You could get a good meal for a pound when I was a boy. Our guests were arriving soon and we had to get their room ready. John was going to drive and Mary was going to follow on her bicycle. He thought he would buy one the next day.Įveryone was excited. When we talk about the future from a time in the past we use: GapFillTyping_MTYzMTc= The future in the past MultipleChoice_MTYzMTU= Present perfect and past simple 2 When we were children we have been to California.īut we can use the present perfect with adverbials which refer to a time which is not yet finished: today We do not use the present perfect with adverbials which refer to a finished past time: for something that happened in the past but is important in the present:.I have been working at the university for over ten years. for something that started in the past and continues in the present:.GapFillTyping_MTY0NjM= The past and the present MultipleChoice_MTY0NjE= Past simple, continuous and perfect 2

They would have bought a new computer if they had saved enough money. They wanted to buy a new computer, but they hadn't saved enough money. When we had done all our shopping, we caught the bus home. Helen suddenly remembered she had left her keys in the car. We use the past perfect when we are looking back from a point in the past to something earlier in the past: GapFillTyping_MTY0NTk= The past in the past MultipleChoice_MTY0NTg= Past simple and past continuous 2 He broke his leg when he was playing rugby. for something that happened before and after another action in the past:.for something that happened before and after a specific time in the past:.MultipleSelection_MTY0NTY= Past simple, used to and would 2 (NOT would feel) Past simple, used to and would 1 We would used to feel very cold in winter.

He would looked much older than he does now. We use the past simple or used to instead: We do not normally use would with stative verbs. They would often visit friends in Europe. Most evenings, he would take the dog for a walk. Most evenings, we used to stay at home and watch DVDs.

Most evenings, we stayed at home and watched DVDs. When we talk about something that happened several times in the past, we use the past simple:

something that was true for some time in the past:Įverybody worked hard through the winter.

something that happened once in the past:.

I bought a phone, but it started to go haywire some time after.ġ I bought a phone, but some time later it started to go haywire.Ģ I bought a phone, but some time afterwards it started to go haywire.ģ I bought a phone but, some time after, it started to go haywire.ġ and 2 should only have one comma.Level: intermediate Past events and situations I bought a phone but - some time after - it started to go haywire.īy the way, if it comes at the end of the sentence 'after' works perfectly: I bought a phone but, some time after, it started to go haywire. Only by re-positioning the commas, or by using dashes. We tend to attach it to whatever comes after it. The problem is that we expect 'After' to be followed by something: 'after lunch, 'after 2.00', 'after you went out'. means you only bought it after it went haywire!! So why did you buy it?! Even with your second comma it sounds a little ambiguous. I bought a phone, but some time after it started to go haywire. You don't need that second comma in either of these two sentences. I think 'later' is the most common and 'afterwards' slightly less common. They are all correct and they all mean the same, though 'afterward' is a rarely-seen version of the usual 'afterward s'.

Some time later definition