o Tense Forms

f\
~I 4 II Listen and repeat. Then act out.

Johnny, where were you yesterday? I was

looking for you but you weren't at school. ~~~;-l

Past Simple Past Continuous Past Perfect Past Perfect

is used for: is used for: is used for: Continuous is used:
• past actions that took I. an action which was • an action which • for an action of
place immediately in progress at a happened before certain duration
one after the other. stated time in the another past continuing up to a
He got in the car, started past. We do not know action or before a specific time in the
the engine and drove off. when the action stated time in the past.
• past habits or states started or finished. past. She had been trying to
which are now At 1 o'clock this afternoon She had already get a visa for months
finished. In such they were having coffee. cooked dinner when before she gave u~
cases, we can also • a past action which her husband came • for a past action . .... )
use the expression was in progress home. (She cooked which lasted for
used to. when another action dinner first and then some time in the past
When he was young, he interrupted it. her husband came.) and whose result was
rode/used to ride his I was playing football • an action which visible in the past.
bike to school. when I broke my ankle. finished in the Her fingers ached
(The action in progress past and whose because she had been

l
• a complete action or
event which happened - was playing (Past result was visible playing the guitar all
at a stated time in the Continuous) - was in the past.
interrupted by another When I saw Steve day.
past. • The Past Perfect
She passed her exam action - broke. Past yesterday he was Continuous is the
last week. (When? "Last Simple) happy because he past equivalent of
week" - stated time in • two or more actions had found a new the Present Perfect
the past) which were job. Continuous.
• complete past actions happening at the I•The Past Perfect He stayed in bed that
not connected to the same time in the is the past day because he had
present with a stated past (simultaneous equivalent of the been feeling ill all
or implied time actions). Present Perfect. week.
reference He was cooking while There was no (Present perfect: He's
Elvis Presley made lots she was sleeping. pudding left; he had staying in bed today
of records. (Elvis is • background eaten it all. because he's been
dead; he won't record description to events (Present perfect: feeling ill all week.)
any more - period of in a story/description. There's no pudding
time now finished - They were travelling to left; he has eaten it
implied time reference) Swansea ... all.)
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 Tense Forms o
Time expressions used with:
Past Simple yesterday, last week, etc, (how long) ago, then, just now, when, in 1992, etc.
Past Continuous while, when, as, the moment that, etc.
Past Perfect for, since, already, after, just, never, yet, before, by, by the time, etc.
Past Perfect Continuous for, since

10 Identify the tenses, then match them with the correct description.

She opened the cupboard, took out a a past action in progress interrupted by another
dress and put it on . past action
2 She was upset because she had been b past action which occurred before another
waiting to hear from her son for days. action or before a stated time in the past
3 They were still discussing the plan at c two or more simultaneous past actions
midnight. d action continuing over a period up to a specific
4 They were flying over the Andes when the time in the past
storm began . e past actions which happened immediately one
5 Tom was reading out the text while Sara after the other
was writing it down. past action of a certain duration which had
6 She had finished most of the work by the visible results in the past
time her boss arrived. g past habit or state
7 He always went to work by train . h action in the middle of happening at a stated
8 We had been living in the same house for past time
twelve years before we decided to move.

11 Fill in with the past simple or the past

continuous.

imon 1) ••• It'?~ .Y'{~[~il)g• •• (walk) home from work the other
day when he 2) •••••••••••••••.•••••••••••••••••••••••••
(notice) something shining on the other side of the road . A car
3) ••••••••••••••••••••••••• (come) down the street, so he
aited until it had driven past. Then he 4) •••••••••••••••••••••
• • • ••• •• (cross) over. When he 5) ••••••••••••••••••••••
• • • • • • •• (get) to the other side, he saw that there was a
hiny gold coin on the road! He 6) ..................... (look)
around to make sure no one 7) ..................... (watch) him. Then, he 8) ..................... ..
(bend) down to pick it up. Imagine his surprise when he 9) •••••.••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
(not/can) move it! He 10) ........................................ (be) just about to give up when he
11) •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• (hear) a strange sound behind him. Someone 12) •••••••••
................ (laugh) at him, but he couldn't see who it 13) ............................ .
(be). Two little boys 14) .................................... (hide) behind a hedge, laughing at anyone
\ ho tried to pick up the coin they had stuck to the road with glue!

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o Tense Forms

12 Fill in with an appropriate past

form.

n 1912, a passenger steamship called the

I Titanic 1) . '(I.~~ .~~jUn@ ••• (sail) across

the Atlantic Ocean from England to
America. A bright moon 2) .................. .
............ . ... (shine) and a gentle breeze
3) .................................. (blow). The ship 4) ............................ : ....... (sail)
for four days and was now more than halfway towards its destination - New York City. Some passengers
5) ................................. (sleep) in their cabins while others 6) ........ , .................... .
(relax) on deck, when suddenly they all 7) ..................................... (hear) a loud bang. Those
SIt. t'lng on deck 8) ... . ..... .. ... . .. . .. ..... .. . .. .. . (jump up) , 9) ..................... ······· .. · .. (run) to
the railing of the ship, and 10) ................................. (look) over the side. To their horror, they
saw that th ey 11) ............................. . (hit) an iceberg which 12) ............................... .
(tear) a hole in the side of the ship. Water was pouring into the ship at an alar~i~g rate. Th.ere were
not enough lifeboats on the ship and tragically more than 1,500 people lost theIr hves that mght. The
sinking of the Titanic remains the most infamous sea disaster in history.

