1. Comparison of Past Tenses
This is the same information that is
covered in the chart on page 124 of
Grammar in Context 3

2. Simple Past Tense

3. Explanation:
The simple past tense shows an
action that started and ended in the
past. It does not show the
relationship to another past action.
It can be used for a short action, for
example:

4. a. The mayor ordered the residents
to leave.

5. It can be used for a long action that
finished in the past, for example:

6. b. My grandmother lived in New
Orleans for 30 years.

7. b. My grandmother lived in New
Orleans for 30 years.

8. It can be used for a single action:

9. c. The hurricane hit land on August
29, 2006.

10. Or the simple past can be used for a
repeated action in the past:

11. d. We visited New Orleans five
times.

12. The Past Continuous Tense

13. Explanation:
The past continuous tense shows
that something was in progress at a
specific time in the past.

14. On August 26, the hurricane was
approaching quickly.
As the water was rushing into the
houses, residents ran to the roofs.

15. Alert! Crazy English!

16. “As” can mean “when” or “while.”
In that case, this sentence:
As the water was rushing into the
houses, residents ran to the roofs
means
While the water was rushing into
the houses, residents ran to the
roofs.

17. However, “as” can also mean
“because.” In that case, the sentence
has a different meaning:
As the water was rushing into the
houses, residents ran to the roofs
might mean
Because the water was rushing into the
houses, residents ran to the roofs
(which is also true).

18. The Past Perfect Tense

19. Explanation:
The past perfect tense shows the
relationship of an earlier past
action to a later past action:

20. a. When the storm hit, most people
had left.
The storm hit in the past (in August
2005.)
Most people left New Orleans
before the storm hit.
You can also say:
Most people (had) left New Orleans
before the storm hit.

21. b. By the time the rescue effort was
over, 1,800 people had died.
This means that 1,800 people had
died before the rescue effort was
over.

22. b. By the time the rescue effort was
over, 1,800 people had died.
This means that 1,800 people had
died before the rescue effort was
over.

23. Be careful!
Students often make mistakes with
the verb “die” – maybe because
grammar books don’t use it much
since it’s an unpleasant subject.

24. “Die” is an intransitive verb. It is
never passive:
My grandmother died in 1973.
NOT **was died!

25. “Dead” is an adjective:
President Kennedy is dead. (adjective)
He died in 1963. (verb)
He has been dead for fifty years.
(adjective)

26. Past Perfect Continuous Tense

27. Explanation:
The past perfect continuous tense
is used with a continuous action
that happened before another past
action. For is used to show the
duration of the previous action.

28. Some people had been waiting for
three days by the time they were
rescued.
The Titanic had been traveling for
five days then it sank.

29. Present Perfect Tense

30. Explanation:
The present perfect tense uses the
present time as the starting point
and looks back.

31. Alert! Crazy English!

32. The uses of the present perfect are
very complicated—probably one of
the hardest things in the English
verb system. We don’t have time to
go over them all right now.

33. Generally, though, the present
perfect is for a verb that is
somehow connected with both the
past and the present (or maybe
future).

34. New Orleans has always been a
favorite tourist attraction.
(It was a tourist attraction in the
past, and it still is now, or people hope
it will be a tourist attraction again in
the future.)
California has had many fires.
(California had many fires in the
past, and we will probably have more
fires in the future.)

35. Alert! Crazy English!

36. Remember that the verb “have” can
be the main verb in a sentence, or it
can also be an auxiliary (helping)
verb. In the sentence:
California has had many fires,
the first “has” is the auxiliary
very, and the second “had” is the
main verb in the sentence.

37. Present Perfect Continuous Tense

38. Explanation:
The present perfect continuous
tense uses the present time as the
starting point and looks back at a
continuous action that is still
happening:

39. Since 2005, New Orleans residents
have been trying to put their lives
back together.
NASA has been exploring space
since the 1950’s.

40. Alert! Crazy English!

41. Very often, it is OK to use present perfect in
place of present perfect continuous. You
can say:
Since 2005, New Orleans residents have
tried to put their lives back together.
NASA has explored space since the 1950’s.
There is a very slightly negative feel if you
do this—that it has been difficult or
impossible for people in New Orleans to do
that, or that NASA is about to stop exploring
space.

42. Be careful!
In a complex sentence with “when,”
the meaning changes depending on
the verb tense in the main clause!

43. When the hurricane hit, people
went to the roofs of their houses.
(simple past + simple past) means
The hurricane hit, and after that
people went to the roofs of their
houses.

44. When the hurricane hit, some
people were sleeping (simple past +
past continuous) means
The hurricane hit, while some
people were sleeping.

45. When the hurricane hit, some
people were sleeping (simple past +
past continuous) means
The hurricane hit while some
people were sleeping.

46. When the hurricane hit, some
people had already left their
homes (simple past + past perfect)
means
Some people left their homes
before the hurricane hit.

47. Be careful about verb tenses when you
are reporting an accident!

48. When the accident happened, he
was texting on his phone means
that he probably caused the
accident because he was texting
and not paying attention!

49. When the accident happened, he
texted on his phone means that
sent a text message after the
accident. It doesn’t mean that he
did anything wrong.

50. There are a few more notes at the
bottom of the chart on page 125.
They are less important than the
comments that the teacher has
added to this slide show.