Share PAST TENSES AND PRESENT PERFECT - THEORY
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It is used to talk about a completed action, event or situation at a particular time in the past.
PAST SIMPLE - "The train LEFT at 8.30 am"
It is used to talk about repeated actions in the past.
PAST SIMPLE - "We WENT to the beach at weekends in the summer"
It cannot be used with stative verbs (be, know, love, etc.), which describe a state rather than an action
PAST CONTINUOUS / PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS / PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS
It is used to talk about a situation or action in progress around a point in time in the past
PAST CONTINUOUS - "I WAS LIVING in London when Prince William married Kate Middleton"
It is used to talk about a situation or action in progress that is interrupted by another event
PAST CONTINUOUS - "While I WAS THINKING about the problem, I suddenly had the most amazing idea."
It is used to emphasise that two situations or events were happening simultaneously
PAST CONTINUOUS - "While I WAS TRYING to phone her, she WAS TRYING to phone me!"
It is used with "always" and "forever" to talk about repeated actions or behaviour.
PAST CONTINUOUS - "She WAS always OFFERING to babysit so that my husband and I could go out."
It is used to talk about past events or situations in a time period that extends from the past up to the presen
PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE - "I HAVE BEEN to Russia three times since 2003. I went last in 2013. "
It is used to talk about an event in the past that has a result in the present.
PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE - "Cancel the skiing trip - I HAVE BROKEN my leg"
It is used to talk about the duration of an event or situation which started in the past and extends up to the present.
PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE - "I HAVE LIVED here since I was four."
It is used to talk about past events which continue up to the present or up to a time in the recent past.
PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS - "I'VE BEEN WATCHING this film on TV but I'm going to turn it off if something doesn't happen soon."
It is used to talk about repeated past events in a time period that extends up to the present.
PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS - "The car has been breaking down a lot recently"
It is used to talk about an event, action or behaviour in the recent past that has a result in the present. The action may be finished or unfinished.
PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS - "You look exhausted. HAVE YOU BEEN working hard?"
It refers to actions or events before a particular time (or before another event or action) in the past.
PAST PERFECT SIMPLE - "He asked me when exactly I HAD first HEARD about the problem"
It refers to actions or events up to a
particular time (or up to another event or action) in the past.
PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS - "They HAD BEEN PLANNING their expedition for months before
I joined their team"
