A review of the most common uses of the past simple, continuous and perfect in English.

1. Past tenses in English
Past simple
Past continuous
Past perfect

2. 2
How I heard about John Lennon’s death
It was early in the morning on December 9th, and it
was raining.
I was working at my office when I got a phone call. It
was an American journalist who told me that someone
had killed John. A crazy fan had shot him when he was
walking into his apartment building in NYC.
I was horrified. I was listening to music until
lunchtime, but I couldn’t concentrate, so I went home.
When I arrived home, I locked myself in my room. I
was crying all day.
By Sir Paul McCartney

3. 3
How I heard about John Lennon’s death
Sequence of events:
By Sir Paul McCartney
X X
X
walking
into
building
X
shot
and
killed
X
raining
raining
working
got a
phone
call
went
home
crying all day
arrived
home
locked
himself
Paul’s story
begins here
X
told him
about John
listening
to music
lunchtime

4. 4
Past SIMPLE
We use the past simple for finished actions
in the past.
We use this tense for consecutive actions in
time:
I went home. When I arrived home, I locked
myself in my room.

5. 5
Past CONTINUOUS (1)
We typically use the past continuous
together with the past simple.
We use the past continuous for actions in
progress when another action (past simple)
interrupted it. The action in the continuous
was not finished:
He was walking into his apartment building
when a crazy fan shot him.
As / While he was walking into his apartment
building, a crazy fan shot him.

6. 6
Past CONTINUOUS (2)
Or we may use it to “set the scene” - to
explain what was happening at the
beginning of the story:
It was raining. I was working at my office
when I got a phone call.
This is where the story begins

7. 7
Past CONTINUOUS (3)
We may also use it with “all”+ time word to
emphasize that an action continued for a
long time:
I was crying all day.
Or to talk about actions or situations that
lasted for some time in the past, but the
duration is not known or unimportant:
I was listening to music until lunchtime.

8. 8
Past PERFECT (1)
We typically use the past perfect together
with the past simple.
When we are talking about the past, we use
the past perfect to talk about actions that
happened before that past time (simple):
An American journalist told me
someone had killed John.
past action
earlier past action

9. 9
Past PERFECT (2)
Sometimes, the earlier action (past perfect)
is the reason for the later action (past
simple):
He was very tired because he had slept just 3
hours the night before.
They failed the exam because they hadn’t
studied.

10. 10
Attributions
Juan López
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