P as as t t e n s e s We ofte often n use use the the past past simp simple le tens tense e for for sing single le comp complleted events ents and and past past stat state es and we use use the past past conti ontinu nuou ous s for for temp tempor orar ary y or inte interr rrup upte ted d acti action ons. s. We use use the the past past perf perfec ectt tens tense e for for acti action ons s whic which h happ happen ened ed befo before re a time time in the the past past.. This This unit unit look looks s at the the differenc differences between the the pas past and and the the pas past perf perfec ectt tens tenses es and and used to/would + infiniti infinitive. ve. (For (For uses uses of of the the pres presen entt perf perfec ectt tens tense e for for past past time time ••• •••..3.1, 3.2. For For past past forms forms whic which h refe referr to the futu futur r e (fut (futur ure e in the the past past)) ~ 5.3.)
2.1 A For m
Most Most verb verbs s add add -ed to to the the base base form form to make make the the past past simp simple le tens tense e. The The past past simp simple le tens tense e for for m is the the same ame for for all pers person ons s (ex (except ept with with the the verb be): be): watch watch - I/he/s I/he/she he/it /it/w /we/y e/you ou/th /they ey
watch watched ed; be be -I/h -I/he/ e/sh she/ e/it it
was, as, we/yo we/you/t u/the hey y
Note Note the the foll follow owiing spelling rules with -ed endings: endings: • Bas Base for forms endin nding g in a sin singl gle e stre stress ssed ed vow vowel and and a cons conson onan antt
were were
(exc (excep eptt w , x or y), y) ,
doubl double e the the cons conson onan antt, e.g. e.g. hug -+ hugged. In Brit Britis ish h Engl Englis ish, h, but but not not US Eng Engli lish sh,, we often often doub double le fina finall cons conson onan antt I, e.g. label -+ labelled.
Base Base form forms s endi ending ng in a con conso sona nant nt and and y, change change y to i, e.g. copy -+sopie -+sopied. d. -ed, e.g. go -+ went. • Irre Irregu gula larr verbs erbs do not not form form the the pas past tens tense e with with -ed, We do not not use use the the pas past form form of the the verb erb in ques questi tion ons s and negative gatives; we us use did did (not) (not) + infi infinit nitiv ive. e. We usua usually lly use use the the cont contra ract cted ed form form didn' speech h and and infor informa mall writ writin ing: g: didn't in speec )( :" :"f)id f)id--ljet ljetJ-s(lw J-s(lw--ef Hj#l Hj#l j.R j.Rfj fj-S/ -S/::.I5 I5f f Jie Jieie~ ie~
)( :"Ne;--l-did~;--l-did~-S6W-e S6W-ef/!ft: f/!ft: AiR AiRt:J t:J;-' ;-'-
V 'Did Did you you see see anyth anything ing susp suspici iciou ous? s?''
v 'No, No, I didn didn't see see anyth anythin ing. g.''
the past past simp simplle to desc descri ribe be sing single le comp complleted actions ons in the the past past:: 2.1 B "We use the Juliu Julius s Caes Caesar ar invad invaded ed Brita Britain in in 55 B e . Past ast act actions Holl Hollan and d was was occu occupi pied ed by the the Germa Germans ns in 7940. 7940. and stat state es If the the cont conte ext is clear , it is not not nece necess ssar ary y to give give a past past time time refe refere renc nce: e: Cae Caesar 's troo troops ps fail failed ed to def defea eatt the the indigen indigenous ous tribe tribes (in 55 Be).
