past tenses (2)

8/18/2019 Past Tenses (2)

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2.1 B

Past actions

and states

P as t t e n s e sWe often use the past simple tense for single completed events and past states and we

use the past continuous for temporary or interrupted actions. We use the past perfect

tense for actions which happened before a time in the past. This unit looks at the

differences between the past and the past perfect tenses and used to/would + infinitive.

(For uses of the present perfect tense for past time •••.3.1, 3.2. For past forms which

refer to the futur e (future in the past) ~ 5.3.)

2.1 A

For m

Most verbs add -ed to the base form to make the past simple tense. The past simple

tense for m is the same for all persons (except with the verb be):

watch - I/he/she/it/we/you/they watched; be -I/he/she/it was, we/you/they were

Note the following spelling rules with -ed endings:

• Base forms ending in a single stressed vowel and a consonant (except w , x or y) ,

double the consonant, e.g. hug -+ hugged.

In British English, but not US English, we often double final consonant I, e.g. label -+

labelled.

Base forms ending in a consonant and y, change y to i, e.g. copy -+sopied.

• Irregular verbs do not form the past tense with -ed, e.g. go -+ went.

We do not use the past form of the verb in questions and negatives; we use did (not) +

infinitive. We usually use the contracted form didn't in speech and informal writing:

)( :"f)id-ljetJ-s(lw-ef Hj#l j.Rfj-S/:.I5f Jieie~ )( :"Ne;--l-did~-S6W-ef/!ft: AiRt:J;-'-

V 'Did you see anything suspicious?' v 'No, I didn't see anything.'

"We use the past simple to describe single completed actions in the past:

Julius Caesar invaded Britain in 55 B e .

Holland was occupied by the Germans in 7940.If the context is clear , it is not necessary to give a past time reference:

Caesar 's troops failed to defeat the indigenous tribes (in 55 Be).

~ We use the past simple for actions which happened at the same time and also for

repeated actions:

When we got to the junction I took the left turn while Micky took the right. (two

actions at the same time)

My brother applied for a visa six times before he got one. (r epeated actions)

" We use the past simple for sequences of actions. Sometimes the actions follow

immediately after each other , or one action causes a result:

Silverman ran to the car , jumped in and raced off into the night. (sequence of actions)

Wall Street traders lost a fortune when the Asian markets collapsed. (= The marketscollapsed with the result that the traders lost a fortune.)


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There are some verbs which we rarely use in the continuous tenses, including the past

continuous. (For more information about this ~ 1.3A B, C)

2.2B $'The past continuous describes an action in progress at a point of time in the past, i.e.

Actions in the action began before this point of time and continued after it.

progress We didn't hear the intruder because we were sleeping on the top floor that night.

At the time of our arrival the city was going through a period of rapid expansion.

'" We often use the past continuous to show that a past action was temporary, or was

changing or developing:

During my training I was earning a lot less than my wife. (a temporary situation)

His symptoms were becoming more pronounced each day. (a changing situation)

'" We can use the past continuous to describe an ongoing action which forms the

background or setting to past events. We often use the past simple for an action that

happened against this background:

Darkness was descending over the hushed city as James staggered back to college.

(darkness was descending = background; James staggered = action)

¢l We can use the past continuous for two actions in progress at the same time:

We were watching the sky and listening for the first sounds of the dawn chorus.

e We usually use the past simple for repeated actions in the past (~ 2.1 B), but we can

use the past continuous if we want to emphasise that the repeated actions took place

over a temporary and limited period of finished time:

She received chemotherapy on a weekly basis. (a repeated action)

For the first three months she was receiving chemotherapy on a weekly basis.

(repeated action, but only for three months)

2.2C , I t > We use the past continuous to contrast an ongoing action with a single event which

Interrupted interrupts it. We use the past simple for the single event:

actions Elizabeth was hunting when messengers arrived with the news of Mary's plot.

Seventy cars were crossing the bridge when the pier collapsed into the river.

II 0If the background action finishes just before the event which interrupts it, we prefer to use the past perfect continuous (~ 2.4A, B). Compare these examples:

Jane opened the door to let Philip in.

1 He was running in the rain. 2 He had been running in the rain.

2.2D We can use the past continuous to describe past arrangements; the arranged event

Other uses mayor may not have taken place. This use is similar to the 'future in the past' (~ 5.3):

Nancy was taking the next flight to Paris so she had to cut short the interview.

