Simple Past Tense, Present Perfect Tense, Present Perfect Continous

Simple past tense

Definition of the simple past tense

The simple past tense, sometimes called the preterite, is used to talk about a completed action in a time before now. The simple past is the basic form of past tense in English. The time of the action can be in the recent past or the distant past and action duration is not important.

Examples :

• John Cabot sailed to America in 1498.
• My father died last year.
• He lived in Fiji in 1976.
• We crossed the Channel yesterday.

You always use the simple past when you say when something happened, so it is associated with certain past time expressions

• frequency: often, sometimes, always
  I sometimes walked home at lunchtime.
  I often brought my lunch to school.
• a definite point in time: last week, when I was a child, yesterday, six weeks ago
  We saw a good film last week.
  Yesterday, I arrived in Geneva.
  She finished her work atseven o'clock.
  I went to the theatre last night.
• an indefinite point in time: the other day, ages ago, a long time ago People lived in caves a long time ago.
• She played the piano when she was a child.

Note: the word ago is a useful way of expressing the distance into the past. It is placed after the period of time: a week ago, three years ago, a minute ago.

Be Careful: The simple past in English may look like a tense in your own language, but the meaning may be different.

Forming the Simple Past Tense

Patterns of simple past tense for regular verbs

Affirmative
Subject	+ verb + ed
I	skipped.
Negative
Subject	+ did not	+ infinitive without to
They	didn't	go.
Interrogative
Did	+ subject	+ infinitive without to
Did	she	arrive?
Interrogative negative
Did not	+ subject	+ infinitive without to
Didn't	you	play?

To Walk

Affirmative	Negative	Interrogative
I walked	I didn't walk	Did I walk?
You walked	You didn't walk	Did you walk?
He walked	He didn't walk	Did he walk?
We walked	We didn't walk	Did we walk?
They walked	They didn't walk	Did they walk?

Simple past tense of to be, to have, to do

Subject	Verb
	Be	Have	Do
I	was	had	did
You	were	had	did
He/She/It	was	had	did
We	were	had	did
You	were	had	did
They	were	had	did

Notes on affirmative, negative, & interrogative forms

Affirmative

The affirmative of the simple past tense is simple.

• I was in Japan last year
• She had a headache yesterday.
• We did our homework last night.

Negative and interrogative

For the negative and interrogative simple past form of "do" as an ordinary verb, use the auxiliary "do", e.g. We didn't do our homework last night.
The negative of "have" in the simple past is usually formed using the auxiliary "do", but sometimes by simply adding not or the contraction "n't".

The interrogative form of "have" in the simple past normally uses the auxiliary "do".

Examples:

• They weren't in Rio last summer.
• We didn't have any money.
• We didn't have time to visit the Eiffel Tower.
• We didn't do our exercises this morning.
• Were they in Iceland last January?
• Did you have a bicycle when you were young?
• Did you do much climbing in Switzerland?

Note: For the negative and interrogative form of all verbs in the simple past, always use the auxiliary 'did''.

Simple past, irregular verbs

Some verbs are irregular in the simple past. Here are the most common ones.

to go

• He went to a club last night.
• Did he go to the cinema last night?
• He didn't go to bed early last night.

to give

• We gave her a doll for her birthday.
• They didn't give John their new address.
• Did Barry give you my passport?

to come

• My parents came to visit me last July.
• We didn't come because it was raining.
• Did he come to your party last week?

Present Perfect Tense

Definition of the present perfect tense

The present perfect is used to indicate a link between the present and the past. The time of the action is before now but not specified, and we are often more interested in the result than in the action itself.

BE CAREFUL! There may be a verb tense in your language with a similar form, but the meaning is probably NOT the same.

