ALL PAST Verb Tenses: Simple, Progressive, Perfect and Perfect Continuous

ALL PAST Verb Tenses: Simple, Progressive, Perfect and Perfect Continuous 70 examples + Diagrams

Explanation + Extra Activities

Here’s an easy explanation of ALL PAST verb tensesSimple, Progressive, Perfect, and Perfect Progressive:

1️⃣ Simple Past Tense

When to use:

  • We use the Simple Past to talk about actions that happened and finished at a specific time in the past.

Structure:
Subject + verb in past form

Examples:

  • I visited my grandma yesterday.
    (The action happened and finished yesterday.)
  • They played soccer last weekend.

Key Words:
Yesterday, last week, two days ago, in 1995, etc.


2️⃣ Past Progressive Tense (also called Past Continuous)

When to use:

  • We use the Past Progressive to talk about actions that were happening at a specific moment in the past.
  • It’s often used when a shorter action interrupts a longer action.

Structure:
Subject + was/were + verb (ing)

Examples:

  • I was reading a book when the phone rang.
    (The reading was happening, then the phone rang.)
  • They were eating dinner at 7 p.m. yesterday.

Key Words:
At 5 p.m., when, while


3️⃣ Past Perfect Tense

When to use:

  • We use the Past Perfect to talk about an action that happened before another action or time in the past.
  • Think of it as the “past of the past.”

Structure:
Subject + had + past participle of the verb

Examples:

  • By the time I arrived at the party, they had already left.
    (They left before I arrived.)
  • She had finished her homework before dinner.

Key Words:
Before, by the time, already, just


4️⃣ Past Perfect Progressive Tense (also called Past Perfect Continuous)

When to use:

  • We use the Past Perfect Progressive to talk about an action that started before a point in the past and continued up until that point (or just before it).
  • It emphasizes how long the action was happening before something else happened.

Structure:
Subject + had been + verb (ing)

Examples:

  • I had been waiting for 2 hours when the bus finally arrived.
    (I was waiting for a long time before the bus came.)
  • She had been studying all night before the test.

Key Words:
For, since, before, until


Summary of Differences:

  • Simple Past: Talks about a completed action at a specific time.
    • Example: “I played soccer yesterday.”
  • Past Progressive: Talks about an action that was happening at a certain time, often interrupted.
    • Example: “I was playing soccer when it started raining.”
  • Past Perfect: Talks about an action that happened before another past action.
    • Example: “I had played soccer before I did my homework.”
  • Past Perfect Progressive: Talks about an action that was happening for some time before another past event.
    • Example: “I had been playing soccer for two hours when it started raining.”

Extra Practice!

Here is an ESL quiz covering all the uses of past tense verbs: Simple, Progressive, Perfect, and Perfect Progressive. The quiz is divided into 3 levels: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced. Each level has 15 questions, with the difficulty increasing in complexity. The answers are provided at the end of each level.

BEGINNER LEVEL:

  1. She ______ (watch) TV when I called her last night.
    a) watched
    b) was watching
    c) had watched
  2. They ______ (visit) their grandparents last weekend.
    a) visited
    b) were visiting
    c) had been visiting
  3. I ______ (not / see) him since last summer.
    a) didn’t see
    b) hadn’t seen
    c) wasn’t seeing
  4. We ______ (play) basketball for two hours before it started raining.
    a) played
    b) had played
    c) had been playing
  5. The kids ______ (sleep) when their mom got home.
    a) slept
    b) were sleeping
    c) had slept
  6. She ______ (already / finish) her homework before dinner.
    a) finished
    b) had finished
    c) was finishing
  7. I ______ (work) in that company for three years when I quit.
    a) worked
    b) had worked
    c) was working
  8. He ______ (not / eat) breakfast this morning.
    a) didn’t eat
    b) hadn’t eaten
    c) wasn’t eating
  9. When the teacher came in, the students ______ (talk).
    a) talked
    b) were talking
    c) had talked
  10. By the time we arrived at the party, everyone ______ (leave).
    a) left
    b) had left
    c) was leaving
  11. They ______ (swim) in the pool yesterday.
    a) swam
    b) were swimming
    c) had swum
  12. I ______ (finish) my project last night.
    a) finished
    b) had finished
    c) was finishing
  13. We ______ (study) for two hours when she called.
    a) studied
    b) had studied
    c) had been studying
  14. He ______ (not / visit) his friend in a long time.
    a) hadn’t visited
    b) didn’t visit
    c) wasn’t visiting
  15. I ______ (write) a letter when the lights went out.
    a) wrote
    b) was writing
    c) had written

