English grammar
Past Tenses
English past tenses do different jobs: past simple narrates completed events, past continuous sets the scene, and past perfect reaches back before another past moment.
Textbook Past Tenses
The standard forms taught in English courses worldwide, illustrated with real clips from native speakers, not invented examples.
Past Simple
Subject + past verb (regular: -ed / irregular: went, saw, said…)
The backbone of storytelling in English. Used for completed actions at a specific time in the past, the tense you'll hear most in everyday conversation and narrative.
Past Continuous
Subject + was/were + verb-ing
Used for actions that were in progress at a specific past moment, or as a background for another event. Often pairs with past simple: "I was cooking when she called."
Past Perfect
Subject + had + past participle
Used to show that one past action happened before another. "She had already left when I arrived." Essential for clear sequencing in stories and explanations.