PAST TENSES:Past simple

Present perfectPast continuous

Present perfect continuous

The 6 main tenses we use to talk about the past are:

 past simple He worked at Scavolini.present perfect He has worked at Scavolini.past continuous He was working at Scavolini.present perfect continuous He has been working at Scavolini. past perfect He had worked at Scavolini.past perfect continuous He had been working at Scavolini.  

Compare: Marco has bought a new tennis racket.He bought it last SaturdayHe has been using it since Saturday.He was going past the sports shop when he saw the racket in the window.He had already decided to buy a new racket.He had been looking for one for a few weeks.

1. THE PAST SIMPLE FORM: Regular past forms end in -ed, e.g. worked, ordered, delivered

The past simple is the same in all persons: in statements:I – you – he – she – it - we – they worked.in questions: Did I – you – he – she – it - we – they work ? in negative sentences:I – you – he – she – it - we – they did not work.  

The only exception is the past tense of be:

I – he – she – it - was.

You - we – you - they were.

SHORT FORMS:did not = didn’t was not= wasn’twere not= weren’t N.B.: Some verbs have an irregular past form and do not end in -ed!  (to sell) We sold our new line of organic food products in ten countries last year.

(to have)They had trouble with their main supplier of raw materials. 

PRESENT PERFECT

FORM:present tense of “have” + past participle; regular past participles end in -ed, in statements:

I – you – we – they have worked.

He – she – it has worked.

Have I – you - we – they worked ? Has he – she – it worked ?

I – you – we – they have not worked.He – she – it has not worked.

N.B. We do not use the verb “be” as an auxiliary in the present perfect: Correct The plane HAS arrivedIncorrect The plane IS arrived.

SHORT FORMS:hasn’t worked = has not worked haven’t = have not worked 

Compare the use of the

PAST SIMPLE

&

PRESENT PERFECT:

The PRESENT PERFECT tells us about the past AND the present:

The PAST SIMPLE tells us about the past:

They have received the order. (= They have the goods now)

They received the goods yesterday. (=but they may have used them immediately, or

sent them back to the supplier because they were in poor condition)

They have locked the warehouse door (No one can

enter it now)

They locked the warehouse door at 10 o’clock last night.

(Maybe it is open now)

The warehouse staff has packed the goods.

(= now they’re ready for shipment. )

The staff packed the goods last night before going home.

(= but they had to be re-packed this morning because

the client called to ask us to add some other articles to the

shipment).

Our technician has repaired the equipment. (It works now)

Our technician repaired the equipment, but it broke down again after just ten days.

In other words, the focus is on the CURRENT RELEVANCE of information:

Our fax number HAS CHANGED.

We’VE just LOWERED our prices.

They HAVE UPDATED their website.

In the next example about

Information Technology,

the impact of IT is described in

terms ofits PRESENT

SIGNIFICANCE:

Information technology has shaken upcompany structures just as much as

external markets.

Inside companies, it has also changed behaviour.

It has led to the elimination of a vast number of jobs,

while making other jobs moredemanding or more effective.

We use the present perfect to talk about

LIFE EXPERIENCESUP TO NOW:

He’s done lots of jobs ! He’s worked in a call center, in a

shoe factory and he’s been a DJ, too.

The focus is not on WHEN he did the jobs: only the experiences are important !

We use the PRESENT PERFECT for a state which has continued up to the present:

 I have had this job for ten years.

(=I’ve still got it now)

We use the PAST SIMPLE for a state in the past:

 I had a job once, but I lost it.

(= I don’t have it now)

Gina has loved Chinese food ever since she first tried it.

(She still loves it now)Gina loved Chinese food when she

first tried it. (But she doesn’t now).

I’ve known Mr. Ferrero for a long time. He’s a good client.

I knew Mr. Ferrero when I was younger, but I haven’t spoken with him for years.

We use the PRESENT PERFECT for actions in an unspecified

period up to the present:

Bruno Vespa has written 100 books.

We use the PAST SIMPLE for actions in the past:

 

Shakespeare wrote numerous comedies and tragedies.

SlowFood Arcigola has published over 60 books about food.

