the difference in past tenses

Past tenses

The past simple is used to refer to:

1 completed actions which happened at a specific time.

I went to the cinema last night.

2 completed actions and situations which happened over a specific period of time.

I lived and worked in Germany for three years.

3 habitual actions or behaviour in the past.

We played football in the street when I was a child.

4 a series of consecutive events in the past.

he kissed her, said goodbye and closed the door.

B

The past continuous is used to refer to:

1 temporary activities or situations in progress at a particular moment in the past.

This time last week we were sitting on the beach.

2 a past activity or situation which was already in progress when another action occurred (the activity or situation in progress may or may not continue).

I was reading to my son when the lights went out.

3 activities or situations occurring at the same time.

Ann was cutting the grass while I was cooking.

4 the background events in a narrative.

It was snowing heavily and a cold wind was blowing.

My brother and I were reading in front of the fire. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door ...

C

The past perfect is used to:

1 show that a past action or situation occurred before another past action or situation.

When I saw Tim, he had just passed his driving test.

2 We use the continuous form to emphasize the duration of the first past action or situation.

She had been waiting for over two hours when he phoned to say he couldn't come.

D

Time linkers

1 The past perfect is often used with time linkers, e.g after, before, by the time, as soon as, once, when, until

I couldn't go out until I had done my homework.

2 The past simple can be used if the order of events is clear:

He sold his house before he left the country.

or if the second event occurred as a result of the first.

When I realized what time it was, I ran outside.

3

After/afterwards meaning

After is used to show the order of two or more events in the same sentence.

After he'd cleaned the house, he went shopping.

Aftenwards means after that and can go at the beginning or the end of a clause.

We had lunch and afterwards we went for a walk.

They sent the result slip in September and I received the certificate two months afterwards.

NB

after would not be correct in these two sentences.

4

At last/in the end/at the end meaning

At last suggests that something good happens after a long period of time or more than one attempt.

I've passed the FCE at last! I failed twice before!

In the end has a similar meaning and may also suggest there have been one or more changes or problems. The result may be good or bad.

The car broke down several times on the way but we got there in the end.

NB

eventually can also be used in this sentence.

At the end means at the point when something finishes. hand in your books at the end of the lesson.

5

When/Just/while meaning and usage

These can all be used with the past continuous to introduce an action which was already in progress when another action occurred,

As/When/While I was running, I saw a rabbit.

6

During/in/for meaning and usage

These are all used as prepositions when referring to time, and are followed by a noun. During and in are used to say when something happened.

It rained a lot during/in the night.

For is used to say how long something look or lasted.

We went to Spain for two weeks during the summer.

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