~ We use the the past past simp simple le for for acti action ons s whic which h happ happen ene ed repeat repeated ed
at the the same time ime and als also for
action actions: s:
When hen we got got to the the jun junct ctio ion n I took took the the left left turn turn while hile M Mic icky ky took took the the righ right. t. (two
acti action ons s at the the same same time time)) My brot brothe herr appl applie ied d
peated d for for a visa visa si six time times s befor before e he got got one one. (r epeate
acti action ons) s) the the acti action ons s foll follow ow
" We We use use the the past past simp simple le for for sequ sequen ence ces s of acti action ons. s. Some Someti time mes s imme immedi diat ately ely afte afterr each each othe other r , or one one actio action n caus causes es a res resul ultt: Silve Silverm rman an ran to the car , jum jumped ped
in and and raced raced off off into into the the night night.. (sequen (sequence ce of actions actions))
Wall Wall Street Street trade traders rs lost lost a fortu fortune ne when when the Asia Asian n marke markets ts colla collaps psed ed.
(= The markets markets
coll collap apse sed d with with the the resu result lt that that the the trad trader ers s lost lost a fort fortun une. e.)) < f We We use the the past past simp simple le to desc descri ribe be stat states es in the the past: past: We
live lived d just just outsi outsid de Oxford ford in the ninetie nineties s, but we did didn' n'tt
(For (For a cont contra rast st
2.2 A For Fo r m
of the the past past simp simple le and and the the pres presen entt
We form form the the past past cont contin inuo uous us the main main verb verb:: Wh~ Wh~
have have a car car .
perf perfec ectt ~ 3.1 B, 3.2.)
with with was or were and and the the pres presen entt
the the chil childr dren en doing doing whil while e all all this this was was goin going g on? on?
part partic icip iple le
(~ 1.2A 2A)) of
There are some verbs which we rarely use in the continuous tenses, including continuous. (For more information about this ~ 1.3A B, C) 2.2B $'The past continuous Actions in progress
describes
an action in progress
the past
at a point of time in the past, i.e.
the action began before this point of time and continued after it. We didn't hear the intruder because we were sleeping on the top floor that night. At the time of our arrival the city was going through
'" We often use the past continuous changing or developing:
a period of rapid expansion.
to show that a past action was temporary,
or was
During my training I was earning a lot less than my wife. (a temporary
situation) His symptoms were becoming more pronounced each day. (a 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 city as James staggered
(darkness was descending = background; ¢l
We can use the past continuous We
were watching
James staggered = action)
for two actions in progress
the sky and listening
e We usually use the past simple for repeated
back to college.
at the same time:
for the first sounds of the dawn chorus.
actions in the past ( ~ 2.1 B), 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 chemotherapy on a weekly basis. (a repeated action) For the first three months she was receiving
(repeated 2.2C
, I t >
Interrupted actions
action,
to contrast
an ongoing action with a single event which
it. We use the past simple for the single event :
Elizabeth was hunting
when messengers arrived
Seventy cars were crossing II
on a weekly basis.
but only for three months)
We use the past continuous interrupts
chemotherapy
with the news of Mary's plot.
the bridge when the pier collapsed
into the river.
0If the
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
2.2D Other uses
He was running in the rain.
2 He had been running in the rain.
We can use the past continuous to describe past arrangements; the arranged event mayor may not have taken place. This use is similar to the 'future in the past' ( ~ 5.3): Nancy 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.)
f i 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 you would like to join us. (= Would you like to join us Were you planning on going somewhere else later? (= Are you planning on
?)
?)
We form the past perfect with had and a past participle,
2.3A
By the end of the fourth day we had exhausted
Form
I wasn't convinced that she had exhausted
Regular verbs have a past participle
which is the same for all persons
most of our rations.
all of the possibilities
at that stage.
form which is the same as the past tense form (i.e _
we add -ed to the base form 2.1 A). Irregular verbs, e.g. see, often have a past participle form, e.g. seen, which is different from the past tense form, e.g. saw. We often use the contracted form of had ('d) in spoken English:
W e were exhausted; we'd been up all night with the baby. 2.3B Actions
'b
and
We use the past perfect to describe an action which is completed
before a time in the
past. We can include a specific time reference:
states before a time in the past
By the time the UN task force arrived, the rebel forces had taken the province. i9
We can use the past perfect for repeated
actions:
The new owners found that the timbers had been patched Ci
We also use the form to describe
a state which existed
up several times.
before a past event:
At the time of her trial last year Hinkley 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 babysitter went home. (sequence: 1 we got back, 2 the babysitter went home) When we got back the babysitter
(sequence:
1 the babysitter
had gone home.
went home, 2 we got back)
~ We can use just or already with the past perfect to show that the earlier action was recent or earlier than expected: We
wanted to talk to the babysitter
but she'd just left.
