Time Phrases
Time Phrases - Past
We use the past simple tense for actions completed in the past.
We use in with parts of the day in the past, months, years and seasons:
| Activity | in | Time Phrase |
|---|
| I walked the dog | in | the morning. |
| He started | in | September. |
| We went | in | 2010. |
| It snowed | in | spring. |
We use on with days in the past:
| Activity | on | Time Phrase |
|---|
| I went to the gym | on | Wednesday. |
| He played football | on | Saturday. |
| They worked | on | Saturday mornings. |
We use at with times in the past:
| Activity | at | Time Phrase |
|---|
| I started | at | 9 o'clock. |
| He finished | at | 5 o'clock. |
We can also use last with many phrases:
| Activity | last | Time Phrase |
|---|
| I went to the gym | last | Wednesday. |
| He came | last | week. |
| They started | last | month. |
| We saw him | last | year. |
| I watched it | last | night. |
| Tip! |
|---|
| * We don't say last day. We say yesterday: |
| I played last day. ✘ |
| I played yesterday. ✔ |
We use ago for numbers:
| Activity | Number | ago |
|---|
| I went | 3 hours | ago. |
| He came | 4 days | ago. |
| They started | 3 months | ago. |
| I travelled | 4 years | ago. |
We use the week before last for 2 weeks ago etc:
| USING BEFORE | USING AGO |
|---|
| the day before yesterday | 2 days ago |
| the week before last | 2 weeks ago |
| the month before last | 2 months ago |
| the year before last | 2 years ago |
Now try the quiz below!