UNIDAD II: HABLEMOS DEL PASADO, PRESENTE Y FUTURO

INGLÉS INTERMEDIO I
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Consideraciones Previas
El contenido que se expone a continuación está ligado a los siguientes
aprendizajes esperados:

• Utilizar el pasado simple para narrar acciones o eventos que ocurrieron en

un tiempo específico en el pasado.

• Utilizar el pasado continuo para describir acciones que estaban en

desarrollo en un momento específico del pasado en inglés.

Sobre las fuentes utilizadas en el material

El presente Material de Estudio constituye un ejercicio de recopilación de

distintas fuentes, cuyas referencias bibliográficas estarán debidamente
señaladas al final del documento. Este material, en ningún caso pretende asumir
como propia la autoría de las ideas plantea-das. La información que se incorpora
tiene como única finalidad el apoyo para el desarrollo de los contenidos de la
unidad correspondiente, respetando los derechos de autor ligados a las ideas e
información seleccionada para los fines específicos de cada asignatura.

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Introducción
Have you ever tried to tell a story about something that happened in the past?
English offers two main verb tenses, past simple and past continuous, that help us
describe events from back then. The past simple is like a spotlight, focusing on
completed actions at a specific time in the past.

The past continuous, on the other hand, is like a movie camera, showing us
ongoing actions that were happening over a period of time in the past.
Understanding these tenses will allow you to paint a vivid picture of your past
experiences!

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Ideas fuerza

• Pasado Simple: En inglés, el pasado simple se utiliza para describir

acciones o eventos que ocurrieron y se completaron en el pasado. Se forma
generalmente agregando "-ed" al verbo para la mayoría de los verbos
regulares. Por ejemplo: "I walked to the store yesterday" (Caminé a la
tienda ayer). Para los verbos irregulares, las formas en pasado pueden
variar, como en el caso de "go" que en pasado simple es "went".

• Pasado continuo: El pasado continuo en inglés, también conocido como

"past continuous", se forma utilizando el verbo "to be" en pasado simple
(was/were) seguido del gerundio del verbo principal (el verbo en su forma
base + "-ing"). Este tiempo verbal se utiliza para describir acciones en
progreso en un momento específico del pasado o para hablar sobre dos
acciones que estaban ocurriendo simultáneamente en el pasado. Por
ejemplo, "I was studying when she called" (Yo estaba estudiando cuando
ella llamó).

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Índice
1. PAST SIMPLE ..................................................................................................... 6
1.1. Uses of the Past Simple ............................................................................ 6
1.2. Forming the Past Simple ........................................................................... 7
1.3. Simple Past – Spelling Rules .................................................................... 9
1.4. Past Simple Tense Time Expressions ........................................................... 13
2. PAST CONTINUOUS ..................................................................................... 14
2.1. Uses of the Past Continuous ....................................................................... 14
2.2. Forming the Past Continuous ...................................................................... 16

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Desarrollo
1. PAST SIMPLE

The past simple tense, also known as the simple past tense, is a grammatical
construct in English used to describe actions or events that occurred and were
completed at a specific point in the past. It is typically formed by conjugating
regular verbs with the suffix "-ed" or using irregular verb forms.

The past simple is commonly employed to narrate past experiences, recount

historical events, or express habitual actions that took place in the past. Its
straightforward structure and usage make it one of the foundational tenses in
English, essential for effective communication of past events and experiences.

Elvis was born in Tupelo, Mississippi. When he

was 13, his family moved to Memphis,
Tennessee. Elvis was relatively shy and as a
youngster was not keen on performing in public.
However, he received a guitar as a present and
learned to play and sing; he gained no formal
musical training, but had an innate natural talent
and could easily pick up music.

*was, moved, received, learned, gained, had are

all past simple.

1.1. Uses of the Past Simple

The Simple Past is used to talk about actions or situations in the past.

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Use Examples

Use the simple past to express the ✓ Andrew watched TV yesterday.

idea that an action started and finished ✓ My friends went to Paris a week
at a specific time in the past. ago.

Use simple past to list a series of ✓ First I got up, then I had breakfast.
completed actions in the past.

The simple past can be used with a

duration which starts and stops in the ✓ I lived in Brazil for two years.
past. A duration is a longer action often
indicated by expressions such as for ✓ Simon studied Japanese for five
two years, for five minutes, all day, all years.
year, etc.

