We 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
diiferences between the past and the past perfect tenses and used tolwould + infinitive
(For uses of the present perfect tense for past time ::,,. 3.1 ,3.2. For past forms which
refer to the future (future in the past) \ 5.-.,

PAST SIMPLE
2.1 A Most verbs add -ed to the base form to make the past simple tense. The past simple
Form tense form is the same for all persons (except with the verb beJ:
watch - tlhelshelitlwelgoultheg watched; be - llhelshelit was, welgoultheg were
Note the following spelling rules with -ed endings:
. Base forms ending in a single stressed vowel and a consonant (except w, x or g),
double the consonant, e.g. hug ' hugged.
ln British English, but not US English, we often double final consonant /, e.g. label '
labelled.
' Base forms ending in a consonant and g, change g to I' e.g. copA 4 copied'
' lrregular 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:
X |Did.uo* scw atry+hing. suspieious? : X N o ; 1 did*+ saw. angthing,:
:

/'DidAouseeonAthingsuspicious?'/'No,ldidn'tseeangthing''
2.18 We use the past simple to describe single completed actions in the past:
Past actions Julius Caesar invaded Britain in 55 ac-
and states Holtand was occupied bg the Cermans in 1940'
lf 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 ac) .
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 Mickg took the right. (two
actions at the same time)
Mg brother applied for a visa six times before he got one. (repealed actions)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 roced off into the night. (sequence of actions)
Walt Street traders lost a fortune when the Asian markets collapsed. (= The markets
collapsed with the result that the traders lost a fortune.)
We use the past simple to describe states in the past:
We lived just outside Oxford in the nineties, but we didn't have a car.
(For a contrast of the past simple and the present perfect tr 5.18, 3'2.)

:, PAST CONTINUOUS
2.2A We form the past continuous with r..vas or were and the present participle (r" l.2A) of
Form the main verb:
What were the children doing while all this was going on?

54
 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.J
2.28 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 heor the intruder because we were sleeping on the top floor that night.
At the time of our arrivat the citg 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 mg training lwas earning a tot less than mg wife. (a temporary situation)
His sgmptoms were becoming more pronounced each daa. @ 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 citg as Jomes staggered back to college.
(darkness was descending -- background; James staggered = action)
We can use the past continuous for two actions in progress at the same time:
We were watching the skg and tistening for the first sounds of the dqwn chorus.
We usually use the past simple for repeated actions in the past 1' 2.18), 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 chemotherapA on a weehlg basis. (a repeated action)
For the first three months she was receiving chemotherapA on a weeklg basis.
(repeated action, but only for three monthsJ
2.2C We use the past continuous to contrast an ongoing action with a single event which
I nterrupted interrupts it. We use the past simple for the single event:
actions Etizabeth was hunting when messengers arrived with the news of Marg's plot.
Seventg cars were crossing the bridge when the pier collapsed into the river.
lp tt tne 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 may or may not have taken place. This use is similar to the 'future in the past' (':"' 5'5):
Nancg 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.)
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 gou would tihe to join us' (= 1ry6u16 you like to join us "'?)
Were gou planning on going somewhere else later? (= Are you planning on ...?)

55
 PAST PERFECT
2.34 We form the past perfect with had and a past participle, which is the same for all persons
Form BA the end of the fourth dag we had exhausted most of our rations.
I wasn't convinced that she had exhousted all of the possibilities ot thot 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 S. 2.1A). lrregular verbs, e.g. see, often have a past
participle form, e.g. seen, which is different from the past tense form, e.g sow.
We often use the contracted form of had ('d) in spoken English:
We were exhausted; we'd been up all night with the babg.

