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Past Tense

English Language: AQA A Level, topic 1.3.5

Grammar - Simple Past and Past Progressive

We use the past tense when we are describing an action that has finished and is in the past. We use the past progressive tense when we are describing an action that was happening.

Simple past

Simple past

  • I walked.
  • You (sing.) walked.
  • She/he walked.
  • We walked.
  • You (pl.) walked.
  • They walked.
Simple past - examples

Simple past - examples

  • He decided to quit smoking.
  • We partied until 6am.
  • You pretended to know the answer.
  • The thieves forced Billy to hand over his watch.
  • Jemima welcomed the guests into her home.
Past progressive

Past progressive

  • I was walking.
  • You (sing.) were walking.
  • She/he was walking.
  • We were walking.
  • You (pl.) were walking.
  • They were walking.
Past progressive - examples

Past progressive - examples

  • They were filming for three hours.
  • She was eating at the restaurant.
  • Roger was dying to know the truth.
  • Mildred was lying to her mother.
  • We were mocking the puppet show.

Grammar - Past Perfect and Past Perfect Progressive

We use the past perfect tense when we are describing an action that has already happened before something else happened. We use the past perfect progressive tense when we are describing an action that was continuous but is now complete.

Past perfect

Past perfect

  • I had walked.
  • You (sing.) had walked.
  • She/he had walked.
  • We had walked.
  • You (pl.) had walked.
  • They had walked.
Past perfect - examples

Past perfect - examples

  • Sally had decided to quit her job.
  • They had walked three miles that day.
  • Felix had dared to ride a motorcycle.
  • We had ordered too many dishes at the restaurant.
  • You (pl.) have worked too many shifts.
Past perfect progressive

Past perfect progressive

  • I had been walking.
  • You (sing.) had been walking.
  • She/he had been walking.
  • We had been walking.
  • You (pl.) had been walking.
  • They had been walking.
Past perfect progressive - examples

Past perfect progressive - examples

  • Veronica had been spending an obscene amount of money.
  • You (sing.) had been occupying my mind for days.
  • We had been deluding ourselves.
  • The children had been skating many times before.
  • I had been trying to lose weight.

Test yourself on Past Tense

  • Which sentences use the simple past tense?

  • What tense is the verb in this sentence?

    Patrick loved SpongeBob dearly.

  • What tense is the verb in this sentence?

    The pregnant woman was eating for two.

  • Which sentence uses the past perfect tense?

  • Which sentences use the past perfect progressive tense?

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