When we got back we found that the babysitter IJ
We can use the past perfect
had already
gone home.
or the past simple with time conjunctions,
e.g. after,
before, as soon as, then: She ushered me out of the room as soon as I paid/had
.,0With before +
paid my subscription.
past perfect the action in the past simple happens first:
I left university before I'd taken the final exams. d
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 behaviour.
e , 0We
don't
usually use the past perfect
if the sequence is obvious
[I had opened the door and let him in.]
" We often use the past perfect to describe
2.1 B):
v I opened the door and let him in. the cause of a past event:
David didn't join the band as he'd signed up with a rivallabel.
2.3D Unf ulf illed intentions .
I We use the g
to describe
past perfect with verbs such as hope, expect, want, plan, think about, wish past intentions which were unfulfilled:
They had hoped to get to the summit but Travers fell ill at base camp.
. .. .: J D . 1 ~ ~
( ,;:::: :3 7 ;d ,
2.4A
Form
We form the past perfect
continuous
tense with had been and the present
The lake was near bursting point as it had been raining
participle:
heavily for weeks.
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: [The unemployment
figures had been being underestimated
v' They had been underestimating
the unemployment
for decades.]
figures for decades.
Ther e are some verbs which we r arely use in the continuous tenses, including the past per fect continuous. (For more infor m ation about this'" 1.3 A, B, C.) 2.4B III We use the past perf ect continuous to describe an ongoing situation or action which Uses continued up to, or stopped just before, a time in the past (j ll Io 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 sur vivors
on meagre rations since
(= They
Kubrick had been trying
to get the film made for more than twenty years .
The eager fans had been waiting
2.4C
thin. They had been living
looked thin because they had been living on meagr e rations.) We use this tense when we want to focus on duration: the accident.
< i>
looked painfully
in line for over si x hours.
We do not mention the number of times that we have done an action when we use the past perfect continuous:
Contrast with other f or ms
X d-il/-had-&f ll!j-been-wat€hing-+ V-t:wiEe-t:Rat-weelf :.
v Jill had only watched TV twice that week. (repeated action - past per f ect simple) ~ 4) We don't usually use the past perf ect continuous for completed actions, or actions and background situations still continuing at the same time as the past simple narrative: X &he-feu-flti-her-e-e5-! f -we.s-.e.mf r t:! j;-5e €f :If 'i#J-ltflfJ-been-FefflOVtRfj-eVeR j-t:f tiflfj-;-
v She found her desk was empty; security had removed (completed action = past perfect simple)
everything.
[We had been living in New York when John was made r edundant.]
v W e were living in New York when John was made redundant. (an ongoing situation which forms the background = past continuous) ~
USED
2.5 A
Used to is followed by an infinitive. Notice the spelling in questions and negatives:
Form and meaning
TO/WOULD
It used to take me over an hour to get to work. Supermarkets
didn't
use to be open on Sundays in Britain.
Did you use to get fr ee milk at school?
•• 4) Don't confuse used to + infinitive with be/get used to (+ verb -ing) which means 'be/become accustomed to': I used 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 used to the new technology. (= She is becoming accustomed to it.) 2.5B ~ 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: They used to get paid every three months. (Now they get paid weekly.) We would get up early every Sunday to go to church. (We don't now.) To avoid confusion with other uses of would, we usually mention the past time or situation: 6 >
He would give her a lift to wor k in the days befor e she passed her test.
