Illustration for Tenses: Which Past Is Which

Tenses: Which Past Is Which

ByNathan Cole

Four sentences about the same event:

  • I worked there.
  • I have worked there.
  • I was working there.
  • I had worked there.

All past. All different, and the difference is about relationship to the present rather than about how long ago it was.

Past simple: finished, and dated

I worked there for three years.

Completed, in a finished time period. It goes with time expressions that are over: yesterday, last year, in 2019, when I was young.

Present perfect: the past touching now

I have worked there for three years. — and I still do.

This is the tense learners find hardest, because many languages have no equivalent. It is used when:

  • The action continues. I have lived here for ten years.
  • The result matters now. I have lost my keys — they are still lost.
  • The time period is unfinished. I have seen her twice this week — the week is not over.
  • The time is unspecified. I have been to Japan. When is not the point.

The rule that catches everyone: the present perfect cannot take a finished time expression. I have seen her yesterday is wrong. Once you name a finished time, you need the past simple.

American English uses the past simple in several places British English uses the perfect: Did you eat yet? against Have you eaten yet? Both are standard in their own variety.

Past continuous: in progress

I was working there when it closed.

An action in progress around another event. It sets the scene; the past simple provides the interruption.

I was walking home when it started to rain. The walking is the background, the rain is the event.

Past perfect: the past before the past

I had worked there before I moved.

Used only to make clear that one past event preceded another. It is over-used in learner writing, where every past sentence becomes past perfect.

You need it only when the order would otherwise be unclear. I arrived and the meeting had already started needs it. I got up, had a shower and left does not — the sequence is obvious.

The one-line summary

  • Past simple — finished, and you know when.
  • Present perfect — finished, but it still matters, or the period is not over.
  • Past continuous — in progress, as background.
  • Past perfect — earlier than another past event.

If you are unsure between the first two, ask whether you could add yesterday. If you could, use the past simple.

Checked against Merriam-Webster, the Chicago Manual of Style and the AP Stylebook. Spotted an error? Tell us — see our editorial policy.

Nathan Cole writes the adjective guides and word lists on Grammar Simplified. Every guide he publishes is checked against Merriam-Webster for spelling and usage, the Chicago Manual of Style for punctuation, and the AP Stylebook where a convention is specific to web writing. Where a rule is genuinely disputed among those authorities, he says so in the guide rather than picking a side quietly. Corrections are welcome and get acted on — see the editorial policy.

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