Past Tense

Past tense describes actions that already finished — something that happened before now. For CELPIP, past tense is essential for Speaking (personal experience stories) and Writing Task 1 (explaining what has happened).

There are four main ways to express actions in the past time zone:

1. Simple Past - What already happened
2. Past Continuous - What was happening (background action)
3. Past Perfect - The first of two past actions
4. Past Perfect Continuous - How long something was happening in the past

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Simple Past

Simple Past describes actions that finished in the past. Something ended.

When to Use

• Yesterday or last week: "I worked there last year."
• Finished events: "I completed the project."
• Past stories: "I went to university."

How to Form Simple Past

• Most verbs → Add -ed (same for ALL subjects)

The simple past does NOT change for singular or plural, everyone uses the same form.

Subject	Base Verb	Past Form	Example
I	report	reported	"I reported the problem."
you	report	reported	"You reported it."
he/she/it	report	reported	"She reported it."
we	report	reported	"We reported it."
they	report	reported	"They reported it."

Rules for Adding -ed

• Most verbs → Just add -ed

Base Verb	+ed	Example
report	reported	"I reported the problem."
work	worked	"She worked there."
study	studied	"He studied hard."
wait	waited	"We waited 3 hours."

• Verbs ending in -e → Add -d only

Base	-d	Example
like	liked	"I liked it."
use	used	"She used it."
arrive	arrived	"They arrived."

• Verbs ending in consonant + y → Change y to i, add -ed

Base	Change to	Example
study	studied	"He studied."
try	tried	"I tried."
worry	worried	"She worried."

• Some verbs change completely, you must memorize these:

Base	Past	Example
go	went	"I went home."
write	wrote	"I wrote an email."
see	saw	"I saw the damage."
come	came	"He came to help."
have	had	"I had a problem."
make	made	"I made a complaint."
take	took	"I took steps."
feel	felt	"I felt concerned."
do	did	"I did my best."
get	got	"She got home."

Remember: The past tense is the SAME for all subjects:

• "I went." / "She went." / "They went." (all the same)
• "She goes." (WRONG - that's present tense)

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Past Continuous

Past Continuous describes actions that were happening in the past but didn't finish. Usually interrupted or happening with another event.

When to Use

• Two past events: "I was working when you called."
• Interrupted action: "I was reading when the power went off."
• Parallel actions: "While I was studying, my friend was working."

How to Form Past Continuous

Structure: was/were + verb-ing

• Singular (I, he, she, it) → was

Subject	was/were	Verb-ing	Example
I	was	speaking	"I was writing when you called."
he	was	speaking	"He was working at 5pm."
she	was	speaking	"She was working at 5pm."
it	was	speaking	"It was working."

• Plural (you, we, they) → were

Subject	was/were	Verb-ing	Example
you	were	speaking	"You were waiting for 2 hours."
we	were	speaking	"We were studying together."
they	were	speaking	"They were playing outside."

Rules for Adding -ing

• Most verbs → Add -ing

Base Verb	+ing	Example
speak	speaking	"I was speaking."
work	working	"She was working."
study	studying	"He was studying."
read	reading	"They were reading."

• Verbs ending in -e → Drop the -e, add -ing

Base Verb	Drop -e, +ing	Example
write	writing	"I was writing."
make	making	"She was making."
come	coming	"He was coming."

• One-syllable verbs ending in consonant → Double the consonant, add -ing.

Base Verb	Double + ing	Example
sit	sitting	"She was sitting."
run	running	"He was running."
stop	stopping	"We were stopping."

When to Use Past Continuous

• Something was happening AND something interrupted it: "I was working when the phone rang."

• Two things happening at the same time: "While he was studying, she was cooking."

• Setting the scene in a story: "I was working at the company when I decided to study English."

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Past Perfect

Past Perfect describes the FIRST action when two things happened in the past. The earlier action comes first.

When to Use

• Before another past action: "I had reported the problem before you called."
• Event sequence: "I had finished before I went home."
• Story telling: "She had worked there for years before she quit."

How to Form Past Perfect

Structure: had + past participle (same for ALL subjects)

Important: Past Perfect uses had for EVERYONE - no singular/plural difference.

Subject	had	Past Participle	Example
I	had	reported	"I had reported the problem."
you	had	reported	"You had reported it."
he/she/it	had	reported	"He had reported it."
we	had	reported	"We had reported it."
they	had	reported	"They had reported it."

Regular Past Participles (= -ed form, same as simple past):

Base Verb	Past Participle	Example
report	reported	"I had reported."
work	worked	"She had worked."
study	studied	"He had studied."

Common Irregular Past Participles

Base	Past Participle	Example
write	written	"I had written."
go	gone	"They had gone."
see	seen	"She had seen."
do	done	"I had done."
make	made	"He had made."
take	taken	"I had taken."
come	come	"He had come."