2.38 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 Bg the time the I,JN task force arrived, the rebel forces had taken the province.
a time in the We can use the past perfect for repeated actions:
Past The new owners found that the timbers had been patched up several times.
We also use the form to describe a state which existed before a past event:
At the time of her trial last gear Hinhleg had been in prison for eight months.
2.3C We can use the past perfect to make a sequence of events clear. We use the past
Sequence in perfect for the earlier action and the past simple for the later. compare:
the past When we got back the bobAsitter went home.
{sequence: 1 we got back, 2 the babysitter went home)
When we got back the babgsitter had gone home.
(sequence: 1 the babysitter went home, 2 we got backJ
We can use iusf or alreadg with the past perfect to show that the earlier action was
recent or earlier than exPected:
We wanted to talh to the babgsitter but she'd iust left.
When we got bock we found thot the babgsitter had alreadg gone home.
We can use the past perfect or the past simple with time conjunctions, e.g. after,
before, as soon as, then:
She ushered me outof the room as soon as lpaidlhad paid mg subscription.
O Witfr before + past perfect the action in the past simple happens first:
I left universitg before I'd taken the final exams.
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 behoviour.
0 We don't usually use the past perfect if the sequence is obvious (F 2.1B):
y' I opened the door and let him in.
It had opened the door and let him in.l
We often use the past perfect to describe the cause of a past event:
David didn't ioin the band as he'd signed up with a rival label'

2.3D We use the past perfect with verbs such as hope, expect, want, plan, thinls about, wish
Unfulfilled to describe past intentions which were unfulfilled:
intentions Theg had hoped to get to the summit but Travers fell ill at base camp.

,ffifil PAsr PERFEcT coNTtNuous

2.4A We form the past perfect continuous tense with had been and the present participle:
Form The take was near bursting point as it had been raining heavilg for weehs.
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:
lThe unemploament figures had been being underestimoted for decades.l
/ Theg had been underestimating the unemplogment figures for decades.
s6
 There are some verbs which we rarely use in the continuous tenses, including the past
perfect continuous. (For more information about this w' 1 '5A' B, C.)
2.48 We use the past perfect continuous to describe an ongoing situation or action which
Uses continued up to, or stopped just before, a time in the past (w 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 survivors looBed painfullg thin. Theg had been living on meagre rations since
the accident (= They looked thin because they had been living on meagre rations.)
We use this tense when we want to focus on duration:
Kubrick had been trging to get the film made for more than twentg gears.
The eager fans had been waiting in line for over six hours.

2.4C We do not mention the number of times that we have done an action when we use the
Contrast with past perfect continuous:
other forms X Jilt-hod onlg been watehing W-twiee"that week,
/ Jilt had onlg watched TV twice that weeB. (repeated action - past perfect simple)
(D We don't usually use the past perfect continuous for completed actions, or actions
and background situations still continuing at the same time as the past simple narrative:
X She foandher-desh-+as enp$'seearitg-had been-reffiwiry evergthiag.
y' She found her desk was empty; securitg hod removed evergthing.
(completed action = past perfect simple)
lWe had been living in New Yorh when John was made redundant.l
y' We were tiving in New York when John was made redundant.
(an ongoing situation which forms the backgroup6 = past continuous)

IJSED TOIWOULD
2.54 lJsed to is followed by an infinitive. Notice the spelling in questions and negatives:
Form and lt used to take me over an hour to get to work.
meaning Supermarkets didn't use to be open on Sundags in Britain.
Did gou use to get free milk ot school?
O Oon't confuse used to + infinitive with belget used to (+ verb -lng) which means
'be/become accustomed to':
lused 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 usedto the new technologg' (= She is becoming accustomed to it )

2.58 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:
Theg used to get paid everg three months. (Now they get paid weekly')
We would get up earlg everg Sundag to go to church. (We don't now')
To avoid confusion with other uses of would, we usually mention the pasttime or
situation:
He would give her a tift to work in the dags before she passed her test.
(For other uses of wouldw 1O.4, 10.5, 10.6; e 18.28, 18.3B' l8'4' l8'5')

2.5C We use used to to describe past states which have changed:

Past states Lithuania used to be part of the Soviet Union. (lt isn't now.)
There didn't use to be ang crime oround here in the old dags. (There is now.)
fO We cannot use would for past states:
X Franee-wouW*be'* monarehg-but-now i{s'a repabk'
y' France used to be a monarchg but now it's a republic.
c Pages 70 and 71 for Round up of present and past tenses
57
 Practice The heg to these exercises ts on page .554

