Summary of English Past Tenses and Travel Vocabulary

## Introduction The past tenses describe actions and situations that happened before now. This guide explains the **past simple**, **past continuous**, **past perfect**, and related expressions like **used to** and **be used to**. Read the rules, look at clear examples, and practise with short exercises. > Definition: Past tenses are verb forms that tell us about actions, states or events that occurred at a specific time before the present. ## Past Simple ### What it is The past simple expresses finished actions or situations in the past. | Form | Example | | --- | --- | | Affirmative | I walked to school yesterday. | | Negative | You didn't (did not) run yesterday. | | Question | Did he run yesterday? | | Short answers | Yes, he did / No, he didn't. | ### When we use it - To describe a completed action: I flew to New York two years ago. - To show one event after another: When the bus arrived, we got on it. > Definition: The past simple is used for actions that started and finished in the past, often with a time reference (yesterday, last year, in 2010). ### Examples - She visited her grandmother last weekend. - We watched a film and then went to bed. ## Past Continuous ### What it is The past continuous describes actions that were in progress at a particular moment in the past. | Form | Example | | --- | --- | | Affirmative | He was going. | | Negative | They weren't (were not) going. | | Question | Were you going? | | Short answers | Yes, I was / No, I wasn't. | ### When we use it - To talk about an activity in progress at a specific past time: At 1 am yesterday I was sleeping. - To describe scenes or backgrounds in stories: The boy was wearing a long black coat. - To show an activity in progress when another shorter action happened (interruption): I was texting when the accident happened. - We often use while and as with the past continuous: While I was riding my bike, I saw Leo. > Definition: Past continuous describes an action that was happening at a particular past moment; it often sets the scene or shows simultaneous actions. ### Notes - Some verbs (stative verbs) are not usually used in continuous forms: I had a toy car. (Not: I was having a toy car.) ## Past Perfect ### What it is The past perfect describes an action that happened before another action in the past. | Form | Example | | --- | --- | | Affirmative | She had left the station. | | Negative | They hadn't travelled far. | | Question | Had you bought a ticket? | | Short answers | Yes, I had / No, they hadn't. | ### When we use it - To show the earlier of two past actions: When I had done my homework, I watched TV. (First: do homework; then: watch TV.) - With time expressions like when, after, as soon as to clarify order. > Definition: Past perfect (had + past participle) marks an action completed before another past action or time. ### Examples - After he had eaten, he left the house. - She realised she had forgotten her keys. ## Used to and Would (for past habits) ### Forms and meaning | Form | Example | | --- | --- | | Affirmative | I used to / would play a lot when I was small. | | Negative | She didn't use to have so much fun. | | Question | What did you use to do? | - **Used to** and **would** express repeated past actions or habits that do not happen now: I used to ride my bike to school when I was small. - **Would** cannot describe past states (only repeated actions): I would play with my toys. (Not: I would have a lot of toys.) - For negative and question forms about past habits, prefer **used to** rather than **would**. > Definition: "Used to" and "would" talk about regular or habitual actions in the past. Use "used to" for states or actions; use "would" only for actions. ## Be used to (familiarity) ### Forms and meaning | Form | Example | | --- | --- | | Affirmative | I am used to walking to school. | | Negative | He isn't used to getting up early at the weekend. | | Question | Are you used to this weather? | - Structure: be use