(= Nancy had an existing arrangement to take a flight to Paris.)

f i We can make requests, suggestions and questions more tentative and polite by using

the past continuous. We often use the verbs think and wonder:

We were wondering if you would like to join us. (= Would you like to join us ?)

Were you planning on going somewhere else later? (= Are you planning on ?)


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We form the past perfect with had and a past participle, which is the same for all persons

By the end of the fourth day we had exhausted most of our rations.

I wasn't convinced that she had exhausted all of the possibilities at that stage.

Regular verbs have a past participle form which is the same as the past tense form (i.e _

we add -ed to the base form 2.1 A). Irregular verbs, e.g. see, often have a past

participle form, e.g. seen, which is different from the past tense form, e.g. saw.

We often use the contracted form of had ('d) in spoken English:

We were exhausted; we'd been up all night with the baby.

2.3B 'b We use the past perfect to describe an action which is completed before a time in the

Actions and past. We can include a specific time reference:

states before By the time the UN task force arrived, the rebel forces had taken the province.

a time in the i 9 We can use the past perfect for repeated actions:

past The new owners found that the timbers had been patched up several times.

C i We also use the form to describe a state which existed before a past event:

At the time of her trial last year Hinkley had been in prison for eight months.

2.3A

Form

2.3C ~ We can use the past perfect to make a sequence of events clear . We use the pastSequence in perf ect for the earlier action and the past simple for the later. Compare:

the past When we got back the babysitter went home.

(sequence: 1 we got back, 2 the babysitter went home)

When we got back the babysitter had gone home.

(sequence: 1 the babysitter went home, 2 we got back)

~ We can use just or already with the past perfect to show that the earlier action was

recent or earlier than expected:

We wanted to talk to the babysitter but she'd just left.

When we got back we found that the babysitter had already gone home.

IJ We can use the past perfect or the past simple with time conjunctions, e.g. after,

before, as soon as, then:She ushered me out of the room as soon as I paid/had paid my subscription.

.,0With before + past perfect the action in the past simple happens first:I left university before I'd taken the final exams.

d We can use this for a past action which prevented a later action from happening:

She sacked him before he'd had a chance to explain his behaviour.

e , 0We don't usually use the past perfect if the sequence is obvious 2.1 B):[I had opened the door and let him in.] v I opened the door and let him in.

" We often use the past perfect to describe the cause of a past event:

David didn't join the band as he'd signed up with a rivallabel.

2.3D I We use the past perfect with verbs such as hope, expect, want, plan, think about, wishUnf ulf illed g to describe past intentions which were unfulfilled:intentions They had hoped to get to the summit but Travers fell ill at base camp.

. . . . . : J D . 1 ~ ~(,;:::::37

;d,

2.4A

Form

We form the past perfect continuous tense with had been and the present participle:

The lake was near bursting point as it had been raining heavily for weeks.

The passive form of the past perfect continuous (had been being + past participle) is

almost never used. We prefer an active form, using an 'empty' subject if necessary:

[The unemployment figures had been being underestimated for decades.]

v' They had been underestimating the unemployment figures for decades.


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Ther e are some verbs which we r arely use in the continuous tenses, including the past

per fect continuous. (For more infor mation about this'" 1.3 A, B, C.)

2.4B III We use the past perf ect continuous to describe an ongoing situation or action which

Uses continued up to, or stopped just before, a time in the past ( j l l I o 2.2C):

He had been working for over an hour before the auditors turned up.

~ We often use this tense to explain a past result, e.g. a situation or an appearance:

The few sur vivors looked painfully thin. They had been living on meagre rations since

the accident. (= They looked thin because they had been living on meagr e rations.)

< i > We use this tense when we want to focus on duration:

Kubrick had been trying to get the film made for more than twenty years.

The eager fans had been waiting in line for over six hours.

2.4C

Contrast with

other f or ms

We do not mention the number of times that we have done an action when we use the

past perfect continuous:X d-il/-had-&f ll!j-been-wat€hing-+V-t:wiEe-t:Rat-weelf :.

vJill had only watched TV twice that week. (repeated action - past per fect simple)

~ 4) We don't usually use the past perf ect continuous for completed actions, or actions

and background situations still continuing at the same time as the past simple narrative: X &he-feu-flti-her-e-e5-!f -we.s-.e.mf r t:! j;-5e €f :If 'i#J-ltflfJ-been-FefflOVtRfj-eVeR j-t:f tiflfj-;-

vShe found her desk was empty; security had removed everything.

