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The system and structure of past tenses is not too different from present tenses, except past tenses obviously relate to past time periods.
The following shows the construction of the past tenses:
Past simple affirmative: add -ed or -d to base form of the verb, or use simple past form for irregular verbs -You talked. -They went (went is past simple of go)
Past simple negative: add did not or didn't before the base form -She didn't know.
Past simple question: add did plus subject before the base form -Did you sleep?
Past continuous affirmative: subject+was/were+verb+ing -I was getting colder.
Past continuous negative: subject+was/were+not+verb+ing -They weren't running.
Past continuous question: was/were+subject+verb+ing -Was he talking?
Past perfect affirmative: subject+had+past participle -When I arrived the game had started.
Past perfect negative: subject+had+not+past participle -I was sad because you hadn't called.
Past perfect question: had+subject+past participle -Had he gone before you arrived?
Past perfect continuous affirmative: subject+had+been+verb+ing -Before going to the game he had been exercising for two hours.
Past perfect continuous negative: subject+had+not+been+verb+ing -You were poor because you had not been working.
Past perfect continuous question: had+subject+been+verb+ing -Had you been sleeping before you came here?
Usages for past simple are: for a past action when the time is given, when the time is asked about, when the action clearly took place at a definite time (even though this time is not mentioned) and when the time becomes definite as a result of a question and answer in the present perfect.
Usages for past continuous are: for interrupted past actions, to indicate gradual development that took place in the past, to express an action which began before that time and probably continued after it, and in descriptions.
The usage for past perfect is the past equivalent of the present perfect. -When I arrived, the game had started.
The usage for past perfect continuous is to talk about longer actions or situations in the past that had been going on continuously up to the past moment that we are thinking about. -Before going to school, she had been studying for two hours.
I learned a lot about past tenses during this unit. Tenses may be the area of English most challenging for both teachers and students. It is important for teachers to provide activities to students that show the differences in construction and usage of each tense. Activities that act out real life situations using all of the different tenses learned are very good for the activate stages of lessons. During lessons on tenses, teachers should be sure to correct misconstruction and misuse of the tenses to avoid mistakes becoming ingrained or students becoming confused. Teachers should be sure to first give the opportunity to the student to self correct before asking other students to correct and save teacher correction as a last resort. Teachers should also make sure correction does not impede the flow of the lesson. Teachers should realize that tenses are a difficult part of the English language for students to learn and work to keep the class atmosphere relaxed and positive.
