Learning English

It's all in the past

We tell stories and anecdotes all the time. Maybe we're telling stories to our children, telling an amusing anecdote to entertain our friends or even simply saying what we did at the weekend.

One thing is common to all these different kinds of stories. That's the past. They all happened in the past. Therefore,  it's very important to know the past verb forms and use them correctly. 

Can you identify the past verb forms in the following paragraph?

I was walking down the street to the shops. I hadn't been walking for very long when it started to pour down. I had forgotten to bring my umbrella so I got drenched. 

was walking = past continuous

hadn't been walking = past perfect continuous

started = past simple

had forgotten = past perfect simple

got = past simple

Read the text and complete the activity

Past forms, a reminder

The past simple is used when there is a completed action in the past.

• It started to pour down. (The starting of the rain is a finished event in the past)
  I got drenched. (Getting drenched is a finished event in the past)

The past perfect simple is used to show that one action in the past happened before another action in the past.

• I had forgotten to bring my umbrella. (Forgetting the umbrella happened before the rain started)

The continuous verb forms are used when actions continued for a period of time and when actions in the past are interrupted by other actions.

• I was walking down the street to the shops. (The activity of walking continued for a period of time)
• I hadn't been walking for very long when it started to pour down. (The walk started before and was in progress when the rain started)

To do

In the activity you are going to read about a fishing trip. In each part of the story choose the correct verb form to complete the sentence. 

Next

You've seen the past verb forms that we use to tell stories. Now you are ready to learn about how we can also use the present to talk about the past. Yes, really!