(completed action = past perfect simple)

[We had been living in New York when John was made r edundant.]

v We were living in New York when John was made redundant.

(an ongoing situation which forms the background = past continuous)

~ USED TO/WOULD

2.5 A

Form and

meaning

Used to is followed by an infinitive. Notice the spelling in questions and negatives:

It used to take me over an hour to get to work.

Supermarkets didn't use to be open on Sundays in Britain.

Did you use to get fr ee milk at school?

•• 4) Don't confuse used to + infinitive with be/get used to (+ verb -ing) which means

'be/become accustomed to':

I used to live alone. (= I lived alone at a time in the past.)

He wasn't used to living on his own. (= He wasn't accustomed to it.)

She's getting used to the new technology. (= She is becoming accustomed to it.)

2.5B ~ Both forms describe actions which happened regularly in the past but no longer happen

Past habits (or vice versa) or now happen with more or less frequency:

They used to get paid every three months. (Now they get paid weekly.)

We would get up early every Sunday to go to church. (We don't now.)

6 > To avoid confusion with other uses of would, we usually mention the past time or

situation:

He would give her a lift to wor k in the days befor e she passed her test.

(For other uses of would ••• 10.4, 10.5, 10.6; ••• 18.2B, 18.3B, 18.4, 18.5.)

2.5C


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P r a c t i c e

Match the underlined phrases (1-10) with the explanations (A-E), Each explanation matches two

phrases,

1 They r an the same test eight times before they found the bug in the software.

2 Food was in shor t supply throughout the war .

3 It was quite unnerving. The lights flickered while a freezing wind blew through the room.

4 Clair e jumped out of her chair, ran to the balcony and grabbed the screaming child.

5 Lor enzo the Magnificent died in Florence in 1492.

6 Diplodocus dinosaur s dominated the Triassic per iod.

7 W e had a busy morning. Steve answer ed the phone calls and I dealt with the e-mails.

8 The Court of Appeal rejected his case on technical grounds.

9 I'm sick of it, I can't tell you how many times we tried to contact them.

10 I threw open the doors and walked out into the bright morning sunshine.

A A single or completed action in the past.

B A sequence of actions in the past.

C Two actions which happened at the same time in th~ past.

D Repeated actions in the past.

E A state in the past.

announce blow collapse cook

mention press r un into see

decide f eel get up

set off settle down

manage

take

have

soar

hit leave live

spend stand

1 I at the bus stop when I the speeding car slam into the lamp post.

2 The icy wind through the trees as we on our journey into the forest.

3 Br ad exhausted so he onto the sofa, the button on the r emote control and

.......... for an evening vegetating in front of the box.

4 The twins the afternoon shopping because they for their flatmates that evening.

S Unfortunately for us, we on the wrong side of Miami when Hur ricane Andrew .

the city.

6 Share prices when the government record growth figures.

7 I early the next morning so I to have an early night.

8 They say that he her because he found out that she an affair with his best f r iend.

9 My younger br other the driving test five times before he to pass.

10 I Clare at the super market the other day and she that you might be looking for work.


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A I f elt sick when I ate the pudding.

B I f elt sick when I'd eaten the pudding.

2 A When we r etur ned to our hotel room, the

maid made the bed.

B When we returned to our hotel room, the

maid had made the bed.

3 A I explained to my host that I'd been

repair ing the c ar .

B I explained to my host that I was repair ing

the car.

4 A By the time we ar rived at the zoo the

elephants were having their bath.

B By the time we arrived at the zoo the

elephants had had their bath.

5 A The show star ted when we got there.

B The show had star ted when we got there.

6 A I hoped to get a good result.

B I had hoped to get a good result.

7 A I watched TV when Jane called r ound.

B I was watching TV when Jane called round.

8 A Car r ie was excited because she was

travelling to Jamaica.

B Car rie was excited because she had

travelled to Jamaica.


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4ED~==----Underline the most suitable ver b form in italics.

1 So I turned/had tur ned on my heels and walked out of the shop in disgust.

2 When we got to the station the tr ain had just leftljust left, so we missed our connection.

3 The mechanics had been taking/had taken the engine apart sever al times before they were able to

locate the source of the mysterious rattle.

