Choose Past Tenses in Writing: B1 Guide

The key idea

Choose each past tense according to when an event happened and what you want to show.

What is it for?

Learn to choose past tenses when writing stories and memories. Show what happened, what was happening, and what happened earlier.

What you need to know

Use past simple for the main events in a story.
Use past continuous for actions in progress and background details.
Use past perfect for events before another past event.
Use used to for past habits that are no longer true.
Use time words to show how events connect.

1. Use past simple for the main events

Past simple shows the main actions in a story. Use it when events happen one after another.

This tense helps readers follow the order of events. Keep using it when you describe the next main action.

Use the past form of the verb.
Use it for completed actions and events.
Use time words such as then, after that, and later.

I opened the cupboard and took out a plate.

Both actions happened one after another.

After that, I called my sister.

The next action moves the story forward.

2. Use past continuous for actions in progress

Past continuous shows an action that was happening at a past time. It also describes the background of a story.

Use it when another event interrupts an action. The longer action uses past continuous. The interrupting event often uses past simple.

Form: was or were + verb-ing.
Use while to connect two actions happening at the same time.
Use when to introduce an event that interrupts another action.

I was cooking when the phone rang.

Cooking was in progress. The phone rang during it.

While Dad was driving, Mum checked the map.

The two actions happened at the same time.

3. Use past perfect for an earlier event

Past perfect shows that one event happened before another past event. It helps readers understand which event came first.

Form: had + past participle. Use it when the earlier event matters to your story. You do not need it for every past action.

Use had with every subject.
Use already to show that something happened earlier than expected.
Use by the time to show that one event happened before another point.

When I arrived, the bus had left.

The bus left before I arrived.

By the time we ate, Mum had finished work.

Finishing work happened before the meal.

4. Use used to for past habits

Use used to for habits or situations in the past that are different now. It often describes life before a change.

After used to, use the base form of the verb. Do not use used to for one finished event.

Form: subject + used to + base verb.
Use it for repeated past actions or past situations.
Use didn't use to for a past habit that did not happen.

I used to walk to school with my cousin.

Walking to school was a regular past habit.

We didn't use to have a dishwasher.

This past situation is different now.

5. Use time words to connect events

Time words help readers understand when events happened. Choose words that match the order of your story.

Do not change tenses without a reason. First decide what each sentence shows. Then choose the tense that fits.

When often introduces a new event.
While often introduces an action in progress.
Before and after show the order of events.
Already and just can show that something happened earlier or recently.
By the time connects an earlier event with a later point.

While I was waiting, the shop opened.

Waiting was in progress when the shop opened.

I had just sat down when the lights went out.

Sitting down happened shortly before the lights went out.

How to do it, step by step

Set the scene with past continuous or past simple.
Describe the main events in past simple.
Use past continuous for actions in progress or background details.
Use past perfect when an earlier event needs explanation.
Use used to if you compare a past habit with life now.

Formulas and key language

Use it for	Example	Another example
Subject + past simple verb	I missed the bus.	She found her keys.
Subject + was/were + verb-ing	I was walking home.	They were waiting outside.
Past continuous + when + past simple	I was sleeping when the alarm rang.	We were eating when Dad arrived.
While + past continuous, past simple	While I was shopping, I met Eva.	While he was cooking, the door opened.
Subject + had + past participle	I had forgotten my wallet.	She had finished her lunch.
By the time + past simple, past perfect	By the time I arrived, the film had started.	By the time we called, the shop had closed.
Subject + used to + base verb	I used to ride my bike to work.	He used to live near the station.
Subject + didn't use to + base verb	I didn't use to drink coffee.	They didn't use to travel by train.
Subject + had just/already + past participle	We had just arrived when it started raining.	She had already left when I called.

UK / US: Past tense forms are mostly the same in British and American English. Some past participles differ, such as got and gotten.

