Learn English Tenses: PAST SIMPLE or PAST PERFECT?

Hi, I'm Rebecca.

In this class, you will learn the difference between two English tenses: the past simple

tense, which is a basic tense, and the past perfect tense, which is an advanced tense.

Now, this class is part of a series on English verb tenses, created by www.engvid.com. So,

both of these tenses talk about the past, but they talk about them in completely different ways.

So, if you've watched my individual lessons on these tenses, that's great.

You can watch this lesson to understand even more clearly the differences between them.

And if you have not watched the individual lessons, that's okay.

You can watch this as an introduction, and then you can go on to watch the separate classes.

Alright?

So, let's get started.

So, the past simple tense is used to talk about one or more actions that happened in

the past and they're finished and they're over.

Okay?

The past perfect tense is used to talk about at least two actions in the past, and you

want to show which one of them happened first in the past.

Okay?

I'm going to explain to you exactly what all that means.

So, let's look at this timeline first, regarding the past simple.

So, this is our timeline.

This is now, and it's 7:30 in the morning.

So, some things happened before now.

That means in the past, right?

Something happened at 7:15, something happened at 7:00, and something happened at 6:45.

So, let's look at what these individual events were.

So, we could say, "At 6:45, I took a shower."

"I took" is past simple.

"At 7:00, I ate breakfast", okay?

That's also past simple.

"At 7:15, I left for work."

Also past simple.

So here, we're simply talking about things that happened in the past and we're just saying

when they happened, or that they happened.

Okay?

That's it.

Now, let's look at past perfect.

We have the same timeline.

It's 7:30 now, and we're talking about things that happened before now.

But, the same time periods, 7:15, 7:00, and 6:45.

So, we could say, "Before I left for work," at 7:15, "I had eaten breakfast and I had

taken a shower."

So, let's look at it on the timeline.

Before I left for work, at 7:15, some things had happened before then, and this tense allows

us to know what happened before then by using "had eaten".

So, I had eaten breakfast.

So, we are comparing these two things, all of which happened in the past.

So, I had eaten breakfast, I had taken a shower, right?

Before I left, I had eaten breakfast.

Before I left, I had taken a shower.

So, we are comparing at least two actions that happened in the past and, by using "had

eaten" and "had taken", which are the past perfect, we know that these actions happened

before the other one.

So, the past perfect action - sorry, that past perfect tense is always used to talk

about the action that happened first.

So, this happened before I left.

And here, in this part, we actually just have what?

Past simple.

Okay?

But the important part is this - that in past simple, we're talking about things that happened

in the past.

They're finished, they're over.

They don't necessarily connect to each other or not, okay?

But here, there is definitely a connection between at least two events that happened

in the past and you're showing and you're able to show what happened first in the past.

Now, let's look at the structure of these two tenses and how to form them.

So, they're actually quite easy, because they don't have a lot of changes.

In the past simple, all you do is you take the subject, which is like I, you, we, they, etc.

And you add the past simple form of the verb, whether it's a regular verb or an irregular

verb, you just add that one form and that's it.

And you use that for all the subjects, whether it's a singular subject or a plural subject,

it doesn't matter.

You use it for all of them.

For example: I worked.

I worked yesterday.

You worked.

We worked.

They worked.

He worked.

She worked, and It worked.

Alright?

That's an example with a regular verb.

With an irregular verb, like the verb "to go", that's the base form of the verb, so

every day I go to work.

Yesterday, I went.

Okay?

So, this is an example of a past tense irregular verb.

But it's just the past simple form that we use with the past simple tense.

So, you would say things like, "We went to the supermarket".

She went to the supermarket.

And so on.

Okay?

That's the past simple.

In the negative form of that, it would become, "He did not work", or "He didn't work".

And the question would be, "Did he work yesterday?"

Okay?

Now, this is just a quick review.

If you are not sure of any of this, then please check those individual lessons of mine.

So there, I break it down according to the positive sentence, the negative sentence,

and the question for both of the tenses, okay?

So, don't worry if you're not sure.

Just go back and check those.

This is just a quick overview of the structure.

So, that's basically it for the past simple.

Now, let's look at past perfect, which is sometimes called the past of the past, because

remember we're comparing two actions and we're saying which one happened before the other,

right?