The simple past can also be used to ✓ When I was a child I played the
describe a habit which stopped in the guitar.
past. We often add expressions such
as always, often, usually, never, when I
was a child, when I was younger, etc.

1.2. Forming the Past Simple

Regular Verbs: To make a past tense verb, we normally just add -ED to the end of
a regular verb.

Example: cook/ cooked – watch / watched

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Affirmative Negative Question

Subject + Verb in the Subject + Didn’t (did not) + (WH) + Did + Subject +
past form Verb in the base form Verb in the base form

I worked yesterday. I didn’t work yesterday. Did I work?

Where did I work?

You worked You didn’t work yesterday. Did you work?

yesterday. Where did you work?

He/she/it worked He/she/it didn’t work Did he/she/it work?

yesterday. yesterday. Where did she work?

We worked We didn’t work yesterday. Did we work?

yesterday. Where did we work?

They worked They didn’t worked Did they work?

yesterday. yesterday. Where did they work?

The structure of simple questions in the simple past tense typically follows this pattern:

Question
Adverb Subject Auxiliary
Did + Subject + Verb in
the base form

Did I work? I
you
Did you work?
he/she/it
Did he/she/it work? Yes, did / didn’t
we
No,
Did we work? they

Did they work?

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1.3. Simple Past – Spelling Rules

Regular verbs are conjugated by adding -ed to the base infinitive of a verb.
However, there are some exceptions to this rule:

Figura 1: Spelling Rules

Fuente: Lewolang, 2024.

Examples:

• She kissed me on the cheek.

• It rained yesterday.
• Angela watched TV all night.
• John wanted to go to the museum.

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Irregular Verbs: They don’t follow a pattern or rule like regular verbs and so just
have to be memorized.

There are many of course, but here are some examples:

Infinitive verb Past simple verb

To be was (I/he/she) were (you/we/they)

To go Went

To do Did

To have Had

To get Got

To eat Ate

To fall Fell

To feel Felt

To dream Dreamt

To speak Spoke

To give Gave

To take Took

To find Found

To draw Drew

Can Could

To drink Drank

To choose Chose

To buy Bought

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Irregular verbs are used in sentences in the same way as regular ones. For
example:

• You paid for our lunch yesterday

• He won a prize for his poetry a few years ago

• We sold our house recently

• The doctor sent me home at midday.

The structure of affirmative, negative sentences and questions in the simple past
tense typically follows this pattern:

STRUCTURE EXAMPLES

Affirmative Subject + Verb in the past

John bought a present for his sister.
form

Negative Subject + Didn’t (did not) + They didn't get married.

Verb in the base form

Did you go the party?

Question (WH) + Did + Subject +
Yes, I did.
Verb in the base form
Yes, I went to the party.

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Figura 2: Past simple Tense

Fuente: Woodward Education, 2024

To Be Verb

The verb be is irregular, so you need to remember its conjugation by heart:

Person Positive Negative Question

I/he/she/it I was I was not (wasn’t) Was I?

you/we/they You were You were not (weren’t) Were you?

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ANTES DE CONTINUAR CON LA LECTURA, REFLEXIONEMOS…

Complete the sentence using past simple tense and the verbs in brackets.

1) ______ Martha ____________ (pass) her exam?

2) What ______ you ____________ (have) for dinner?
3) I ____________ (not have) a shower this morning.
4) ______ you ____________ (see) your friends last weekend?
5) Ben ____________ (not go) to school yesterday.
6) ______ you ____________ (like) the concert?

1.4. Past Simple Tense Time Expressions

In the past simple tense, various expressions of time are used to provide context
and specify when an action or event occurred in the past. Some common
expressions of time used with the past simple tense include:

Yesterday Last night

Yesterday morning Last week
Yesterday afternoon Last Saturday
Yesterday evening Last October
The day before yesterday Last year
Three weeks ago The other day
Two years ago When I was born
Long time ago In 2003

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Using the past simple tense together with these expressions tells us that the action
is finished and when the action happened.

For example:

She was late for work yesterday morning.

They went on holiday last August. Time expressions usually go at
the end or at the beginning of a
Yesterday I went to school. sentence.

