eat | ate | eaten
PAST SIMPLE
subject + verbpast tense
| I/You/We/They/He/She/It |
| I ate.. |
| I did not eat.. (didn't) |
| Did you eat..? |
yesterday | ago | last night | last week | last month ..
completed actions in the past
PAST CONTINUOUS
subject + was/were + verbing
| I/He/She/It | You/We/They |
| I was eating.. | You were eating.. |
| I wasn't eating.. (was not) |
You weren't eating.. (were not) |
| Was he eating..? | Were you eating..? |
while | when | as
action was in progress in the past
PAST PERFECT
subject + had + verbpast participle
| I/You/We/They/He/She/It |
| I had eaten.. |
| I hadn't eaten.. (had not) |
| Had you eaten..? |
before | after | by the time
an action completed before another action in the past
PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS
subject + had been + verbing
| I/You/We/They/He/She/It |
| I had been eating.. |
| I hadn't been eating.. (had not) |
| Had you been eating..? |
how long before another action in the past
