English Past Tense Comparison
Just here for the exercises? Click here.Introduction
The past tenses in English Grammar are the simple past, the past progressive, also past continuous, the past perfect and the past perfect progressive, also past perfect continuous. We use each tense to express different information about when and how a past action took place.
Learn the difference between the past tenses in English grammar and when to use them correctly in a sentence. In the exercises, you can practise what you have learnt.
Example
When I came home last Monday, I had a message on my answering machine. It said, “Meet me in the park.” I didn’t know who the message was from, but I was curious.
The sun was shining. So after I’d checked all the messages on my answering machine, I put on my jacket, took my bag and went to the park. And there he was: Luke, an old friend from school. I hadn’t seen him for ages.
Now he was standing there smiling at me. He was holding a flower that he’d bought in a nearby flowershop.
I was glad to see him. He looked relieved, as he’d already been waiting there for a few hours.
Usage
The chart below provides an overview of the differences between the English past tenses: simple past, past progressive, past perfect simple and past perfect progressive.
| tense | usage |
|---|---|
| simple past |
normal narrative past form used for sequentially occurring actions
|
| past progressive |
emphasises the progression/process of an action
|
| past perfect simple |
action that took place before another previously mentioned action
|
| past perfect progressive |
emphasises how long an action lasted until a certain point in the past
|
Conjugation
For information on the conjugation of these tenses, see: