Grammar: Past Tense | Simple, Continuous, Perfect and Perfect Continuous

Grammar: Tense

1.    Past Tense

A.   Simple Past
The Simple Past Tense of regular verbs is formed by adding ‘ed’ or ‘d’ to the

Infinitive.

l/We/You/He/She/It/ They/ Singular and Plural nouns + (v²)

Simple Past is used:

ü  To express actions completed at the time of speaking. It can take such adverbials as yesterday, just now, last night/week/ month, ago, when, while, until, before, after, once, as soon as, etc.
The ship sailed yesterday.

He left college last year.

ü  To denote past habits with the same adverbials used in the simple present
He got angry every time l asked for money.

B.   Past Continuous
The Past Continuous Tense is formed with was/were + present participle(v⁴ )

l/He/She/It was + present participle (v⁴)

We/You/ They were + present participle (v⁴)

Past Continuous is used:

ü  To express past actions which continued for some time. It is used with clauses introduced by the adverbials while, when, at this time yesterday, all yesterday, last week, etc. or without any time expressions

I was washing my hands when the telephone rang.

She was drawing a picture at this time yesterday.
Ram was walking all night. It was getting darker and darker.

ü  To denote the idea that the action in the past continuous started before the action in the simple past (when + simple past, ______ + past continuous)
When the bell rang, we were entering the class.
When I reached home, my wife was cooking.

But for two successive actions in the past we use when + simple past ______ + simple past.
When the bell rang, we entered the class.

C.   Past Perfect
The Past Perfect Tense is formed with had + past participle (v³) for all persons:
l/We/You/He/She/It/They had + (v³)

Past Perfect is used:

ü  To denote a completed action before a moment in the past

I met Indira in Delhi in 1980.
We had seen the actress three years before.

ü  To show which of the two actions in the past happened earlier than the other

Note that the Simple Past is used in one clause and the Past Perfect in the other. Such compound sentences contain when, after, before, until, as soon as, etc.
My sister came home after she had left the school.
I had already finished my work before he arrived.
When we reached the bus stand, the bus had left.

D.   Past Perfect Continuous
The Past Perfect Continuous Tense is formed with had been present participle (v⁴) for all persons.
l/We/You/He/She/It/They/ Singular and Plural nouns had been +present participle
My brother had been studying in this school for seven years.  

This tense is used for an action which began in the past and went on up to that time.
When he came to Nepal in 2000, Rajesh had already been working there for six years.