How to Talk About the Past in English
How to Talk About the Past in English
Part one how to talk about your past experience Use the present perfect tense to talk/ask about your past experiences,but only you don't say the time. Remember that the past tense and present perfect tense can both be used to talk about things that happened in the past.The only difference is that we can use a specific time with the past tense,but we cannot use a specific time with the present perfect tense. -I've tried windsurfing. -I've never been bungee jumping. -Have you ever been skydiving?
Part one how to talk about your past experience Use the present perfect tense to talk/ask about your past experiences, but only you don’t say the time. Remember that the past tense and present perfect tense can both be used to talk about things that happened in the past. The only difference is that we can use a specific time with the past tense, but we cannot use a specific time with the present perfect tense. -I’ve tried windsurfing. -I’ve never been bungee jumping. -Have you ever been skydiving?
Present perfect tense pI've read“The Idiot”. I've never drunk whisky. Have you ever grown your own vegetables? Past tense I went windsurfing three years ago. I didn't drink a lot last year. Did you eat a lot of sushi when you were in Japan? So when you talk about your past experience,you often start with the present perfect tense,then switch to the past tense when you mention with the specific time. Have you ever been to Australia? Yes,I went there two years ago,for my friend's wedding
Present perfect tense I’ve read “The Idiot”. I’ve never drunk whisky. Have you ever grown your own vegetables? Past tense I went windsurfing three years ago. I didn’t drink a lot last year. Did you eat a lot of sushi when you were in Japan? So when you talk about your past experience, you often start with the present perfect tense, then switch to the past tense when you mention with the specific time. Have you ever been to Australia? Yes, I went there two years ago, for my friend’s wedding
Part two how to compare the past and present He used to have a beard I used to live in Berlin. They didn't use to get on so well. I didn't use to wear glasses. Did you use to play a musical instrument? Didn't he use to work here?
Part two how to compare the past and present He used to have a beard I used to live in Berlin. They didn’t use to get on so well. I didn’t use to wear glasses. Did you use to play a musical instrument? Didn’t he use to work here?
We use "used to"when we refer to things in the past which are no longer true.It can refer to repeated actions or to a state or situation: He used to play football for the local team,but he's too old now. That white house over there used to belong to my family.(It belonged to my family in the past,but not any more.) Warning:In statements,the form used to does not change.We do not use the verb be before it.It always refers to past time: We used to go to the seaside every summer when I was a kid. Not:We are used to go.or We use to go.or We were used to go. Negative:didn't use to It didn't use to be so crowded in the shops as it is nowadays
We use “used to”when we refer to things in the past which are no longer true. It can refer to repeated actions or to a state or situation: He used to play football for the local team, but he’s too old now. That white house over there used to belong to my family. (It belonged to my family in the past, but not any more.) Warning: In statements, the form used to does not change. We do not use the verb be before it. It always refers to past time: We used to go to the seaside every summer when I was a kid. Not: We are used to go . or We use to go . or We were used to go . Negative: didn’t use to It didn’t use to be so crowded in the shops as it is nowadays