!!$

(l-10) with the explanations (A-E). Each explanation matches two

Match the underlined phrases
phrases.
lTheyranthesametesteighttimesbeforetheyfoundthebuginthesoftware.
2 Food was in short supply throughout the war'
3 lt was quite unnerving. The lights flickered while a freezing wind blew through the room'
4 Claire iumoed out of her chair. ran to the balcony and grabbed the screaming child'
5 Lorenzo the Magnificent died ln Florence in 1492'
6 Diplodocus dinosaurs dominated the Triassic period'
7 We had a busy morning. steve answered the phone calls and I dealt
with the e-mails'
8 The Court of Appeal rejected his case on technical grounds'
9|'msickofit,lcan'ttellyouhowmanytimeswetriedtocontactthem.
10 lthrew 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 the past'
D Repeated actions in the Past.
E A state in the Past.

past continuous'
complete the sentences with suitable verbs from the box. Use the past simple or
announce blow collapse cook decide feel get up have hit leave live manage
mention press run into see set off settle down soar spend stand take

I .......... at the bus stop when I .......... the speeding car slam into the lamp post.
I
2 The icy wind .......... through the trees as we .......... on our journey into the forest.
3 Brad exhausted so he.......... onto the sofa, ..... .... the button on the remote control and
for an evening vegetating in front of the box'
4 The twins .......... the afternoon shopping because they .......... for their flatmates that evening.
5 Unfortunately for us, we on the wrong side of Miami when Hurricane Andrew
the city.
6 Share prices.......... when the government.......... record growth figures.
7 L......... early the next morning so I ........'. to have an early night'
g They say that he ...... ... her because he found out that she ...... ... an affair with his best friend.
9 My younger brother the driving test five times before he ..........to pass.
10 I .......... Clare at the supermarket the other day and she that you might be looking for work'

1,"
t
Choose the best sentence (A or B) to illustrate each picture.

IA I felt sick when I ate the pudding. 5A The show started when we got there.
B I felt sick when l'd eaten the pudding B The show had started when we got there.

B ___.rygTr_LE,!_- V
EXAIMRESULTS
l_\r
l:llF+l
ll v I

t=+ll=It

HHH
2 A When we returned to our hotel room, the 6A I hoped to get a good result.
maid made the bed. B I had hoped to get a good result.
B When we returned to our hotel room, the
maid had made the bed.

1A I watched TV when Jane called round.

B I was watching TV when Jane called round.
3A I explained to my host that I'd been
repairing the car.
B I explained to my host that I was repairing
the car.

8 A Carrie was excited because she was

travelling to Jamaica.
B Carrie was excited because she had
travelled to Jamaica.
4A By the time we arrived at the zoo the
elephants were having their bath.
B By the time we arrived at the zoo the
elephants had had their bath.
59
 Underline the most suitable verb form in italics.
I So I turnedlhad turned on my heels and walked out of the shop in disgust.
2 When we got to the station the train had just leftljust left, so we missed our connection.
3 Themechanicshadbeentakinglhodtakentheengineapartseveral timesbeforetheywereableto
locate the source of the mysterious rattle.
4 By 1492the Spanish had expelledlhad been expelling the Moors from the mainland entirely.
5 She was surprised to find the fridge empty; the children had eatenlhad been eating everythingl
6 Our lead actor turned up and he was word perfect; apparently he was practising/had been
practising his lines all day.
7 The children wanted to go to the circus but their father alreadg boohedlhad alreadg booked tickets
for the ice-skating spectacular.
8 Debbie couldn't understand why her computer crashed; it had been workinglwas worhing perfectly
for as long as she could remember.
9 My niece's riding accident was rather a setback because she hopedlhad hoped to pursue a career
as a ballet dancer.
l0 Mrs Lawson arrived at casualty in quite a state; she sufferedlhod been suffering from severe
stomach pains for hours.

{rr

ln 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 (l-18) underline the mistake and write the correct form. Some
lines are correct. lndicate these with atick(r'). The exercise begins with two examples (0 and 00).