2. PAST CONTINUOUS

Past continuous, also known as past progressive, is a verb tense used to describe
actions that were ongoing at a specific point in the past or actions that were
happening simultaneously in the past. It is formed by combining the past tense of
the verb "to be" (was, were) with the base form of the main verb and the suffix "-
ing".

For example, "She was reading," "They were talking," or "I was cooking." Past
continuous emphasizes the duration or continuity of an action in the past, often
setting the scene or providing background information in a narrative. It helps to
convey a sense of the past as a dynamic and unfolding period, adding depth and
vividness to storytelling by highlighting ongoing actions or situations.

2.1. Uses of the Past Continuous

Use Example

To describe a continuing unfinished action in It was raining on Monday so we

the past. didn’t play tennis.

For a continuing unfinished action interrupted He was driving to work when the
by a sudden past action. accident happened.

When you use the past continuous with two I was studying while he was
actions in the same sentence, it expresses the making dinner.
idea that both actions were happening at the
same time. The actions are parallel.

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For activities as background description People in the restaurant were

talking loudly as we waited for
our meal.

The past continuous with words such He was constantly talking. He

as always or constantly expresses the idea annoyed everyone.
that something irritating or shocking often
happened in the past.

Using when and while:

✓ While is used with actions that are in progress, so you can use while
with the past continuous.
✓ When is used with actions that happen in an instant, so you can use
it with the simple past.
This means that you could write the same sentence in different ways:

• I was sleeping when you called. OR

o You called while I was sleeping.

• Julie was studying when her parents came home. OR

o Julie’s parents came home while she was studying.

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2.2. Forming the Past Continuous

To form the past continuous tense, you combine the past tense of the verb "to be"
(was/were) with the base form of the main verb and the suffix "-ing". Here's the
structure:

Affirmative Negative Question

Subject + "was" “were”+ Subject + "was not, wasn’t" "was" “were”+ subject +
base form of the verb + “were not, weren’t”+ base base form of the verb +
"-ing" form of the verb + "-ing" "-ing"

I was working I was not (wasn’t) working Was I working?

You were working You were not (weren’t) Were you working?
working

He/she/it was working He/she/it was not (wasn’t) Was he/she/it working?
working

We were working We were not (weren’t) Were we working?

working

They were working They were not (weren’t) Were they working?
working

To form yes/no questions in the past continuous tense, you invert the subject and
the auxiliary verb "was" or "were". Here's the structure:

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Question
"was" “were”+ subject + Short Answer
base form of the verb +
"-ing"

Was I / he / she working? I

Yes,
He was
No, She wasn’t.

It

Were you / we / they you

Yes, were
working? we weren’t.
No, they

Remember that stative verbs are not used in the continuous tense. Stative verbs
express a state – not an action. Since there is no action in progress, the past
continuous should not be used. Here are some categories of stative verbs:

• Mental states: think, understand, believe, doubt, know, prefer, remember, want
• Emotional states: like, love, hate
• Senses: see, hear, smell, taste, feel, seem, sound
• Possession: have, own, possess
• Communication: agree, disagree, mean, promise
• Other states: be, need, owe, cost, depend, matter

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ANTES DE CONTINUAR CON LA LECTURA, REFLEXIONEMOS…

Which goes with which?

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Conclusión
In conclusion, both the past simple tense and past continuous tense play vital roles
in expressing actions and events in the past, each offering unique nuances to
storytelling and communication.

The past simple tense provides a straightforward narrative structure, ideal for
recounting completed actions or states with clarity and simplicity. On the other
hand, the past continuous tense adds depth and context, allowing for the portrayal
of ongoing or interrupted actions, painting a more dynamic picture of past events.

Together, these tenses provide a versatile toolkit for expressing the complexities of
the past, enabling speakers and writers to craft engaging narratives, share
experiences, and delve into historical accounts with precision and vividness.

Whether conveying a momentary action or a prolonged activity, the combined use

of these tenses enriches our language and enhances our ability to connect with
others through the shared stories of our past.

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Bibliografía
Lewolang (2024). Past Simple. https://www.lewolang.com/gramatica-
inglesa/43/past-simple

Woodward Education (2024). Past Tense in English.

https://www.grammar.cl/english/past-tense.htm#google_vignette

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