The Present Perfect is used to describe

• An action or situation that started in the past and continues in the present. I have lived in Bristol since 1984 (= and I still do.)
• An action performed during a period that has not yet finished. She has been to the cinema twice this week (= and the week isn't over yet.)
• A repeated action in an unspecified period between the past and now. We have visited Portugal several times.
• An action that was completed in the very recent past, expressed by 'just'. I have just finished my work.
• An action when the time is not important. He has read 'War and Peace'. (= the result of his reading is important)

Note: When we want to give or ask details about when, where, who, we use the simple past. Read more about choosing between the present perfect and the simple past tenses

Actions started in the past and continuing in the present

• They haven't lived here for years.
• She has worked in the bank for five years.
• We have had the same car for ten years.
• Have you played the piano since you were a child?

When the time period referred to has not finished

• I have worked hard this week.
• It has rained a lot this year.
• We haven't seen her today.

Actions repeated in an unspecified period between the past and now.

• They have seen that film six times
• It has happened several times already.
• She has visited them frequently.
• We have eaten at that restaurant many times.

Actions completed in the very recent past (+just)

• Have you just finished work?
• I have just eaten.
• We have just seen her.
• Has he just left?

When the precise time of the action is not important or not known

• Someone has eaten my soup!
• Have you seen 'Gone with the Wind'?
• She's studied Japanese, Russian, and English.

Read more about using the present perfect with the words "ever", "never", "already", and "yet", and about using the present perfect with the words "for" and "since"

Forming the Present Perfect

The present perfect of any verb is composed of two elements : the appropriate form of the auxiliary verb to have (present tense), plus the past participle of the main verb. The past participle of a regular verb is base+ed, e.g. played, arrived, looked. For irregular verbs, see the Table of irregular verbs in the section called 'Verbs'.

Affirmative
Subject	to have	past participle
She	has	visited.
Negative
Subject	to have + not	past participle
She	has not (hasn't)	visited.
Interrogative
to have	subject	past participle
Has	she	visited?
Negative interrogative
to have + not	subject	past participle
Hasn't	she	visited?

To Walk, present perfect

Affirmative	Negative	Interrogative
I have walked	I haven't walked	Have I walked?
You have walked	You haven't walked.	Have you walked?
He, she, it has walked	He, she, hasn't walked	Has he, she, it walked?
We have walked	We haven't walked	Have we walked?
You have walked	You haven't walked	Have you walked?
They have walked	They haven't walked	Have they walked?

 

Present Perfect Continuous

Definition of Present Perfect Continous

The present perfect continuous is used to refer to an unspecified time between 'before now' and 'now'. The speaker is thinking about something that started but perhaps did not finish in that period of time. He/she is interested in the process as well as the result, and this process may still be going on, or may have just finished.

Actions that started in the past and continue in the present

She has been waiting for you all day (= and she's still waiting now).
I've been working on this report since eight o'clock this morning (= and I still haven't finished it).
They have been travelling since last October (= and they're not home yet).

Actions that have just finished, but we are interested in the results

She has been cooking since last night (= and the food on the table looks delicious).
It's been raining (= and the streets are still wet).
Someone's been eating my chips (= half of them have gone).

Forming the Present Perfect Continuous

The present perfect continuous is made up of two elements: the present perfect of the verb 'to be' (have/has been), and the present participle of the main verb (base+ing)

Subject	has/have been	base+ing
She	has been	swimming

 Affirmative: She has been / She's been running.
Negative: She hasn't been running.
Interrogative : Has she been running?
Interrogative negative: Hasn't she been running?

Example: present perfect continuous, TO LIVE

Affirmative	Negative	Interrogative
I have been living	I haven't been living	Have I been living?
You have been living	You haven't been living	Have you been living?
He, she, it has been living	He hasn't been living	Has she been living?
We have been living	We haven't been living	Have we been living?
You have been living	You haven't been living	Have you been living?
They have been living	They haven't been living	Have they been living?

Verbs without continuous forms

With verbs not normally used in the continuous form, use the simple present perfect instead (verbs such as: know, hate, hear, understand, want).
I've wanted to visit China for years.
She's known Robert since she was a child.
I've hated that music since I first heard it.
I've heard a lot about you recently.
We've understood everything.