4 By 1492 the Spanish had expelled/had been expelling the Moor s from the mainland entirely.5 She was surprised to find the f ridge empty; the childr en had eaten/had been eating everything!

6 Our lead actor turned up and he was word per f ect; appar ently he was pr actising/had been

practising his lines all day.

7 The children wanted to go to the circus but their father alr eady booked/had alr eady booked tickets

f or the ice-skating spectacular .

8 Debbie couldn't understand why her computer crashed; it had been working/was working perf ectly

for as long as she could r emember .

9 My niece's riding accident was r ather a setback because she hoped/had hoped to pursue a car eer

as a ballet dancer.

10 Mrs Lawson arrived at casualty in quite a state; she suffer ed/had been suff ering from severe

stomach pains for hours.

In about half of the lines of the following text there is a mistake in the use of past forms, used to

or would. For each numbered line (1-18) underline the mistake and write the correct form. Some

lines are cor rect. Indicate these with a t ick (v'). The exercise begins with two examples (0 and 00).

o Anne Frank was a Jewish girl who was living with her family in Amsterdam

00 when the Ger mans were invading Holland in 1940. The German author ities

1 intr oduced harsh anti-Jewish laws and started to depor t Jews to concentr ation

2 tamps in Easter n Eur ope. In July 1'942 Anne's father did hear a r umour that he

3 w~s. going to be ar r ested by the police and the f amily r esolved to f ind a hiding

4 place. They moved into an attic above Mr Frank's off ice and build a bookcase

5 to disguise the entrance to the secret apartment. Friends would bring food to the

6 f amily each morning, and they use to keep up to date with the news by listening to

7 the BBe on a small radio. Anne would have no f r iends her own age, so she

8 confided her f eelings to a diary. In August another Jewish family joined the

9 Fr anks with their sixteen-year-old son Peter . Peter was telling Anne that the10 Ger mans had been sending Jews to concentr ation camps and killing them. Anne

11 and Peter wer e becoming very fond of each other in the cramped conditions of

12 the secr et apar tment and had helped each other with their lessons. But somebody

13 had given away the family's secr et. The Ger man police had been watched the

14 hiding place for sever al days and on August 14th 1944 they burst in and ar r ested

15 all the occupants. The Germans were sending Anne to the Belsen concentr ation

16 camp and she was kil led in February or March 1945, only a month or six weeks

17 before the Br itish ar my arrived. Anne's father was taken to Auschwitz and

18 sur vived the war . He found Anne's diar y and had published it in 1947.

v' .......................iJwa.ded

.... ..... .... ........ .


8/9

Complete the text b.y w ri ti ng t he v er bs i n br ac ket s i n t he c or r ect tense. Read through the whole

t ex t b ef or e y ou b eg m as y ou m ay n eed t o u se p as si ve f or ms an d used to/would in your answers.

T HE T RU E S TO RY O F

T RE AS URE I S L ANDTreasure I sland is one of the best k nown and mostloved child ren's adventur e stor ies. It (1) ( be)first pu blished in 1883 but r emains po pular to this d ay.

Peo ple (2) (think ) that the stor y was solely the

work of Stevenson's imagination, but r ecent r esearch

has uncover ed the tr ue origin of this thrilling tale of

hidd en treasure and bloodthirsty pirates.

Treasure I sland's author, R ober t Louis Stevenson,

(3) ( be) a Scotsman born in Ed in bur gh in 1850.Alt bougb be (4/ (live } abr oad 10£ man y year s J jJ]

1881 he r eturned to the land of his birth f or a holid ay.

With him (5) ( be) his American wife Fanny, ~ •••

whom he (6) (meet) five year s ear lier in France, and his ste pchild r en f r om Fanny's

first mar r iage. The location of their holiday was Braemar in the rugged Scottish

Highlands.

The family soon settled into a relaxing routine. Each mor ning Stevenson (7) .

(get u p) ear ly and tak e them out for long walks over the hills. They (8) (enjoy)

this f or several days when the weather sudd enly took a tur n f or the wor se. Tr a pped

ind oors by the heavy r ain, Robert's twelve-year -old ste pson, Lloyd , (9) ( become)

increasingly bor ed and r estless. Des perate to kee p the boy amused, R ober t

(10) (get out) some dr awing paper and asked the boy to d o some painting.