At least two actions.

So here, what do we do?

Here, we take the subject + the verb "had", okay?

The helping verb "had", because it's in the past + what's called the past participle.

The past participle for regular verbs is the same word you used here, which is like the

past simple form of that verb.

So, "I worked", past simple, and past perfect, "I had worked", or let's say, "He had worked

on the project for several months before I arrived."

Okay?

He had worked before I arrived.

Alright?

Or, "He had gone to the supermarket when I came home."

Alright?

So, what happens here?

This is an irregular verb.

Here, we said, "went", because there are three forms of the irregular verbs.

There's the base form, "go", the past simple form, "went", and the third form, which is

called the past participle form, which is "gone".

Go, went, gone.

And many of them change like that or in other irregular ways.

So, you need to learn those so you can use this past perfect tense correctly, alright?

If it's a negative sentence there, we would just say, "He hadn't worked".

And if it was a question, "Had he worked for several months before you arrived?" or something

like that, okay?

But basically, with all of these, "I had worked", "They had worked", "She had gone", whatever

you need to say.

But basically, with all the subjects, you just say "had" + that past participle of the

verb.

Okay?

And that's the structure of these two tenses.

Now, let's do some practice exercises together.

So, here are two sentences about the past: I completed five courses.

I received a certificate.

Now, those are two past simple sentences.

Let's try to combine them into a past perfect sentence in a little more advanced way, right?

So, again, "I completed five courses.

I received a certificate."

So, we could say, "Before I received a certificate, I _____________ five courses."

What would you say?

"Before I received a certificate, I", we take it from here, okay, from this one.

"I had completed five courses."

Okay?

Because this happened first.

And therefore, this is the one we convert into the past perfect.

Alright.

Let's look at B. These things also happened in the past: The children went to bed at 9:00.

John arrived home at 10:00.

So, we could say, "When John arrived home, the children", take it from here, "the children",

change this one, "had" what?

What's the third form of the verb "to go"?

Go, went, and gone.

Good.

"The children had gone to bed."

Alright?

You see that?

So, could you just say, "The children went to bed at 9:00" and "John arrived home at

10:00"?

Yes, you could make two simple, you know, past simple sentences.

It's not wrong, but what if the children did lots of things?

How many times are you going to say "and" or how many times are you going to say "The

children went to bed, then John arrived home, then, then, then".

It gets too much, right?

And it's boring.

So, by creating this kind of sentence, we can say, for example, "When John arrived home,

the children had done their homework, they had eaten dinner, they had brushed their teeth,

and they had gone to bed."

Okay?

So, this way, you can also include much more information in a much more interesting and

more advanced way by using that - this tense.

Okay?

Now, C: She was a manager for ten years.

She became a director.

So, how could we combine that?

"Before she became a director, she", what?

"Had", what's the third form of the verb "to be"?

I am, I was, I had been.

Okay?

So, as I said, yes, you do have to learn that past participle, alright, to use this tense.

But, once you know it, then you'll be able to easily speak and write using this perfect

tense, alright?

Now, does it always have to be in this order, like "Before she became a director, she had

been a manager for ten years"?

No, you could say the other way.

You could say, "She had been a manager for ten years before she became a director.

But one way or the other, whatever happened first, that's the part that we're expressing

in the past perfect.

Okay?

So, I hope this exercise helped you to understand how to use these two tenses, how they're different,

and so on.

But, of course, as I mentioned, I do have individual lessons on each of these tenses.

There, I go into much more detail, so you understand exactly how to use each tense.

What it is, when to use it, how to use it, what contractions to use, how to - what kind

of spelling changes you need to make, how the verbs change, and so on.

Many more things, and also exercises, separate exercises in each of the tenses.

So, if you feel that you need some more practice, by all means, watch that individual class

on the past simple, on the past perfect, okay?

And you will get it.

And remember, this is part of a series.

So, if you're comfortable with this, that's great.

If you're ready to move on, that's wonderful.

So, go on then, from here to the next tense in our series, which is the past perfect continuous tense.

Alright?

And, if you'd like a little more practice just on this comparison, you can always do

that by going to www.engvid.com, where you can do a quiz on this.

Thanks very much for watching.

You've reached a high level in your English.

Feel very proud of where you are, and all the best with your English.