past simple
I walked the dog.
I did not walk the dog.
past simple passive
The dog was walked by me.
The dog was not walked by me.
past continous
I was walking the dog.
I was not walking the dog.
past perfect
I had walked the dog.
I had not walked the dog.
past perfect passive
The dog had been walked by me.
The dog had not been walked by me.
past perfect continous
I had been walking the dog.
I had not been walking the dog.
would + infinitive
I would walk th dog.
Use _ for consistent narrative perspective.
Simple Past
Example: "I walked" (narrator) vs. "He walked" (narrator)
Use Signal Words: Identify the correct tense with signal words.
yesterday
last week
in 1990
ago
while
when
as long as
Past Continuous
already
before
after
by the time
Past Perfect
for
since
how long
Past Perfect Continuous
Combine Tenses: Use _ for actions that happened before another past action.
She _____(study) before she took a break.
Example: "She had been studying before she took a break."
Maintain Coherence: Use _____ for the earlier action and _ for the later action.
He _____ (arrive) after everyone _____(leave).
Past Perfect and Simple Past
Example: "He arrived after everyone had left."
Active and Passive Constructions: Use _ for active voice; use _ for passive voice.
She ______ (write) a letter.
A letter _______ (write) by her.
Simple Past: Active: "She wrote a letter."
Past Continues: Passive: "A letter was being written by her."
Inner Monologues: Use _ for thoughts, depending on the narrative perspective.
She wondered why she ______ (see) him earlier.
Simple Past or Present Tense
Example: "She wondered why she had not seen him earlier."
Flashbacks: Use _ to introduce flashbacks.
She remembered the day they ______ (meet).
Example: "She remembered the day they had met."
Scene Descriptions: Use _ to describe ongoing actions.
It _______ (rain) as they walked through the park.
Example: "It was raining as they walked through the park."
Repeated Actions: Use _ for habitual actions in the past.
Every summer, we ______ (visit) our grandparents.
Example: "Every summer, we visited our grandparents."
Emotional States: Use _ for emotional states or sudden changes.
She ______ (feel) happy until she heard the bad news.
Past Continuous or Simple Past
Example: "She was feeling happy until she heard the bad news."
Foreshadowing: Use _ to hint at future events.
Little did they know, their lives ______ (change) already.
Example: "Little did they know, their lives had changed already."
Duration and Endpoint: Use _ to emphasize the duration of an action up to a point in the past.
They ______ (work) when they finally took a break.
Example: "They had been working when they finally took a break."
We use the _ with dynamic verbs to talk about longer continuous actions that started earlier in the past than the main events of the story.
Example:
I told John not to drive because he _____ (drink) all night.
I knew he _____ (cry) because his eyes were red.
We _____ (fly) for about 20 minutes when the plane was hit by turbulence.
past perfect continuous
I told John not to drive because he had been drinking all night.
I knew he had been crying because his eyes were red.
We had been flying for about 20 minutes when the plane was hit by turbulence.
We use the _ for actions in progress in the past or longer actions interrupted by shorter actions in _.
Why did you _____ (change) the channel? I ______ (whatch) that movie.
When I _____ (get) out of the shower, the lights _____ (go off).
The burglar _____ (try) to open the safe when he _____ (hear) the owner come in.
The plane in which the football team ____ (travel) ____ (crash) and none of them survived.
past continuous, past simple
Why did you change the channel? I was watching that movie.
When I was getting out of the shower, the lights went off.
The burglar was trying to open the safe when he heard the owner come in.
The plane in which the football team were travelling crashed and none of them survived.
We use the _ to say how much of something or how many things we had done earlier in the past.
Example: When I saw Clara, I realised that she ______ (change) much in all those years.
past perfect simple (and not continuous)
Example: When I saw Clara, I realised that she had not changed much in all those years.
We use the _ to talk about past events in chronological order; i.e. for the main events of a story.
Example: When he entered the room, somebody _____ (hit) him in the head
Example: When he entered the room, somebody hit him in the head
We use the _ to talk about earlier events and experiences, or single actions completed earlier in the past.
Example: He admitted that he ______ (steel) all the money from the box.
past perfect simple
Example: He admitted that he had taken all the money from the box.
,
non defining
no ,
defining
prepositions
which
that
nerver after a ,
Last changed2 months ago