Af ter he (11) ( paint) f or several hours the boy (12) (return) to his

ste pf ather with a beautiful colour ed ma p of a tro pical island. R o ber t noticed that his

ste pson (13) (draw) a large cr oss in the middle of the island. 'What's that?' he

ask ed. 'That's the bur ied treasur e,' said the boy. The thirty-one-year -old author sudd enly

had a flash of ins pir ation. He (14) (recently ask ) to contribute stories to a

childr en's magazine published by his f r iend W E Henley and h~ (15) ( begin) to see

the germ of an ad ventur e story in the boy's picture. While the rain (16) ( beat

down) on the r oof of his rented holiday cottage the author (17) (sit d own) by the

f ire to write a stor y. He would make the her o a twelve-year-old boy, just lik e his ownstepson. But who would be the villain of the piece?

For the last four year s Henley (18) ( pu blish) Ro ber t's stor ies in his magazine,

and the two had become good friends. But there was something unusual a bout Henley;

as a young man one of his legs (19) (am putate) and he walked ar ound with the

aid of an ar tif icial wood en leg. R o ber t (20) (always want) to includ e such a

character in a stor y and thus Long John Silver, the pirate with a wood en leg, was born.

So, thanks to a r ainy Se ptem ber in Scotland , a pu blisher with a wooden leg, and the

inventiveness of a twelve-year -old American boy, we have one of the greatest adventur e

stories in the English language.


9/9

Complete the text b'ywriting the verbs in br ackets in the correct tense. Read through the whole

text before you begin as you may need to use passive forms and used to/would in your answers.

T HE T R UE S TO RY O F

T RE AS URE I S L ANDTreasur e I sland is one of the best known and mostloved child ren's ad venture stories. It (1) ( be)first pu blished in 1883 but r emains popular to this d ay.

People (2) (think ) that the stor y was solely the

work of Stevenson's imagination, but recent research

has uncovered the true origin of this thr illing tale of

hidd en tr easur e and bloodthir sty pirates.

Tr easur e Island' s author, Robert Louis Stevenson,

(3) ( be) a Scotsman bor n in Edinbur gh in 1850.Although he (4) (live) a broad for many year s, in

1881 he returned to the land of his birth for a holiday.

With him (5) ( be) his American wife Fanny, ~.~ . .,

whom he (6) (meet) five years ear lier in Fr ance, and his stepchildr en f r om Fanny's

first marriage. The location of their holiday was Br aemar in the rugged Scottish

Highlands.

The family soon settled into a relaxing r outine. Each morning Stevenson (7) .

(get up) early and take them out for long walk s over the hills. They (8) (enjoy)

this f or sever al d ays when the weather suddenly took a turn f or the worse. Trapped

indoors by the heavy rain, Robert's twelve-year-old stepson, Lloyd , (9) ( become)

increasingly bor ed and restless. Desperate to k ee p the boy amused , R o bert

(10) (get out) some drawing pa per and ask ed the boy to d o some painting.

After he (11) ( paint) for several hour s the boy (12) (r eturn) to his

stepfather with a beautiful colour ed map of a tr o pical island. R o bert noticed that his

stepson (13) (draw) a lar ge cr oss in the middle of the island. 'What's that?' he

asked. 'That's the buried tr easure,' said the boy. The thirty-one-year-old author sudd enly

had a flash of ins pir ation. He (14) (r ecently ask ) to contr ibute stories to a

child r en's magazine published by his friend W E Henley and h~ (15) ( begin) to see

the germ of an adventure stor y in the boy's pictur e. While the rain (16) ( beat

down) on the roof of his r ented holiday cottage the author (17) (sit down) by the

fir e to write a story. He would make the her o a twelve-year-old boy, just like his own

stepson. But who would be the villain of the piece?

For the last four year s Henley (18) ( publish) Rober t's stories in his magazine,

and the two had become good f riends. But ther e was something unusual about Henley;

as a young man one of his legs (19) (amputate) and he walk ed around with the

aid of an artif icial wooden leg. Rober t (20) (always want) to includ e such a

char acter in a stor y and thus Long John Silver , the pirate with a wooden leg, was born.

So, thank s to a r ainy Se ptember in Scotland, a publisher with a wood en leg, and the

inventiveness of a twelve-year -old American boy, we have one of the gr eatest ad venture

stories in the English language.

past tenses (2)

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