Intermediate Grammar

Intermediate · Grammar Reference

Unit 4 — Past Tenses

past simple · past continuous · used to · past perfect · passive

4.1 Narrative tenses

We use different past tenses to describe moments and periods of time in the past.

Tense	Use
Past Simple	Completed actions / main events in a story
Past Continuous	Background actions in progress / interrupted actions
Past Perfect	Actions completed before another past action

4.2 Past Simple

Form

The form is the same for all persons.

He left at three o'clock. They arrived three weeks ago.She didn't finish on time yesterday.When did he finish the report? What time did they leave?

Use — Past Simple expresses:

A finished action in the past: We met in 2000. John left two minutes ago.
Actions that follow each other in a story: Mary walked into the room and stopped. She listened carefully.
A past situation or habit: When I was a child, we lived in a small house by the sea.

This is often expressed with used to: We used to live in a small house.

Spelling of regular verbs + -ed

Rule	Example
Most verbs add -ed	worked · wanted · helped · washed
Verbs ending in -e: add -d	liked · used · hated · cared
CVC (one syllable) — double consonant + -ed	stopped · planned · robbed
Consonant + -y → -ied	carried · hurried · buried
Two-syllable: double if stress on 2nd syllable	preferred · admitted (but: entered · visited)
Vowel + -y → just add -d	enjoyed (not doubled)

4.3 Past Continuous

Form: was/were + verb + -ing

	+	–	?
I/he/she/it	was learning	wasn't learning	Were you learning?
you/we/they	were driving	weren't driving	Were they driving?

Use — Past Continuous expresses:

Activities in progress before and probably after a particular time in the past: At seven o'clock I was having breakfast.
Descriptions: It was a lovely day and the sun was shining.
An interrupted past activity: When the phone rang, I was having a shower.
An incomplete activity: I was reading a book during the flight. (didn't finish it)

4.4 Past Simple or Past Continuous?

Both tenses are possible. The Past Simple focuses on past actions as complete facts. The Past Continuous focuses on the duration of past activities, often describing being in the middle of them.

Past Simple	Past Continuous
Complete fact / short event	Duration / ongoing / in progress
A: I didn't see you at the party last night.	A: What were you doing* when the accident happened?*
B: No, I stayed* home and watched football.*	B: I was shopping.

📌 Note

Questions in the Past Simple and Continuous refer to different time periods. The Past Continuous asks about activities that began before; the Past Simple asks about what happened after.

4.5 used to

Used to expresses a habit or state in the past that is now finished.

I used to read comics when I was a kid. (but I don't now)Did you use to read comics when you were a child?This town didn't use to be a nice place, but then it changed.

4.6 Past Perfect

The Past Perfect refers to an action in the past that was completed before another action in the past.

Form: had + past participle (same for all persons)

	+	–	?
I/You/We	'd (had) left when the post came.	hadn't left	Where had you been?
Short answer	Had he already left?	Yes, he had.	No, he hadn't.

Use

Makes clear that one action in the past happened before another: When I got to my car, I saw that someone had broken into it.
Can be used to tell a story in a different order: Sue and Pete divorced last month. They'd met at university and had been together for six years.

📌 Note

Past Perfect Continuous (had been + -ing) refers to longer actions or repeated activities: We were exhausted because we'd been driving all day.

4.7 Past tenses in the passive

Past Simple passive: was/were + past participle

The museum was opened in 1987.

Past Continuous passive: was/were + being + past participle

The trees were being cut down.

Past Perfect passive: had been + past participle

The house had been redecorated.