Talking about the past

There are several ways talking about actions that happened in the past. These include the simple past, the past progressive, the present perfect, the past perfect, and the phrase used to.

THE SIMPLE PAST

You use the simple past to talk about an action which happened and finished in the past. There is a space between the time when the action happened, and the time when you are speaking or writing about it.

• He kicked the ball into the net.
• I went home earlier because I had a headache.
• The police found a dead body in the river.

You often use the words or phrases such as at midnight, on Tuesday, in 1992, yesterday, and last year with the simple past, to draw attention to the time when something happened. For example:

• Our visitors arrived yesterday.
• Where did you go last week?
• The war ended in 1945.

THE PAST PROGRESSIVE

You make the past progressive by using was or were, followed by the main verb with an -ing ending, for example I was looking, they were laughing.

The past progressive is used in the following ways:

1. You use the past progressive when you want to talk about something that happened in the past, and continued to happen for only a limited period of time.

   • We were living in France at that time.
   • I was trying to get the waiter’s attention.
   • The man wwas looking at me in a very strange way.

2. You use the past progressive to talk about something which continued to happend for a period of time, during which another thing happened.

   • I was watching TV when the phone rang.
   • They met each other while they were staying in London.

Some verbs are not usually used in the progressive. Don’t say, “I was not believing him”. Say I did not believe him.

Do not use the progressive with the following verb:

• be, have, see, beleive, like, agree, know, love, disagree, recognize, hate, mean
• remember, prefer, need, understand, want, deserve, wish, belong

THE PRESENT PERFECT

You make the present perfect by using has or have, followed by the ‘past participle’ form of the main verb, for exmaple I have walked, she has gone, they have seen.

The present perfect is used in the following ways:

1. You use the present perfect to talk about somehting that happened inthe past and is finished, but which still affects the situation now.

   • Someone has broken the window. (RESULT NOW: it is still broken, and needs to be mended)
   • The taxi has arrived. (RESULT NOW: someone needs to go and get into the taxi)
   • Jane’s hurt her hand, so she can’t write. (RESULT NOW: Jane can’t write)

   You often use just and recently with the present perfect in this meaning.

   • Jane’s just left, but you might catch her in the car park.

   In American English, people often use the simple past instead of the present perfect in this sense.

   • British English
     • I’ve just seen Carol.
     • You’ve already told me that.
     • Have they come home yet?
   • American English
     • I just saw Carol.
     • You already told me taht.
     • Did they come home yet?

2. You use the present perfect to say that something started to happen in the past, and has continued to happen up to now. There is a clear difference with the past tense, which you use when the action is fnished. Compare these sentences:

   • present perfect: I have lived in Chicago for many years. (=I still live there now)

   • simple past: I lived in Chicago for many years. (=”now” I live somewhere else)

   • present perfect: Jim has worked for us since 1992. (=”he” still works for us now)
   • simple past: Jim worked for use from 1992 to 1996. (=”he” does not work for use any more)

   Don’t say “I am living here for 10 years”, or ‘I live here for 10 years’. Say I have lived here for 10 years.

3. You use the present perfect to talk about something that happened at some time in the past before now, but it is not important to say when it happened.

   • She has several jobs abroad.
   • There have been problems with this system in the past.

This meaning of the present perfect is often used in news reports.

• There has been a big earthquake in Japan, and hundreds of people have been killed.

You can emphasize this menaing by using ever in questions, or never in negative sentences. For exmaple:

• Have you ever visited Scotland?
• I have never been in a plane before.

If you give the date, year or time when something happened, you must use the simple past, not the present perfect. For exmaple:

• I spoke to hime yesterday. NOT I have spoken to him yesterday.
• They arrived in he US last week. NOT They have arrvied in the US last week.

THE PRESENT PERFECT PROGRESSIVE

You make the present perfect progressive by using have been/has been, followed by the main verb with an -ing being, for example I have been living, she has been studying. The present perfect progressive has very similar meanings to the present perfect, but draws attention to the period of time during which the action has taken place.

The present perfect progressive is used in the following ways:

1. You use the present perfect progressive to talk about something which has continued to happen for a period of time in the past, and which may still be happening now.

   • How long have you been learning English?
   • We’ve been expecting them to arrive since last Thursday.

2. You use the present progressive to talk about somethng which has been taking place recently and which affects the situation now.

   • “You look tired.” “I have been working really hard.”
   • It’s been raining all week, sothe grond’s very wet.

Don’t say “I have been knowing John for a long time”. Say I have known John for a long time.

Do not use the following verbs in the progressive:

• be, have, see, believe, like, agree, know, love, disagree, recognize, hate, mean
• remeber, prefer, need, understand, want, deserve, wish, belong

THE PAST PERFECT

If you want to talk about a past action which took place before another past action, you can use had, followed by the past participle of the main verb.

• After the visitors had left, we watched TV.
• They told me that the taxi had already arrived.

You can also use the past perfect in a ‘progressive’ form by using had been, and putting it in front of a main verb with an -ing ending.

• We had only been driving for an hour when the car ran out of pertol.

Using the right time phrases with the past tense

If you use words or phrases about time with the simple past, they must have a meaning which shows there has been a space between the time when the action or event happened and the time when you are talking or writing about it. For example:

• I saw John yeterday/a week ago/last Tuesday.

If you use other words or phrases about time with the present perfect, they must have a meaning wihch shows that the action has continued up to the present, and may still going on. For example:

• I haven’t seen John since Monday/so far/yet.

Don’t say ‘I’ve seen hime a week ago’ or ‘I didn’t see John since Monday’

USED TO

You use used to when you want to say something happened in the past over a period of time, but it no longer happens now. It is found only in the past tense.

• I used to play football a a lot when I was at shcool.
• She sued to smoke 40 cigarettes a day.
• The club used to be very fashionable.
• They used to live in Los Angeles.

In genfative, you say didn’‘t use to, or used not to

• I didn’t use to like spicy food. OR I used not to like spicy food.

In questions, you say did (you/she/john etc) use to …?

• Did you use to smoke?
• What did she use to call him?

Reference

• Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English