The 4 Past Tenses: A Complete Guide
Past tenses describe finished time: completed actions, actions in progress at a past moment, and the order in which past events happened.
Past Simple
When to use it
- Finished actions at a known past time
- A series of past events
- Past habits
Examples
- I watched a film last night.
- She opened the door, looked around and left.
- We walked to school as children.
Formula
Signal words: yesterday, last week, ago, in 2010, when I was young
Common mistake
Did you went to the party?
✓ Did you go to the party?
After did, use the base form of the verb.
Past Continuous
When to use it
- Actions in progress at a past moment
- A longer action interrupted by a shorter one
- Two actions happening at the same time
Examples
- At 8 p.m. I was cooking dinner.
- I was walking home when it started to rain.
- She was reading while he was cleaning.
Formula
Signal words: at 8 p.m. yesterday, while, when, all evening
Common mistake
When the phone rang, I was have a shower.
✓ When the phone rang, I was having a shower.
The continuous form always needs verb-ing after was/were.
Past Perfect
When to use it
- An action that happened before another past action
- Explaining the reason for a past situation
Examples
- When we arrived, the film had already started.
- She was upset because she had lost her phone.
Formula
Signal words: already, before, by the time, after, when (earlier event)
Common mistake
By the time I arrived, they left.
✓ By the time I arrived, they had left.
"By the time" shows they left first, so the earlier action takes the Past Perfect.
Past Perfect Continuous
When to use it
- How long an action continued before another past moment
- The cause of a past result
Examples
- I had been waiting for an hour when the bus came.
- His eyes were red because he had been crying.
Formula
Signal words: for, since, how long, before, by the time
Common mistake
She was working there for ten years when she retired.
✓ She had been working there for ten years when she retired.
Duration up to a past moment needs the Past Perfect Continuous.
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