Present Perfect and Simple Past

Simple Past 

Use the past simple to talk about activities or routines which take place at a specified time in the past. Notice that all subjects take the same conjugation of the verb. 

Regular verbs end in '-ed'.

visit - visited

enjoy - enjoyed

Irregular verbs have various forms and each verb needs to be learned.

see - saw

think - thought

The past simple is used to express a finished past action which occurs at a specific moment in the past.

Examples

She visited Iran last month.

They didn't go to Tom's party last weekend.

Where did you go on vacation last summer?

The simple past expresses an action in the past taking place once, never, several times. It can also be used for actions taking place one after another or in the middle of another action.

1) action finished in the past (single or repeated)

I visited Berlin last week.
Andrew watched TV yesterday

2) series of completed actions in the past

First I got up, then I had breakfast.

3) together with the Past Progressive/Continuous - The Simple Past interrupted an action which was in progress in the past.

They were playing cards when the telephone rang.
1st action: Past Progressive were playing
2nd action: Simple Past rang

Past Tenses: Simple, Continuous, Perfect

Past Tenses: Simple, Continuous, Perfect

Simple Past

the simple past expresses an action in the past taking place once, never, several times. It can also be used for actions taking place one after another or  in the middle of an action.

For irregular verbs, use the past form. For regular verbs, just add "ed".

Exceptions in spelling when adding ed	Example
after a final e only add d	love – loved
final consonant after a short, stressed vowel or l as final consonant after a vowel is doubled	admit – admitted travel – travelled
final y after a consonant becomes i	hurry – hurried

Example:

·         I played                     Did I play?                            I did not play.

·         She sang                  Did she sing?                      She didn’t sing.

·         He loved                   Did he love?                                    He didn’t love.

Past Perfect: 

Use the past perfect  to talk about an event wich had happened at some point in time before something took place.

Example:

·         She had finished her homework

·         I hadn’t eaten before finished my work

·         What had she saw before sartted cried?

      Past Perfect Continuous:

      the past perfect continuous is used to express how long something had been going on before something important happened in the past

Example:

·         She had been playing football.

·         You hadn't been so Smart

·         How long had you been there?

Present Tenses: Simple and Continuous, Action and Non-action verbs

Present Tenses

Describes a current event or state of being. However, somwhat, unusually the present tenses can also use to describe past and future events.

·         I jump in the lake every Saturday. (present event)

·         I am happy. (present state of being)

·         The meeting ends at 6 o'clock. (future event)

·         A man walks into a bar- Ouch! (past event)

Simple and Continuous

We use the present simple tense when we want to talk about fixed habits or routines – things that are always happen regulary.

Example:

·         I eat pizza

·         They go to a restaurant

·         She made the pasta

·         He will buy take out food

We use the present continuous to talk about actions which are happening at the present moment, but will soon finish, action in progress at the time of speaking or for the future arrangement.

Example:

·         What are you eating?

·         She is teasting the sushi for the first time.

·         I’m not going to eatout this time.

Compare these two statements:

·         (present simple) I play tennis.

·         (present continuous/ progressive) I am playing tennis.

(present simple) ‘I play tennis’ tells us that playing tennis is something the speaker always does. It is part of a routine or habit. We can call this a permanent situation.

(present continuous/ progressive) ‘I am playing tennis’ tells us that the speaker is playing tennis right now. Soon the game will be over. We call this a temporary situation.

Action and Non-action

An action verb is used to describe an action that is performed, can beuse in simple perfect and progresive (continuous tenses.

Example:

·         I’ll make the tacos

·         She drinks the winke like if is wáter

·         They want to go to an Italian restaurant

    Non-action verbs are used to describe states, senses, desires, possession, emotions and opinion.

     

      Non-action verbs are not usually used in continuous tenses.

       Example:

·         She likes the soup

·         He loves cook for his family