13 Which of the past forms in the text (1-12) above are used to express:

past action of certain duration continuing up to a specific time in the past ...4 ..
2 background description of events in the story
3 shorter actions which interrupt longer actions
4 past action which occurred before another past action
5 past actions which happened one immediately after the other
6 past actions which were happening at the same time in the past

14 Underline the correct time expression.

I still/yet/just hadn't done my homework when 5 She had been Singing for years Since/fori
Mum came home. before she finally became a star.
2 Meg was lying in the sun before/while/as soon I 6 Our team had scored three goals by the time/
as the children were playing in the pool. until/while we got to the match .
3 How long ago/How long/While did you pass 7 The professor didn't start speaking after/
your driving test? until/yet everyone was quiet.
4 He continued his journey before/after/yet he a She took off her 'coat just/as soon as/already
had changed the tyre. she entered the house.

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 Tense Forms
o
Present Perfect is used: Past Simple is used:
• for complete past actions connected to the • for complete past actions not connected
present with a stated or unstated time to the present with a stated or implied
reference. time reference.
She has gone to Madrid. (unstated time; we don't She went to Madrid last year. (When? Last
know when she went - she's still there) year. The time is stated.)
Jim has typed five letters this morning. (stated time; Jim typed five letters yesterday morning.
it's still morning - action connected to the present) (When? Yesterday morning.)
I've spoken to Prince Charles. (He's still alive - She once spoke to James Dean. (action not
action connected to the present) connected to the present - James Dean is
dead.)
He has lived in Spain for two years. (He's in Spain She lived in France for three years. (She doesn't
now. - action connected to the present) live in France now. - action not connected to
the present)
• to announce news or give new information. • to give additional details of a news story.
The Prime Minister has decided to call a general He announced the decision to Parliament this
election. morning.

15 Fill in with the present perfect or the past simple.

A: .... . DMy<?u fJ.{{'C; • •••• (you/see) the Jackie Chan film on TV last night?
B: No. But I .................. , .. , ... (already/see) all of his films on DVD this year.
2 A: I ....•.................•.. (already/go) to the cinema three times this month. What about you?
B: Not once! But last month , I ......................... (go) five times.

3 A: ......................... (you/ever read) The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde?

B: Yes. We ......................... (read) it in school last year.
4 A: George and I ................. (have) dinner at that new Vietnamese restaurant in town last night.
B: Really? I .............•.•......... (never/try) Vietnamese food before. What's it like?
A: Delicious. In fact, we ........•••••.... (already/make) a reservation to eat there again next week.

Fill in with the past simple or the past perfect.

The biggest event in Tom's life 1) ... bi1p.p.~t;lv.c.:j... (happen) by

chance. He 2) ........................ (be) 22 years old and he
3) ..•..........•...•.... (just/graduate) from university. He was looking
fo r a job. He 4) .................... (want) to be a journalist but he
5) .................... (know) he 6) ........................... (not/have)
enough experience. You see, as a student, he 7) ............................. .
(spend) most of his time in the university theatre. He 8) ...•.........•...•.........
(apply) to many newspapers but he 9) ............................. (not/receive) any replies.
Then one day, the phone 10) ............................... (ring) . It was a woman who
11) .......................... (otTer) him a job as an actor. She 12) .......................... (see)
him in a play at the university and 13) ............................... (enjoy) the performance. He
14) ......................... (take) the job and ever since then he's been a very successful actor. Last
night he 15) ......................... (discover) he 16) ......................... (win) an award for
his performance in the play.

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 o Tense Forms

Used to - Be used to + -ing form / noun / pronoun - Would - Was going to

• Used to expresses past habits, regularly repeated actions in the past or past states.
She used to tell me stories. (ALSO: would tell me .. .)
He used to live in the country. (NOT: weI::JI€i - state)
He used to have a beard. (NOT: weI::JI€i - state)
• Would expresses regularly repeated actions and routines in the past. (Stative verbs are not
used with 'would.')
Mum would always make me a big breakfast. (ALSO: Mum used to make .. .)
• Be used to means 'be accustomed to', 'be in the habit of'.
She isn't used to living in tropical climates. (= she isn't accustomed to living .. .)
• Was going to expresses actions one intended to do but didn't.
She was going to move to London but then she decided to stay in York.

17 Write sentences using used to.

ten Vears ago NOW

he was overweight. he is thin .
he had long hair. he has got short hair.
he didn't wear glasses. he wears glasses.
he rode a bicycle. he drives a car.
he didn't wear suits. he wears suits .

. }:/e;.l)f3.C:ci .1;0. fl~. oye;rwt:&abt.fll)t. l1tJ.w. be;. i~ .t.hin. .........................................•...........

18 Fill in: used to, be used to, would or was going to.

~. ._ _- - - - - - - - -Although my friend Tom has lived in

the city for three years, he still 1) . i£?t(t< .LJ£?~v{ tP. . it. He 2) ••.....•..
.. .. .. .. .... ...... live in the country so he 3) ......................... living
in a more peaceful environment. His first few days in the city were so unpleasant that he
4) .........•............... move straight back home, but he found a job and decided to stay.
That's when I met him. He 5) .•....................... come into the office with his coffee every
morning and he 6) .•.•...•••••.•...•••.•.•. often stop and talk for a while about what his life
7) ....••......••.... be like in the country. His family 8) .................. .
have their own vegetable garden and his mother 9) ........•................
prepare wonderful meals. In autumn, they 10) .............................. ..
go for long walks and they 11) .................................... ..
collect wild mushrooms. Tom made it sound so wonderful that, at one
point last year, I 12) ......................... quit my job and leave the

...........-- .....
city forever. But I didn't. I 13) ....•.........•.. • ..•.•........
the noise and excitement of the city and I know I wouldn 't feel
at home in the country.

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