(For other uses of would ••• 10.4, 10.5, 10.6; ••• 18.2B, 18.3B, 18.4, 18.5.) 2.5C
use to be any crime around her e in the old days. (There is now.)
~ 4) We cannot use would for past states: X Fr ance WOY/d be a menaFEh-y-bl:ft-new it:'s a re p u lJl -i€ .: .
v France
used
to be
a monar chy
but now it's a r epublic.
~ Pages 70 and 71 for Round up of pr esent
and past tenses
Practice Match the underlined
phrases
(1-10)
with the explanations
(A-E), Each explanation
matches two
phrases,
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 A B C D E
They r an the same test eight times before they found the bug in the software. Food was in shor t supply throughout the war . It was quite unnerving. The lights flickered while a freezing wind blew through the room. Clair e jumped out of her chair, ran to the balcony and grabbed the screaming child. Lor enzo the Magnificent died in Florence in 1492. Diplodocus dinosaur s dominated the Triassic per iod. W e had a busy morning. Steve answer ed the phone calls and I dealt with the e-mails. The Court of Appeal rejected his case on technical grounds. I'm sick of it, I can't tell you how many times we tried to contact them. I threw open the doors and walked out into the bright morning sunshine. A single or completed action in the past. A sequence of actions in the past. Two actions which happened at the same time in th~ past. Repeated actions in the past. A state in the past.
announce blow collapse cook decide f eel get up have hit leave live manage mention press r un into see set off settle down soar spend stand take 1 I at the bus stop when I the speeding car slam into the lamp post. 2 The icy wind through the trees as we on our journey into the forest. 3 Br ad exhausted so he onto the sofa, the button on the r emote control and .......... for an evening vegetating in front of the box. 4 The twins the afternoon shopping because they for their flatmates that evening. S Unfortunately for us, we on the wrong side of Miami when Hur ricane Andrew . the city. 6 Share prices when the government record growth figures. 7 I early the next morning so I to have an early night. 8 They say that he her because he found out that she an affair with his best f ri end. 9 My younger br other the driving test five times before he to pass. 10 I Clare at the super market the other day and she that you might be looking for work.
A I f elt sick when I ate the pudding. B I f elt sick when I'd eaten the pudding.
2 A When we r etur ned to our hotel room, the maid made the bed. B When we returned to our hotel room, the
5 A The show star ted
when we got there.
B The show had star ted
when we got there.
6 A I hoped to get a good result. B I had hoped to get a good result.
maid had made the bed.
7 A I watched TV when Jane called r ound. B I was watching TV when Jane called round. 3 A I explained to my host that I'd been repair ing the c ar . B I explained to my host that I was repair ing the car.
8 A Car ri e was excited because she was travelling to Jamaica. B Car rie was excited because she had travelled 4 A 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.
to Jamaica.
4ED~==---Underline
the most suitable
ver b form
in italics.
1 So I turned/had tur ned on my heels and walked out of the shop in disgust. 2 When we got to the station the tr ain had just leftljust left, so we missed our connection. 3 The mechanics had been taking/had taken the engine apart sever al times before they were able to locate the source of the mysterious rattle. 4 By 1492 the Spanish had expelled/had been expelling the Moor s from the mainland entirely. 5 She was surprised to find the f ridge empty; the childr en had eaten/had been eating everything! 6 Our lead actor turned up and he was word per fe ct; appar ently he was pr actising/had been practising his lines all day. 7 The children wanted to go to the circus but their father alr eady booked/had alr eady booked tickets f or the ice-skating spectacular . 8 Debbie couldn't understand why her computer crashed; it had been working/was working perf ectly for as long as she could r emember . 9 My niece's riding accident was r ather a setback because she hoped/had hoped to pursue a car eer as a ballet dancer. 10 Mrs Lawson arrived at casualty in quite a state; she suffer ed/had been suff ering from severe stomach
pains for hours.