Anne Frank
0 Anne Frank was a Jewish girl who was living with her family in Amsterdam
00 when the Cermans were invading Holland in 1940. The Cerman authorities
I introduced harsh anti*Jewish laws and started to deport Jews to concentration
2 camps in Eastern Europe. ln July I942 Anne's father did hear a rumour that he
3 was going to be arrested by the police and the family resolved to find a hiding
4 place. They moved into an attic above Mr Frank's office and build a bookcase
5 to disgulse the entrance to the secret apartment. Friends would bring food to the
6 family each morning, and they use to keep up to date with the news by listening to
7 the BBC on a small radio. Anne would have no friends her own age, so she
8 confided her feelings to a diary. ln August another Jewish family joined the
9 Franks with their sixteen-year-old son Peter. Peter was telling Anne that the
l0 Cermans had been sending Jews to concentration camps and killing them. Anne
11 and Peter were becoming very fond of each other in the cramped conditions of
12 the secret apartment and had helped each other with their lessons. But somebody
1 5 had given away the family's secret. The German police had been watched the
14 hiding place for several days and on August 14th 1944 they burst in and arrested
1 5 all the occupants. The Cermans were sending Anne to the Belsen concentration
16 camp and she was killed in February or March 1 945, only a month or six weeks
17 before the British army arrived. Anne's father was taken to Auschwitz and
18 survived the war. He found Anne's diary and had published it in 1947.

60
&d

Complete the text by writing the verbs in brackets in the correct tense. Read through the whole
text before you begin as you may need to use passive forms and used tolwould in your answers.

THE TRUE STORY OF

TREASURE ISTAT'ID
Island' is one of the best known
and most
flreasure
adventure stories' It (1) """""
(be)
I i;;J.hildr.n,
to this day'
first published in L883 but remains popular
storv was solelv the
;;;oi. (2) ......'.'. (think) that the
*ork of Stevenson's imagination, but recent research
has uncovered the ,t"t o-'igi" of this
thrilling tale of
hidden tr€asure and bloodthirsty pirates'
Treasure Island's author' Robert
Louis Stevenson'
in 1850'
(3) .......... (be) a Scotsman born in Edinburgh
for manv in
Although he (a) .......... (live) abroad ltl::'
a holidav'
;;i h; returned to the land of his birth forFanny' ,.Mi
ni^ (5) .........' (be) his American wife
Vtirf, Fannv's
ff'#i[ lli ......'... i;"J#t;;';;"1'''"'r'*
F*"'"'""1n:::'-:*i'::i:f
+;;i.]r;;l;n of their holiday was '" Braemar in the rugged scottish
[}nil?..
"t?|?l*,,y soon settled into a reraxing rourine.
Each morning Stevenson (7) """""
(getup)earlyandtakethemoutforlongwalksoverthehills.They(s).,'....'..(enjoy)
thisforseverala"y'-f"t'fteweather*aat"fytookaturnfortheworse'Trapped
(9) """"" (become)
indoors by the t.ruv ,ln, Rob.rt,,
,*.1u.-y."r-old stepson, Lloyd,
Desperate to keep the boy amused'
*:f-ttj^.,--,-^
increasingly bored and restless' palntrng'
and asked the boy to do some
(10) ...'...... (get out) some drawing paper
Afterhe(11).'........(paint)forseveralhourstheboy(12)......-..'(rerurn)tohis
noticed that his
stepfather with a b.";rii;;i;;;J;"0 oi" tropi.ul island. Robert
Stepson(13).....'....(draw)a|argecrossin.r**'aar.oftheisland..What'sthat?'he author suddenly
.That,s ,f," Uo.i.J rr."rrr.!,, said the boy. The thirty-one-year-old
asked.
(recently ask) to contribute stories to
a
had a flash of inrpi.utJ"' He
(14) (begin) to see
(15) """""
children,s magazine p"iiitft.a ty
ni, friend \( E Henley and he
thegermofn'adut"tu""o'yi"theboy'spicture'\Thiletherain(16)"""""(beat
(sit down) by the
down) on the roof of his rented holiday
author
.o,r'ur. rhe trll ,......
th. h.rJ" twelve-year-old boy' just like his own
fire to write a *orr. H. *ould make
,*pron. But who would be the villain of
the piece?
in his magazine'
For the last four years Henley
(1g) .......-. ipublish) Robert's stories
Henley;
B,lt the,. was something unusual about
and the two had become good friends. around with the
(19) """"" i"'"p**tl and he walked
as a young man one of hil legs
(20) .....:.... (always want) to include such
a
aid of an artificial wooden leg. Robert wooden leg, was born'
siiver, the pirate with a
character in a story ;;J,l-r"ri"ng John leg' and the
So, thanks to a rainy September
i" Sto't""i' " pttbli'h"t with a wooden adventure
greatest
American boy, we have one of the
inventiveness of a twelve-year-old
stories in the English language'
61