Past tenses

Review of past tenses
There are 4 past tenses you need to know. They are:

  1. Past simple                     I worked / I gave (didn't work)
  2. Past continuous           I was working / I was giving (wasn't giving)
  3. Present Perfect             I have worked / I have given (haven't given)
  4. Past Perfect                    I had worked / I had given (hadn't given)
1 / 22
volgende
Slide 1: Tekstslide
EngelsMiddelbare schoolhavoLeerjaar 4

In deze les zitten 22 slides, met tekstslides en 11 videos.

time-iconLesduur is: 120 min

Onderdelen in deze les

Review of past tenses
There are 4 past tenses you need to know. They are:

  1. Past simple                     I worked / I gave (didn't work)
  2. Past continuous           I was working / I was giving (wasn't giving)
  3. Present Perfect             I have worked / I have given (haven't given)
  4. Past Perfect                    I had worked / I had given (hadn't given)

Slide 1 - Tekstslide

Past simple: verb + -ed/2nd irregular
to talk about events in the past which:

a) occured at a particular time:
- I drove back from London last night

b) happened regularly (in the past):
- Matthew worked most weekends at 
the supermarket.

Notice how there is always a time phrase that gives context.

Slide 2 - Tekstslide

Past continuous: was/were & verb + -ing
to talk about events in the past which:

a) had a longer duration than another 
action/was interrupted
- I was reading a book when my brother 
barged in.

b) were temporary/didn't last long
- Barcelona was losing two-nil, with only 
five minutes to go.

Slide 3 - Tekstslide

Slide 4 - Video

Present perfect: have/has & verb + -ed/irregular 3rd
to talk about events or a period of time which:

a) started in the past but are still 
ongoing or still true
- We have lived here for 8 years.

b) happened in the past but have
an effect in the present
- They have cancelled tonight's 
 concert.

Slide 5 - Tekstslide

Slide 6 - Video

Past perfect: had & verb + -ed/3rd irregular
to talk about events which:

a) happened earlier than 
something else
When I had finished all 
my exams I started going
out again.

We use to past perfect when it is important to show a time difference in the past, especially when you want to show in which order events took place.

Slide 7 - Tekstslide

Slide 8 - Video

Slide 9 - Tekstslide

Use past simple, past continuous or past perfect to fill in the blanks in the story.

This story is based on true events that 1 ...........(happen) many, many years ago in Scotland. One day, Mr Clark 2 ..........(walk) home with a smile on his face. He 3.......... (carry) something very valuable in his hand: tickets for a long, long journey.
After many years working and saving, Mr Clark 4.......... (save) all the money he needed to take all his family to the United States. Earlier that afternoon he 5 ..........(buy) all the tickets that now he 6.......... (hold) in his hand. It was the opportunity of their lives. “The United States of America,” he repeated aloud just to see how nice it 7 ..........(sound) in his ears.

A few days before their departure, Mr Clark’s son 8.......... (play) in the street when a dog 9.......... (bite) him. The doctor 10.......... (go) to their home and 11 ..........(treat) the child’s wound. Then he 12.......... (hang) a yellow sheet on their front door. That yellow sheet meant that they 13.......... (just/be) quarantined. They 14.......... (have) to stay at home for two weeks because of the possibility of rabies.

Five days later, Mr Clark was at the docks. He 15.......... (leave) the house and now he 16.......... (watch) their ship leave to the United States without him or his family. When the ship 17 ..........(disappear) in the horizon, he 18.......... (stand up) and 19.......... (go) back home, crying.

A few days later, the tragic news spread throughout Scotland - the mighty Titanic 20 .......... (sink), taking hundreds of lives with it.

Slide 10 - Tekstslide

1. happened ➪ We use the past simple to talk about completed actions in the past.
2. was walking
3. was carrying ➪ We use the past continuous the set the scene in a story.
4. had saved ➪ We use the past perfect simple (and not continuous) to say how much or how many we had done of something earlier in the past.
5. had bought ➪ We use the past perfect simple to talk about single actions completed earlier in the past.
6. was holding ➪ We use the past continuous for actions in progress in the past.
7. sounded ➪ The verbs of the senses (look, sound, taste, etc.) are stative verbs, which means that they cannot be used in continuous verb forms.
8. was playing
9. bit ➪ We use the past continuous when a longer action (was playing) is interrupted by a shorter action in past simple (bit).
10. went

11. treated
12. hung ➪ We use the past simple to talk about past events in chronological order; i.e. the main events of a story.
13. had just been ➪ We use the past perfect simple to talk about single actions completed earlier in the past.
14. had ➪ We use the past simple to talk about past states.
15. had left ➪ We use the past perfect simple to talk about single actions completed earlier in the past.
16. was watching ➪ We use the past continuous for actions in progress in the past.
17. disappeared
18. stood up
19. went ➪ We use the past simple to talk about past events in chronological order; i.e. the main events of a story.
20. had sunk ➪ We use the past perfect simple to talk about earlier events and experiences.

Slide 11 - Tekstslide

Unit 5.2: Grammar
Now that you've tried some online exercises, move on to the ones in your book. Do exercises 1-4 on past tenses and check your answers, then do exercises 5 & 6 (Use of English part 2)

Slide 13 - Tekstslide

Video explanations
The next slides contain more videos about these 4 tenses: how to make them and when to use them. 

All videos are in Dutch to help you get a good grasp of these tenses since it is important to get it right.

The final video is on regular and irregular verbs (see page 168 of your OF book). You need to know these to use the past tenses properly.

Slide 14 - Tekstslide

Slide 15 - Video

Slide 16 - Video

Slide 17 - Video

Slide 18 - Video

Slide 19 - Video

Slide 20 - Video

Slide 21 - Video

Slide 22 - Video