“Editori Riuniti” published over 5,000 titles before they closed in 1990.

Esperya.com has attracted hundreds of thousands of on-line shoppers.

Esperya.com attracted over 15,000 new clients last month.

Have you ever visited a vineyard ?Did you visit any vineyards when you were in Tuscany?

We have sold over 100,000 bottles of spumante so far this year.We sold over 100,000 bottles of spumante last year.

I have already seen this film, and I didn’t like it. I don’t want to see it again !

I saw lots of films when I attended the Venice film festival.

Gianmarco Venturi was a rich and

successful businessman, but he’s an old man now

and doesn’t work any more.

His son Carlo is now a very rich and very successful

businessman. Ex. Most business people make mistakes.

Gianmarco made mistakes, but his son has never made a mistake.

Business people travel a lot. Carlo __________ all over the world. His father __________ on business, too, but not so

much. 

Good business people make money. Carlo __________ £ 50 million now. His

father __________ £10 million. 

Business people can win prizes. Gianmarco __________ the Exporter of

the Year prize twice. His son __________ it four times already.

 

A lot of business people don’t take risks. Gianmarco __________ risks because he was afraid to, but his son __________ quite a few risks so far in his career.

We often give a piece of news in the PRESENT

PERFECT and use the PAST SIMPLE for the details:

  I’ve found my wallet !  -Oh, good. Where did you find it?

Our order has arrived. -- The shipping company delivered it this morning.

   We use today and phrases with this for a period up to the present:  It hasn’t rained yet today.  Have you seen this week’s magazine?  It rained yesterday.  Did you see last week’s magazine?

THE PAST CONTINUOUS

THE PAST CONTINUOUS  I – he – she – it was working. You – we – you – they were working.

Was I – he – she – it working ? Were you – we – you – they working ?

I – he – she – it was not working. You – we – you – they were not working.

SHORT FORMS:wasn’t working = was not workingweren’t working= were not working

It was a lovely day and the sun was shining. I was walking across the field when I saw a plane. It was

flying very low. It was making a strange noise, and I knew there was a problem. It came down in the next field, and I heard a crash. I ran to the village and phoned for help.

We use the Past continuous to say that we were in the middle of an action, to describe something that was happening at a certain

time in the past.

The action had started, but had not ended.

  I was walking across the field, when......

(= I was in the field.) The plane was flying very low, when.....

We use the past simple for completed actions in the past:

I walked across the field.(= I crossed it completely.)

The plane crashed in a field.

We often use the past continuous to describe the

background (the scene) and the past simple for the

actions in a story: 

The sun was shining .... I ran to the village.

We often use the past continuous and simple

together when a shorter action interrupted a longer one (=came in the middle of

it): 

I was so tired after work last night that I fell asleep while I was watching

TV. We were sitting in the garden

when it suddenly started to rain.The phone rang while I was making

lunch.

PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS

He – she – it has been working. I - you – we –you - they have been working.

Has he – she – it been working ? Have I- you – we – you - they been working ?

He – she – it has not been working. I - you – we –you - they have not been working.

PRESENT PERFECT or PRESENT PERFECT

CONTINUOUS ?

The choice depends on how we see the action:

as continuing over a period of time

or as completed.

We use the Present Perfect Continuous: To talk about repeated actions up to the present: I have been taking English lessons since I was ten years old.I have been going to evening classes this year. for an action that has ended just before now: I’ve been taking a shower. That’s why my hair is wet.

we often the Present Perfect Continuous with for, since, recently, lately and how long:

You’ve been writing that letter for an hour—why is it taking you so long ?

She’s been going though a divorce, so she hasn’t been feeling very happy recently.

We have been staying at the Excelsior hotel for the last three days.

Exercise: The workers are tired. They (work) hard.

The boss and his secretary both look angry. They (argue) all morning !

Tina (talk) to our German client on the phone for the last 45 minutes – I wonder what the problem is ?

I (read) this contract all morning but I still can’t understand some of the clauses.

Gianni arrived at the office this morning at 7 am and at 7 pm he’s still here ! He (work) for 12 hours !

Marco has a back-ache. He (work) in our warehouse loading a lorry all afternoon.