In 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 (1-18) underline the mistake and write the correct form. Some lines are cor r ect. Indicate these with a tick (v'). The exercise begins with two examples (0 and 00).
v' .......................
o Anne Frank was a Jewish girl who was living with her family in Amsterdam 00 when the Ger mans were invading Holland 1 intr oduced 2 tamps
harsh anti-Jewish
iJwa.ded .... .... . ... . ........ . .
in 1940. The German author ities
laws and started
to depor t
Jews to concentr ation
in Easter n Eur ope. In July 1'942 Anne's father did hear a r umour that he
3 w~s. going to be ar re sted
by the police and the f amily r esolved to f ind a hiding
4 place. They moved into an attic above Mr Frank's off ice and build a bookcase 5 to disguise the entrance 6 f amily each morning,
to the secret apartment. Friends would bring food to the
and they use to keep up to date with the news by listening to
7 the BBe on a small radio. Anne would have no f ri ends her own age, so she 8 confided
her f eelings to a diary. In August another
9 Fr anks with their sixteen-year-old
son Peter . Peter was telling Anne that the
10 Ger mans had been sending Jews to concentr ation 11 and Peter wer e becoming 12 the secr et apar tment
Jewish family joined the camps and killing them. Anne
very fond of each other in the cramped
conditions
of
and had helped each other with their lessons. But somebody
13 had given away the family's secr et. The Ger man police had been watched the 14 hiding place for sever al days and on August 15 all the occupants.
14th 1944 they burst in and ar r ested
The Germans were sending Anne to the Belsen concentr ation
16 camp and she was killed in February
or March
1945, only a month or six weeks
17 before the Br itish ar m y arrived. Anne's father was taken to Auschwitz 18 sur vived the war . He found Anne's diar y and had published
it in 1947.
and
Complete the text b.y w ri ti ng t he v er bs i n br ac ket s
i n t he c or r ect tense. Read through the whole
t ex t b ef or e y ou b eg m as y ou m ay n eed t o u se p as si ve f or ms an d
used to/would
in your answers.
T HE T RU E S TO RY O F
T RE AS URE
I S L AND
T
reasure I sland is one of the best k nown and most
loved child ren's adventur e stor ies. It (1) ( be) first pu blished in 1883 but r emains po pular to this d ay. Peo ple (2) (think ) that the stor y was solely the work of Stevenson's imagination, but r ecent r esearch has uncover ed the tr ue origin of this thrilling tale of hidd en treasure and bloodthirsty pirates. Treasure I sland's author, R ober t Louis Stevenson, (3) ( be) a Scotsman born in Ed in bur gh in 1850. (live } abr oad 10£ man y year s jJ] Alt bougb be (4/ 1881 he r eturned to the land of his birth f or a holid ay. With him (5) ( be) his American wife Fanny, ~ ••• whom he (6) (meet) five year s ear lier in France, and his ste pchild r en f ro m Fanny's first mar ri age. The location of their holiday was Braemar in the rugged Scottish Highlands. The family soon settled into a relaxing routine. Each mor ning Stevenson (7) . (get u p) ear ly and tak e them out for long walks over the hills. They (8) (enjoy) this f or several days when the weather sudd enly took a tur n f or the wor se. Tr a pped ind oors by the heavy r ain, Robert's twelve-year -old ste pson, Lloyd , (9) ( become) increasingly bor ed and r estless. Des perate to kee p the boy amused, R ober t (10) (get out) some dr awing paper and asked the boy to d o some painting. Af ter he (11) ( paint) f or several hours the boy (12) (return) to his ste pf ather with a beautiful colour ed ma p of a tro pical island. R o ber t noticed that his ste pson (13) (draw) a large cr oss in the middle of the island. 'What's that?' he ask ed. 