Level up: Replace basic words (good, very, nice) with stronger ones. See our A2 to B1 upgrades page.

Model text

The Morning the Bus Broke Down

Setting the scene

Last Friday, I was travelling to work when the bus suddenly stopped. Rain was falling, and several passengers were checking their phones. I felt worried because an important meeting started at nine.

Past continuous describes the background. Past simple introduces the main event.

Explaining an earlier event

I had left home early, so I thought I would arrive on time. However, the driver announced that the engine had developed a problem. We had already passed the last busy shopping street, and there was no other bus nearby.

Past perfect explains what happened before the breakdown and the announcement.

Moving the story forward

While we were waiting, a woman offered to share a taxi with two passengers. I accepted, and we reached the office at eight fifty-five. What helped most was that I had prepared my notes the night before, so I was ready for the meeting.

Past simple shows the main actions. Past continuous shows the wait. Past perfect explains the earlier preparation.

Adding a past habit

I used to leave home at the last minute, but I changed that habit after missing another meeting last year. Since then, I have planned my journeys more carefully.

Used to describes an old habit. The final sentence connects that change with life now.

Common mistakes

✗ I was opened the door.

✓ I opened the door.

Use past simple for a completed main action.

✗ I cooked when the phone rang.

✓ I was cooking when the phone rang.

Use past continuous for the action already in progress.

✗ When I arrived, the bus left.

✓ When I arrived, the bus had left.

Past perfect shows that the bus left before I arrived.

✗ I used to walked to school.

✓ I used to walk to school.

Use the base verb after used to.

✗ She didn't used to drive.

✓ She didn't use to drive.

Use use, not used, after didn't.

✗ While I slept, the alarm was rang.

✓ While I slept, the alarm rang.

Use past simple for the event that interrupts the background action.

Plan it, then check it

Plan

Choose the main event you want to describe.
Decide what was happening before or during that event.
Check if an earlier event needs past perfect.
Add used to if you describe an old habit.

Check

Check that each verb matches the time you want to show.
Check that past continuous has was or were and verb-ing.
Check that past perfect has had and a past participle.
Check that used to is followed by the base verb.
Read the story again and check the order of events.

Practice

EXERCISE:

Choose the correct past tense

Choose the verb form that best fits each sentence.

1.While I ___ dinner, the lights went out.

Cooking was in progress when the lights went out.

2.By the time we arrived, the shop ___.

The shop closed before we arrived.

3.Every summer, we ___ at our grandparents' house.

Used to describes a repeated habit in the past.

4.I ___ my bag and ran to the bus stop.

Past simple shows the main actions in order.

5.She was tired because she ___ badly the night before.

Past perfect shows the earlier cause of her tiredness.

6.The children ___ in the garden when it started to rain.

Past continuous describes an activity in progress.

Now write

Your task

Write 8-10 sentences about a day when something unexpected happened. You can use this fictional example as a starting point: Last Saturday, Maya was walking to the market when she heard a strange noise. She stopped and looked around. A small dog had escaped from a nearby garden. Maya called its owner, who arrived a few minutes later. Write your own story with a clear beginning, middle, and ending. Use past simple for the main events, past continuous for actions in progress, and at least one past perfect sentence for an earlier event. Add used to if you want to describe an old habit.

Target: 8-10 sentences

Word bank

unexpectedsuddenlywhileby the timealreadyjustin the endworriedrelievedcrowdedmissed the buslost my keyscalled for helparrived on timefound a solution

Sentence starters

Last weekend, I was...
While I was..., something happened.
Suddenly, I noticed...
I had already... when...
After that, I...
In the end, I felt...

Use made-up names and details. Do not share private information.

Write in your notebook or in a document, then use the checklist below.

Check your writing

Did I use past simple for the main events?
Did I use past continuous for actions in progress?
Did I use past perfect for an earlier event?
Did I use used to only for a past habit or situation?
Do my time words make the order of events clear?

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