Answers (Beginner):

  1. b, 2. a, 3. b, 4. c, 5. b, 6. b, 7. b, 8. a, 9. b, 10. b, 11. a, 12. a, 13. c, 14. a, 15. b

INTERMEDIATE LEVEL:

  1. We ______ (talk) about it for hours before we finally made a decision.
    a) talked
    b) had talked
    c) had been talking
  2. He ______ (live) in Spain for three years when he moved to Italy.
    a) lived
    b) had lived
    c) had been living
  3. By the time the show ended, I ______ (already / see) it three times.
    a) already saw
    b) had already seen
    c) was seeing
  4. She ______ (try) to solve the problem for two days before she asked for help.
    a) tried
    b) had tried
    c) had been trying
  5. When I woke up, it ______ (rain) for hours.
    a) rained
    b) had rained
    c) had been raining
  6. They ______ (finish) the book before the deadline.
    a) finished
    b) had finished
    c) were finishing
  7. I ______ (not / see) my cousins for years before the reunion.
    a) didn’t see
    b) hadn’t seen
    c) wasn’t seeing
  8. We ______ (wait) for the bus when it started snowing.
    a) waited
    b) were waiting
    c) had waited
  9. She ______ (already / cook) dinner when I got home.
    a) cooked
    b) had cooked
    c) had been cooking
  10. By the time we got to the restaurant, the kitchen ______ (close).
    a) closed
    b) had closed
    c) was closing
  11. He ______ (read) the book before watching the movie.
    a) read
    b) had read
    c) was reading
  12. They ______ (run) in the park for an hour before they stopped.
    a) ran
    b) had run
    c) had been running
  13. I ______ (clean) the house when my friends arrived.
    a) cleaned
    b) had cleaned
    c) was cleaning
  14. She ______ (work) all day before she took a break.
    a) worked
    b) had worked
    c) had been working
  15. We ______ (see) the movie twice before we understood it.
    a) saw
    b) had seen
    c) had been seeing

Answers (Intermediate):

  1. c, 2. b, 3. b, 4. c, 5. c, 6. b, 7. b, 8. b, 9. b, 10. b, 11. b, 12. c, 13. c, 14. c, 15. b

ADVANCED LEVEL:

  1. By the time they got back from vacation, they ______ (spend) all their money.
    a) spent
    b) had spent
    c) had been spending
  2. He ______ (work) at the company for 10 years before he retired.
    a) worked
    b) had worked
    c) had been working
  3. We ______ (discuss) the project for weeks before we presented it.
    a) discussed
    b) had discussed
    c) had been discussing
  4. When we arrived, the guests ______ (already / leave).
    a) had already left
    b) left
    c) were leaving
  5. She ______ (live) in the city for 5 years before moving to the countryside.
    a) lived
    b) had lived
    c) had been living
  6. The teacher ______ (already / give) us the instructions before the test started.
    a) gave
    b) had given
    c) had been giving
  7. They ______ (talk) for hours before they realized it was late.
    a) talked
    b) had talked
    c) had been talking
  8. I ______ (work) on my assignment when the power went out.
    a) worked
    b) had worked
    c) was working
  9. We ______ (not / hear) the news before it was announced.
    a) hadn’t heard
    b) didn’t hear
    c) wasn’t hearing
  10. The team ______ (prepare) for the game for weeks before it got canceled.
    a) prepared
    b) had prepared
    c) had been preparing
  11. By the time the rain stopped, we ______ (drive) for hours.
    a) drove
    b) had driven
    c) had been driving
  12. He ______ (study) French for years before he became fluent.
    a) studied
    b) had studied
    c) had been studying
  13. When she called, I ______ (cook) dinner.
    a) cooked
    b) had cooked
    c) was cooking
  14. They ______ (repair) the car for hours when they realized they needed new parts.
    a) repaired
    b) had repaired
    c) had been repairing
  15. By the time we reached the summit, we ______ (hike) for 8 hours straight.
    a) hiked
    b) had hiked
    c) had been hiking

Answers (Advanced):

  1. b, 2. b, 3. c, 4. a, 5. c, 6. b, 7. c, 8. c, 9. a, 10. c, 11. c, 12. c, 13. c, 14. c, 15. c
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