'That's the bur ied treasur e,' said the boy. The thirty-one-year -old author sudd enly had a flash of ins pir ation. He (14) (recently ask ) to contribute stories to a childr en's magazine published by his f r iend W E Henley and h~ (15) ( begin) to see the germ of an ad ventur e story in the boy's picture. While the rain (16) ( beat down) on the r oof of his rented holiday cottage the author (17) (sit d own) by the f ire to write a stor y. He would make the her o a twelve-year-old boy, just lik e his own stepson. But who would be the villain of the piece? For the last four year s Henley (18) ( pu blish) Ro ber t's stor ies in his magazine, and the two had become good friends. But there was something unusual a bout Henley; as a young man one of his legs (19) (am putate) and he walked ar ound with the aid of an ar tif icial wood en leg. R o ber t (20) (always want) to includ e such a character in a stor y and thus Long John Silver, the pirate with a wood en leg, was born. So, thanks to a r ainy Se ptem ber in Scotland , a pu blisher with a wooden leg, and the inventiveness of a twelve-year -old American boy, we have one of the greatest adventur e stories in the English language. J
Complete the text b'ywriting the verbs in br ackets in the correct tense. Readthrough the whole text before you begin as you may need to use passive forms and used to/would in your answers.
T HE T R UE S TO RY O F
T RE AS URE
T
I S L AND
reasur e I sland is one of the best known and most
loved child ren's ad venture stories. It (1) ( be) first pu blished in 1883 but r emains popular to this d ay. People (2) (think ) that the stor y was solely the work of Stevenson's imagination, but recent research has uncovered the true origin of this thr illing tale of hidd en tr easur e and bloodthir sty pirates. Tr easur e Island' s author, Robert Louis Stevenson, (3) ( be) a Scotsman bor n in Edinbur gh in 1850. Although he (4) (live) a broad for many year s, in 1881 he returned to the land of his birth for a holiday. With him (5) ( be) his American wife Fanny, ~.~ . ., whom he (6) (meet) five years ear lier in Fr ance, and his stepchildr en f r om Fanny's first marriage. The location of their holiday was Br aemar in the rugged Scottish Highlands. The family soon settled into a relaxing r outine. Each morning Stevenson (7) . (get up) early and take them out for long walk s over the hills. They (8) (enjoy) this f or sever al d ays when the weather suddenly took a turn f or the worse. Trapped indoors by the heavy rain, Robert's twelve-year-old stepson, Lloyd , (9) ( become) increasingly bor ed and restless. Desperate to k ee p the boy amused , R o bert (10) (get out) some drawing pa per and ask ed the boy to d o some painting. After he (11) ( paint) for several hour s the boy (12) (r eturn) to his stepfather with a beautiful colour ed map of a tr o pical island. R o bert noticed that his stepson (13) (draw) a lar ge cr oss in the middle of the island. 'What's that?' he asked. 'That's the buried tr easure,' said the boy. The thirty-one-year-old author sudd enly had a flash of ins pir ation. He (14) (r ecently ask ) to contr ibute stories to a child re n's magazine published by his friend W E Henley and h~ (15) ( begin) to see the germ of an adventure stor y in the boy's pictur e. While the rain (16) ( beat down) on the roof of his r ented holiday cottage the author (17) (sit down) by the fir e to write a story. He would make the her o a twelve-year-old boy, just like his own stepson. But who would be the villain of the piece? For the last four year s Henley (18) ( publish) Rober t's stories in his magazine, and the two had become good f riends. But ther e was something unusual about Henley; as a young man one of his legs (19) (amputate) and he walk ed around with the aid of an artif icial wooden leg. Rober t (20) (always want) to includ e such a char acter in a stor y and thus Long John Silver , the pirate with a wooden leg, was born. So, thank s to a r ainy Se ptember in Scotland, a publisher with a wood en leg, and the inventiveness of a twelve-year -old American boy, we have one of the gr eatest ad venture stories in the English language.