Past Perfect Examples

• "I had studied for months before I took the test."
• "After I had reported the problem, the company made repairs."
• "Before they arrived, I had prepared everything."

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Past Perfect Continuous

Past Perfect Continuous emphasizes duration, how long an action had been happening before another past event.

When to Use

• Duration before another event: "I had been waiting for days before they replied."
• How long something was happening: "I had been working at the company for 2 years before I left."
• Emphasizing effort: "We had been trying for weeks before we finally succeeded."

How to Form Past Perfect Continuous

Structure: had + been + verb-ing (same for ALL subjects)

Subject	had	been	Verb-ing	Example
I	had	been	waiting	"I had been waiting for hours."
you	had	been	waiting	"You had been working hard."
he/she/it	had	been	waiting	"She had been waiting."
we	had	been	waiting	"We had been studying together."
they	had	been	waiting	"They had been waiting."

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Quick Comparison: When to Use Which Form?

Simple Past	Past Continuous	Past Perfect
"I worked yesterday."	"I was working when she called."	"I had worked there before I left."
"She studied hard."	"She was studying all night."	"She had studied for years."
Completed action	Action in progress at a time	First of two past actions

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Common Past Tense Mistakes

❌ Wrong	✅ Correct	Why
"I work there yesterday."	"I worked there yesterday."	Yesterday = past tense
"She writed an email."	"She wrote an email."	write → wrote (irregular)
"I didn't went home."	"I didn't go home."	Use base verb after "did not"
"I am working when she called."	"I was working when she called."	Past event needs was
"I have reported it yesterday."	"I reported it yesterday."	Specific time = simple past
"She were working."	"She was working."	Singular (she) needs "was"
"He have finished."	"He had finished."	For past perfect, need "had"

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Reference Table:

Tense	Structure	When to Use	Example	CELPIP Use
Simple Past	-ed / irregular	Finished action in past, stories, completed events	"I worked there for 2 years."	Telling your story or what already happened
Past Continuous	was/were + -ing	Background action in past, interrupted action	"I was working at a company when I decided to study."	Setting the scene in a story
Past Perfect	had + past participle	One past action happened before another past action	"I had requested help before you responded."	Showing sequence of past events
Past Perfect Continuous	had + been + -ing	Duration of an action before another past action	"I had been waiting for days before they replied."	How long something was happening in the past

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Practice Questions (10)

Choose the correct verb form for each sentence.

1. I _____ there for five years before I got promoted.

   • a) work
   • b) worked
   • c) was working
   • d) had worked

2. When the phone _____, I _____ dinner.

   • a) rang / prepared
   • b) was ringing / was preparing
   • c) rang / was preparing
   • d) was rang / prepared

3. She _____ the report by the time her manager arrived.

   • a) finishes
   • b) finished
   • c) had finished
   • d) was finishing

4. They _____ to contact you multiple times yesterday.

   • a) try
   • b) tried
   • c) were trying
   • d) had tried

5. While he _____ for the test, his brother _____ the living room.

   • a) studied / painted
   • b) was studying / painted
   • c) was studying / was painting
   • d) studied / was painting

6. I _____ waiting for two hours before they finally responded.

   • a) am
   • b) was
   • c) have been
   • d) had been

7. The company _____ him because he _____ to follow instructions.

   • a) fired / refused
   • b) was firing / was refusing
   • c) had fired / refused
   • d) fired / had refused

8. Before the accident, nobody _____ about the safety issue.

   • a) knows
   • b) knew
   • c) had known
   • d) was knowing

9. She _____ the entire project when the deadline was suddenly changed.

   • a) completed
   • b) was completing
   • c) had completed
   • d) was completed

10. I _____ English for only 6 months when I decided to take the test.

    • a) studied
    • b) was studying
    • c) had been studying
    • d) have been studying

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Answer Key

Question	Answer	Explanation
1	d) had worked	Past Perfect (first of two past actions: worked → got promoted)
2	c) rang / was preparing	Simple Past + Past Continuous (rang interrupts was preparing)
3	c) had finished	Past Perfect (had finished before manager arrived - sequence)
4	b) tried	Simple Past (yesterday = specific time, simple past)
5	c) was studying / was painting	Two simultaneous past actions = both continuous
6	d) had been	Past Perfect Continuous (duration before past event - waiting for 2 hours)
7	a) fired / refused	Two simple past actions (fired because he refused)
8	c) had known	Past Perfect (knew before the accident = first action)
9	b) was completing	Past Continuous (was completing when deadline changed = interruption)
10	c) had been studying	Past Perfect Continuous (duration: 6 months before decision)

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Related Tense Resources

• Present Tense
• Future Tense
• Tenses (Full Reference)
• Understanding Verbs