Hello! As I mentioned in the previous post, today we will take some time to review using example sentences.

Today, I have prepared some simple example sentences for the past tense and the past continuous tense. As you study these, I encourage you to take some time to create your own sentences as well!

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[Unit 5] Past Tense

The core of the past tense is to talk about 'something that happened in the past, completely separated from the present.' Try reading them with your eyes, saying them aloud, and creating your own examples to review.

1. Regular Verbs

This is the most basic form of the past tense. Add -ed to the present form.

• I worked late last night to finish my project.
  • (I stayed at work until late last night to complete my project.)
• We cleaned the whole kitchen yesterday morning.
  • (We removed dirt and mess from the entire kitchen yesterday morning.)
• The train started on time, so I didn't miss it.
  • (The train departed at the scheduled time, so I was able to board it.)
• It rained heavily all day last Tuesday.
  • (There was a significant amount of rainfall throughout the day last Tuesday.)
• I phoned my older brother an hour ago.
  • (I called my brother, who is older than me, on the phone one hour before now.)

2. Irregular Verbs

These are verbs that do not follow a set pattern and must be memorized.

• I went to the local public library last weekend.
  • (I traveled to the nearby community library last weekend.) -> go ➔ went
• My parents bought a house in Canada a long time ago.
  • (My parents purchased a home in Canada a long time in the past.) -> buy ➔ bought
• I saw Dan at the coffee shop yesterday.
  • (I looked at or noticed Dan at the cafe yesterday.) -> see ➔ saw
• We ate lunch early because we were so hungry.
  • (We consumed our midday meal earlier than usual due to hunger.) -> eat ➔ ate
• I slept for eight hours last night and feel great now.
  • (I was in a state of rest for eight hours last night and feel good now.) -> sleep ➔ slept
• He gave me a useful book for my English study.
  • (He handed over a helpful book to me for my English learning.) -> give ➔ gave

3. Time Markers

These are used together with words that point to a 'specific moment' in the past to clearly indicate the past tense.

• I completed the database configuration three days ago.
  • (I finished setting up the database three days before today.) -> ~ ago (a period of time before the present)
• Sarah left the office at 6 o'clock yesterday.
  • (Sarah departed from her workplace at 6:00 yesterday.) -> yesterday (the day before today)
• They moved to Toronto last year.
  • (They changed their residence to Toronto during the previous year.) -> last ~ (the most recent one)
• I read a few pages of a novel in the morning.
  • (I read a small number of pages of a fiction book during the morning.) -> in the morning (the period of time between midnight and noon)
• When I was a child, we lived with our relatives.
  • (During the time I was a young person, we resided with our family members.) -> When I was ~ (at the time that I was in a certain state)

4. Past Tense of 'Be' Verbs

• I was very tired when I returned home from work.
  • (I felt a lack of energy when I arrived home after work.) -> I ➔ was
• The weather was beautiful during our trip to Vancouver.
  • (The atmosphere outside was lovely while we were traveling to Vancouver.) -> The weather ➔ was
• My keys were on the desk, but now they are gone.
  • (My keys were located on the desk previously, but they are missing now.) -> My keys(plural) ➔ were
• Why were you angry with me yesterday afternoon?
  • (For what reason did you feel annoyed or upset with me yesterday afternoon?) -> you ➔ were
• We were at the office until late on Monday.
  • (We remained at our workplace until a late hour on Monday.) -> We ➔ were
• Sam was ill last week, so he stayed in bed.
  • (Sam felt unwell last week, so he remained resting in bed.) -> Sam ➔ was

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[Unit 6] Past Continuous Tense

The core of the past continuous is the combination of a 'background scene (was/were -ing)' that was in progress at a point in the past and an 'event (past tense)' that interrupts it. Let's review through examples for each situation.

1. Actions in progress at a specific time in the past (Standalone)

This gives the feeling that an action was continuing without stopping at a certain point in time.

• At 10 o'clock last night, I was coding a new feature for my website.
  • (At 10:00 last night, I was in the middle of writing computer code for a new website feature.)
• What were you doing at this time yesterday?
  • (What activity were you in the middle of performing at this same time yesterday?)
• I saw you in the park yesterday afternoon. You were reading a novel.
  • (I spotted you at the park yesterday afternoon; you were engaged in reading a novel.)
• Rain was falling heavily when I woke up this morning.
  • (Rain was actively coming down with intensity when I became awake this morning.)
• They weren't watching TV when I entered the living room.
  • (They were not in the process of viewing television when I walked into the living room.)

2. The Fusion Rule: Flowing Background (-ing) + Interrupting Event (past tense)

This is a structure where a single event occurs in the middle of an ongoing situation.

• My phone rang while I was having dinner with my family.
  • (My phone made a sound while I was in the process of eating dinner with my family.)
• I hurt my wrist while I was working out at the gym.
  • (I injured my wrist during the time I was exercising at the gym.)
• Sarah lost her ring while she was walking in the garden.
  • (Sarah misplaced her ring while she was walking through the garden.)
• While I was waiting at the bus stop, it started to snow.
  • (During the time I was waiting for the bus, the snow began to fall.)
• We saw an accident while we were driving to Toronto.
  • (We witnessed a traffic accident while we were in the middle of driving to Toronto.)
• The lights went out while he was upgrading the database.
  • (The electric lights stopped working while he was in the middle of updating the database.)

3. When events happen in sequence (Listing past tense)

When one action finishes completely and the next action follows in order, we do not use the continuous tense; we simply list the events in the past tense.

• I was walking along the road when I saw Dan. So I stopped, and we talked for a while.
  • (I was in the middle of walking when I spotted Dan. Consequently, I halted, and we engaged in conversation for a period.)
• I got up, brushed my teeth, and left the house.
  • (I rose from bed, cleaned my teeth, and exited the house.)
• When the movie ended, we got out of the cinema and walked home.
  • (Once the film finished, we exited the theater and traveled home on foot.)
• She bought a coffee, sat at a desk, and started reading.
  • (She purchased coffee, took a seat at a desk, and began the act of reading.)
• I closed the laptop, stretched my body, and returned home from work.
  • (I shut the laptop, did some stretching, and traveled home from my workplace.)

4. "Already in progress (were -ing)" vs "Started afterwards (had)"

These are examples of situations where the order of events changes depending on the verb tense used.

• When my older brother arrived, we were having dinner.
  • (At the moment my brother arrived, we were already in the middle of eating dinner.)
• When my older brother arrived, we had dinner.
  • (My brother arrived; after that, we proceeded to eat dinner.)
• When the meeting started, I was configuring the server.
  • (At the time the meeting began, I was in the middle of setting up the server.)
• When the meeting started, I configured the server.
  • (The meeting began; subsequently, I set up the server.)
• When she came into the office, it was raining.
  • (When she entered the office, rain was already falling.)
• When she came into the office, it rained.
  • (She entered the office; then, the rain began to fall.)