema, the film ________ (start).
He ________ (work) for three hours when we called him.
________ you ________ (see) Tom yesterday?
While I ________ (cook), my sister ________ (set) the table.
I ________ (not / meet) him before that day.

Answer Key

were watching
had finished
was walking
had started
had been working
Did / see
was cooking / was setting
hadn’t met

Summary

• Use Simple Past for completed past actions.
• Use Past Continuous for actions in progress in the past.
• Use Past Perfect for actions completed before another past action.
• Use Past Perfect Continuous for actions continuing before another past action/time.
• Pay attention to time expressions, irregular verbs, and auxiliary verbs.

Mini Quiz

Choose the correct option:

I was watching / watched TV when the phone rang.
She had / had had dinner before she left.
They were playing / played football at 5 p.m. yesterday.
By the time I arrived, he had been waiting / waited for two hours.
Did / Were you go to school yesterday?

Answers: 1. was watching 2. had had 3. were playing 4. had been waiting 5. Did

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