Past Continuous: negative

 

To make negative statements in the Past Continuous, use:

was/were + not + the “-ing” form of the verb:

 

Singular	Plural
I was not talking You were not talking He/she/it was not talking	We were not talking You were not talking They were not talking

 

• Peter wasn’t doing his homework when his father came in.
• Rebecca was angry with her children because they weren’t sleeping when she arrived.    

Past Continuous: statements

 

We use the Past Continuous to talk about actions or events that were in progress at a particular time in the past:

• Jane was reading a book when I came in.
• This time last week I was hiking in the Alps.
• – Did they have time to see the sights of Rome? – Not really. They were playing football all weekend.

 

To make the Past Continuous, we use was/were + the “-ing” form of the verb:

 

Singular	Plural
I was walking You were walking He/she/it was walking	We were walking You were walking They were walking

 

The Past Continuous is often used to describe what was going on when a particular event happened or to give the reason for a past event. That event is usually put in the Past Simple:

• We were eating lunch when somebody knocked on the door.
• The last time I saw him, he was washing his car.
• She didn’t go out because she was working late.
• I forgot about my meal because I was talking on the phone.

 

We often use the Past Continuous to describe the background of a story. For example, we can talk about the weather or what people were doing before the story (event, action) started:

• It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining and the birds were singing. Children were laughing and playing in the street. Suddenly a heavy grey cloud appeared in the sky.

 

Present Perfect or Past Simple?

 

How do you choose between the Present Perfect and Past Simple?

 

Tense	Usage
Present Perfect	Recent actions and events which are connected with the present
Past Simple	Recent actions and events in finished time periods (last week, yesterday, at the weekend, etc.)

 

Present Perfect:

• Jack has lived in Madrid for 10 years so far (and he still lives there).
• I’ve just finished reading this book, it’s so amazing (this happened recently and now I share my impressions).

 

Past Simple:

• Mary phoned for a taxi and left home at 10 o’clock yesterday (finished period of time).
• The sun shone all Monday (finished period of time).

 

Generally speaking, the Past Simple is used to talk about something that happened at a definite time in the past (yesterday, last week, ago, then, when, etc.).

 

The Present Perfect is used when a particular time is not specified.

 

Past Simple	Present Perfect
I saw a great movie yesterday.	I haven’t seen that movie.
John didn’t climb Mount Everest in 2016.	Alison has climbed Mount Everest twice.
Margaret ate too much last night.	Tom hasn’t eaten curry before.

 

Use the Present Perfect to talk about an event or situation which began in the past and continues now.

In such statements we often use time expressions with since and for, e.g. for a week, since yesterday, for a long time, since 2010:

 

• I love my new office, I’ve worked there for five months already.
• Today we celebrate our anniversary, we’ve been married since 2007.

 

Quite often the Past Simple is used immediately after the Present Perfect. In such cases we use the Past Simple to give more details or information:

 

• – Have you been to Russia?
• – Yes, I have. I visited Moscow last May.

 

• – I’ve lost my watch. I put it on the table and now I can’t find it.
• – Timothy has passed his exam. He got 80%.

We use mixed conditionals when the time of the “if” or condition clause is not the same as the time in the result or main clause.

There are two main types of mixed conditional sentences:

1. Present Result of a Past Condition
2. Past Result of a Present or Continuing Condition

 

Present Result of a Past Condition

 

We use this type of sentence to refer to an unreal past condition and its probable present result. More simply, we use it to explain a situation which is not real both in the past and in the present.

 

• If you had followed the rules, we wouldn’t be in trouble. (but you didn’t follow the rules – in the past – and now we’re in trouble)

 

For these sentences, we use the past perfect in the “if”/condition clause and the present conditional in the result/main clause.

 

If Clause (Condition)	Main Clause (Result)
If + past perfect	Present conditional (would + verb)

 

 

For example:

• If you had listened to me, you wouldn’t get sick. (but you didn’t listen to me – in the past – and now you are sick)
• I would have a better job if I had tried harder. (but I didn’t try harder, and now I don’t have a better job)

We can also use modals like might and could in the main clause instead of would.

For example:

• You might have more money if you had worked more hours.
• If we had invested in that company, we could be millionaires by now.

 

Past Result of a Present or Continuing Condition

 

This type of mixed conditional sentence refers to an unreal present situation and its probable – yet unreal – past result.

 

We use it to explain conditions that are contrary to the present reality and results that are contrary to the past reality. The time in the condition clause is now or always while the time in the main clause is before now.

 

In this type of sentences, we use simple past in the condition (the “if” clause) and the perfect conditional in the main/result clause.

 

If Clause (Condition)	Main Clause (Result)
If + simple past	Perfect conditional (would have + past participle)

 

For example:

• If we knew about the project, we would have helped.
• I would have touched the snake if I wasn’t afraid of them.

 

Again, we can use modals like might and could instead of would in the result clause.

 

For example:

• She could have climbed the wall if she were stronger.
• I might have invited her to my baby shower if we were friends.