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There are 4 different past tenses. The Past Simple, the Past continuous, the Past Perfect and the Past Perfect Continuous. Obviously these all have different usages and forms. The simple past is used for a completed event that is definitely in the past and often the time is given, or there maybe the use of the word, \"ago.\" There are three cases, the affirmative, negative and Question form change slightly. For the affirmative (add ed or d + subject before the base form) i.e. = I cooked. Negative = (add did not + or didn't before the base) i.e. I did not cook. Question = (add did + subject before the base form) = Did you cook? This is how you conjugate all the regular verbs in the past simple but there is a long list of irregular verbs, like see-- saw, speak = spoke, say-- said, and all of these need to be memorized. This could be where for the activate stage the teacher needs to introduce memory , or matching games, or to narrate a story. Most mistakes will be made with the student using did or did not incorrectly. The Past Continuous is used for interrupted past actions, or used with out a time descriptor but something was developing. (ie. I was getting angrier...) Also this form is used for descriptions, ie. When I called you, it was raining outside. The form for affirmative and negative is (subject + was/were (negative + not) + verb+ ing) The question form is (was/were +subject + verb+ing). The teacher must look for mistakes where the student forgets the to be verb, or forgets the (ing). A good activation stage activity is a detective game asking, Where were you last night at 7:00pm, and what were you doing? The Past Perfect Tense is used when mentioning something that occurred before other past actions. Such as, When I arrived, the kids had eaten. Often the words \"after\" and \"when\" are used with this tense. Affirmative (subject + had + past participle) Negative (subject + had + not + past participle) Question (had +subject + past participle) This tense can be best activated through a storytelling activity, or retelling a story the class has seen backwards. The last tense is the Past perfect Continuous which is not the most commonly used or taught tense. It is used very specifically to talk about longer actions or situations in the past that had been going on continuously, and still could be going on. I.E. When you goy here she had already been sleeping for 2 hours. Affirmative (subject + had +been + verb+ ing) Negative (sub. + had + not+ verb+ing) Question (had + sub. + been + verb+ ing). As a result of this form needing the use of two auxiliary verbs, there are often mistakes with the had, or had not and the verb to be. Or a student can forget the 'ing'. This can also be taught through storytelling or roleplaying to help students see the continuous nature of the verb.
