ALL English Past Tenses Explained in 12 Minutes [including USED TO and WOULD!]

Learn all about English past tenses in 12 minutes: how and when to use them, and the differences between the different past tenses. In this video, we're going to discuss the following past tenses in English: the past simple, the past continuous, the past perfect, the past perfect continuous, and the phrases 'used to' and 'would'.

We will also look at the differences between them, to make sure you're not mixing them up.

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Here's a quick look at what each of the English past tenses looks like. To learn how to use them, watch the video :)

Past simple:

I played tennis last week. ('play + ed' is a regular past simple form)
I went to the cinema last night. ('went' is an irregular past simple form, the present tense form is 'go')

To ask a question, use 'did' + present tense form:

Did you play tennis last week?
Did you go to the cinema last night?

To make it into a negative sentence, use 'did not' + present tense form:

I did not play tennis.
I did not go to the cinema.

Past continuous:

I was playing tennis between 8 and 9 this morning.

So, it's 'was' or 'were' + verb + ing

To ask a question, invert 'was'/'were' and the subject:

Was I playing tennis between 8 and 9 this morning?

To make it negative, add 'not' after 'was'/'were':

I was not playing.

Past perfect:

When I went to London, I realised I had been there before.

So, you need 'had' and the past participle form (third form). 'Been' is the past participle form of the verb 'to be'.

To ask a question, invert 'had' and the subject:

Had you been to London before we travelled there together?

To make it negative, add 'not' after 'had':

I had not been to London.

Past perfect continuous:

We had been talking when you arrived.

You need 'had' + 'been' + verb + ing

To ask a question, invert 'had' and the subject:

Had you been talking when I arrived?

To make it negative, add 'not' after 'had':

We had not been talking.

Used to:

I used to like spaghetti when I was a child.

'Used to' is followed by a verb in the present tense.

To ask a question, do it in the same way you do it in the past simple tense. So:

Did + subject + use to + verb

Did you use to like spaghetti when you were a child?

To make it into a negative sentence, say:

I didn't use to like spaghetti.

Would:

We would go to the seaside a lot when we were younger.

Use 'would' and a verb in the present tense.

To ask a question, invert 'would' and the subject:

Would you go to the seaside a lot when you were younger?

To make it into a negative sentence, say:

We wouldn't go to the seaside much when we were younger.

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