Use this PPT to teach your students the differences between the past simple and past perfect tenses. It includes examples and activities to practice.

1. Miss Valentina Alarcón
valentina.alarconicbc@gmail.com
Past Simple
vs. Past Perfect

2. LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
Grammar Lesson
Remember and identify
the differences between
past simple and past
perfect simple tense.
Pair Activity
Apply the past simple and
past perfect simple to
connect the events in a
story so that it makes sense.

3. PAST SIMPLE

4. When do we use Past Simple?
➢The Past simple is used to talk about things that happened (once or
several times) or existed before now.
➢It refers to finished or completed actions that started and ended in
the past.

5. Was/Were(n’t)
- I was very hungry last
class.
- You weren’t at school
yesterday.
- Was she a good friend?
Verb +ed
- I travelled to Brazil in
2012.
- She didn’t work for 2
years.
- Did they finish their
dinner?
Different forms
- I went to Valdivia in
2017.
- He didn’t find his keys.
- Did you buy a new
phone?
Verb
to be
Regular
verbs
Irregular
verbs
Past simple structure

6. PAST PERFECT

7. When do we use Past Perfect?
➢The Past Perfect is used to make clear that one action in the past
happened before another action in the past.
Toby arrived at 6.30pm, but the bus had already left.
The past simple refers to shorter, complete facts.

8. Past perfect structure
➢ The form of the Past Perfect is the same for all persons.
Had he already emailed you?
I
You
We
He
‘d (had)
hadn’t
visited Valdivia before.
eaten dinner by 7pm.
Where had
you
she
they
put the car keys?
Yes, he had./No, he hadn’t. → short answer

9. ➢ Notice the difference between these sentences:
• When I got there, Ben left.
• When I got there, Ben had left.
• We were late. When we arrived,
the game _______________ (start).
First, I arrived. Then, Ben left.
First, Ben left. Then, I arrived.
Past Simple vs. Past Perfect
had started

10. Narrative Tenses:
Verbs in the Past Simple tell a story
in chronological order:
On Tuesday evening, a burglar broke into
my aunt’s shop and stole all the
jewellery. In the morning, I arrived at
work and found the door open. I rang the
police. I answered their questions for a
long time. Then my aunt arrived and
interrupted us.
By using the Past Perfect we can tell the story in a different order…

11. Now, it’s your turn!
When I __________ (arrive) at work, I saw that a burglar
__________ (break) in and __________ (steal) all the jewellery.
I ______ already ______ (ring) the police by the time my aunt
__________ (arrive). I __________ (answer) questions for a long
time when she __________ ( interrupt) us.
Instructions:
Get in pairs and complete the story with the verbs in brackets
using both past simple and past perfect tenses.
Write your answers in your notebooks.
Answer key: arrived – had broken – had stolen – had/rung – arrived – had answered – interrupted.

12. Game time!: The other half
Instructions:
✓ Same pairs: each of you will receive an A or B worksheet. You
must keep your worksheets secret.
✓ Student A: start by reading the first sentence half to Student B.
✓ Student B: listen and try to find the other half of the sentence.
When you think you have found a matching ending, read it to
Student A.
✓ When both of you agree the two halves match, mark the
matching number or letter next to the sentence.
✓ This continues until all the sentences halves have been
matched.
Answer key: 0A – 1C – 2F – 3E – 4D – 5B.

13. Past Simple
vs. Past Perfect
Miss Valentina Alarcón
valentina.alarconicbc@gmail.com