The use of Past Tense

Revision of present tense

Recall what are the three types of present tense

1) Simple present

2) Present continuous

3) Present perfect

Give an example in a proper sentence for each type.

The Past Tense

Simple PastPast ContinuousPast PerfectPast Perfect Continuous

Simple Past

The simple past is used to :

1) Show that an action has been completed in the past, and more often than not, a specific time is mentioned in the sentence.

E.g. We went to Japan last year. The men died when the bomb exploded.

Question: Which tense do we use then when a specific time is not mentioned in the sentence?

Sample Activity

Fill in the blanks with either the simple past or present perfect.

a) I _______ (be) sick last week but I ________ (recover).

b) The new vice-principal ________ (arrive) yesterday. ________ you _______ (meet) him yet?

c) I _______ lost in the forest until a man hunting for food ________ (see) me. I soon __________ (realise) that the man _____ (be) a cannibal. He ________ (decide) to cook me for dinner and as such, this shall be my last diary entry.

The Past Continuous

The Past Continuous is used to:a) Describe an action that was happening at a

certain time in the past E.g. I was playing the guitar last night.

b) Show that two continuous actions were happening at the same time E.g. I was playing the guitar last night while my family was sleeping.

c) Indication how an action was going on when another took place E.g. I was cycling along the road when a car suddenly appeared.

Examples

Construct a sentence using continuous tense for each of the three conditions

Past Perfect

The past perfect tense is used to:

a) Show that one action happened before another E.g. Her fever had subsided by the time her parents came home.

b) Refer to conditions in the pastE.g. If I had been more careful, I would not have lost my wallet.

Past Perfect Continuous

The Past Perfect Continuous is used to:

a) Highlight than an action in the past was continuous, but it does not denote a completion of an event.E.g. He had been studying for months before his exams, therefore it was natural that he scored ‘A’s.

Task

Write continuously for FIVE beginning with:

“Leave and never come back again!” Edit what you have written and make sure

that you only used past tense in your writing.

Submit it to Mr Kang by Monday 28 Sept 2009.