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  • Past Tenses Revision + Explanation + Excercises

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    Mohamed Balbaa
    104 views7 pages
    This document provides a summary and examples of the four main past tenses in English: past simple, past perfect, past continuous, and past perfect continuous. It explains that each tense focuses on a different aspect of actions that took place in the past. The past simple focuses on a finished action, the past perfect focuses on order of finished actions, the past continuous focuses on actions happening simultaneously, and the past perfect continuous focuses on a long action stopped by another past action. Examples are given for each tense along with questions to help understand their uses. An exercise with answers is also included.

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    Past tenses revision + explanation + Excercises

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    This document provides a summary and examples of the four main past tenses in English: past simple, past perfect, past continuous, and past perfect continuous. It explains that each tense focuses on a different aspect of actions that took place in the past. The past simple focuses on a finished action, the past perfect focuses on order of finished actions, the past continuous focuses on actions happening simultaneously, and the past perfect continuous focuses on a long action stopped by another past action. Examples are given for each tense along with questions to help understand their uses. An exercise with answers is also included.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    104 views7 pages

    Past Tenses Revision + Explanation + Excercises

    Uploaded by

    Mohamed Balbaa
    This document provides a summary and examples of the four main past tenses in English: past simple, past perfect, past continuous, and past perfect continuous. It explains that each tense focuses on a different aspect of actions that took place in the past. The past simple focuses on a finished action, the past perfect focuses on order of finished actions, the past continuous focuses on actions happening simultaneously, and the past perfect continuous focuses on a long action stopped by another past action. Examples are given for each tense along with questions to help understand their uses. An exercise with answers is also included.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 7

    Hey, thank you for attending Dealing with the unexpected

    (Crime) on Thursday the 18th.


    Here is the revision promised on that day (sorry again for being
    late had to do some work and research for this to be ready and
    clear.)
    Quick revision,
    We have 4 main past tenses:
    1. Past simple: I had a problem.
    2. Past perfect: I have had a problem, before my dog died.
    3. Past continuous: I was having a problem, before my dog
    died.
    4. Past perfect continuous: I had been having a problem, before
    my dog died.

    Before You continue, please think about this question, do


    grammar tenses only have one use? No, grammar tenses can
    have more than 1 use in English, for example the present simple,
    you can use it to talk about: habits, general truths, repeated
    actions or unchanging situations, emotions, wishes and more.
    Now keep in mind we will talk about the MAIN use of the 4 past
    tenses only. Main use meaning the one we most often use with
    that tense, for example with present simple we mostly use it to
    talk about general truths (I work in the British council, I am 25
    years old).
    1. Past simple: Used to focus on giving the information that an
    action finished at a time in the past. (I went to school)
    [focuses on the information of the finished action]

    2. Past perfect: Used to focus on giving the information that a


    finished action happened before another one in the past. (I
    had went to school, when I saw my friend.) [focuses on the
    order of the finished actions]
    Now, the two tenses that usually cause confusion between them
    (rightfully so).
    3. Past continuous: Used to focus on action(s) happening
    during the same time of another action taking place in the
    past, usually used in the context (when) telling a story/event.
    (I was going to school, while my friend was trying to call
    me. Or I was going to school, when my friend called me.)
    [focuses on what was the action happening/happened when
    another action was taking place or interrupted it in the past].
    Think about the following questions to make sure you
    understand:
     why are we talking about the school, is it more
    important than my friend calling me? No, it’s to “build
    the setting of the story” or give some one a full picture
    or “the most boring details”, as we say in Arabic.
     When you start telling a story to your friend, do you
    start with what happened or do you have an introduction
    to help the listener imagine how the situation happened
    and have them live it with you?
     Do you know if these actions took some time in the
    past? Yes, we know it was at the same time or
    interrupted for a short time by another.
     Do you know if this action was stopped in the past? No.
     Do you know if this action will not be repeated again in
    the future? No.
     Will the interrupted action continue? For example, [I
    was eating a sandwich when my phone rang.] will I eat
    my sandwich after I answer the phone? Yes.

    4. Past perfect continuous: Used to focus on an action that took


    a long time before being stopped by another. (I had been
    going to school with my friend, before he moved to Paris.)
    [focuses on an action taking a long time in the past, before
    being stopped because of another action taking place in the
    past.]
    Think about the following:
     Do you know if these actions took some time in the past?
    Yes, we know one happened before the other stopped it.
     Do you know if the action interrupted stopped in the past?
    Yes.
     Do you know if this action will not be repeated again in
    the future? No, maybe his friend might come back from
    Paris (but unlikely).
     Will the interrupted action continue? For example, [I had
    been talking with my mother, when my dad walked in.]
    will I continue talking with my mother? NO.
    Finally remember,
    If the focus is on the shorter/second action happening in the past,
    we use past cont.
    If the focus is on the longer action taking place in the past, we
    use past perf cont.
    Below are three pictures, the first two highlight the difference in
    tenses using time lines and third summarizes all the past tenses
    uses + the rest of the English grammar tenses.
    After having a look, you will find an exercise attached with It’s
    answers on the page after it and if you would like another
    activity afterwards, you will find a link to another online activity
    between the past tenses.
    Past perfect continuous or past continuous

    If you do not include a duration such as "for five minutes," "for two weeks" or "since Friday," we normally choose the Past
    Continuous rather than the Past Perfect Continuous: He was tired because he was exercising so hard.

    The Past Perfect Continuous emphasizes a duration of time before something in the past: He was tired because he had been
    exercising so hard.

    Put the verbs in brackets into the correct tense:

    1. I __________________________ (wait) in the office for more than two hours when the Boss finally
    arrived.
    2. They _______________________ (talk) for over an hour before the other members arrived.

    3. ______________________________ (you/watch) the match when I telephoned you?

    4. She _____________________ (work) for that company for three years when it went out of business.
    5. How long ___________________________ (you/wait) for John before he finally arrived?
    6. Mike was longing to sit down because he ____________________ (stand) all day at work.
    7. What ______________________________ (you/do) yesterday at 8 p.m.?
    8. David ____________________________ (teach) at the international school for more than a year before
    he left forF rance.
    9. How long _____________________________ (you/study Italian before you moved there?
    10. The footballers were tired because they ___________________ (play) for two hours.
    11. Helen _____________________ (not/do) anything special when we arrived.
    12. Sam put on a lot of weight because he _______________________ (eat) too much.
    13. I _____________________ (have) lunch when he entered the restaurant.
    14. Florence failed the final test because she ____________________ (not/revise) enough.
    15. While I ______________________ (walk) home last Monday I saw a terrible car accident.
    Answers

    1. I had been waiting in the office for more than two hours when the Boss finally arrived.
    2. They had been talking for over an hour before the other members arrived.

    3. Were you watching the match when I telephoned you?

    4. She had been working for that company for three years when it went out of business.
    5. How long had you been waiting for John before he finally arrived?
    6. Mike was longing to sit down because he had been standing all day at work.
    7. What were you doing yesterday at 8 p.m.?
    8. David had been teaching at the international school for more than a year before he left forF rance.
    9. How long had you been studying Italian before you moved there?
    10. The footballers were tired because they had been playing for two hours.
    11. Helen wasn’t doing anything special when we arrived.
    12. Sam put on a lot of weight because he had been eating too much.
    13. I was having lunch when he entered the restaurant.
    14. Florence failed the final test because she had not revised enough.
    15. While I was walking home last Monday I saw a terrible car accident.

    Another activity: https://test-english.com/grammar-points/b1/past-simple-past-


    continuous-past-perfect/

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