Verbs: Past Tenses

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Use the past tenses consistently. Do not switch to present or future for no reason.

Simple Past
Use the simple past tense when you specify exactly when an event occurred.

Example

She married him last month.

 
When the sequence of past events is indicated with words like before or after, use the simple past for both events.

Example

She knew how to write her name before she went to school.

Past Progressive
Use the past progressive for an activity in progress over time or at a specified point in the past.

Examples

They were working all day yesterday. He was lifting weights when I called.

 
Past Perfect
Use the past perfect or past perfect progressive only when one past event was completed before another past event or stated past time.

Examples

He had cooked the whole meal by the time Sam arrived. [Two events occurred: he cooked the meal; then Sam arrived.] He had been cooking for three hours when his sister finally offered to help. [An event in progress — cooking — was interrupted in the past.]

Make sure that the past tense form you choose expresses your exact meaning.

Examples

When the student protesters marched into the building at noon, the administrators were leaving. [The administrators were in the process of leaving. They began to leave at, say, 11:57 A.M.] When the student protesters marched into the building at noon, the administrators had left. [There was no sign of the administrators. They had left at 11 A.M.] When the student protesters marched into the building at noon, the administrators left. [The administrators saw the protesters and then left at 12:01 P.M.]

 

See also
Sentence Problems: Verbs