Past Tenses In English

The different Moods

First of all, what is a Mood?

Mood = a way to express the attitude of the speaker to what is being said.

There are three moods in English.

Indicative Mood

"We finished the project on time."

Indicative means "stating a fact."

The indicative mood is a category of verb forms that we use to state facts.

Examples:

• "Joe plays outside." (The speaker thinks it's a fact expressed in the present tense)
• "It will rain soon." (The speaker thinks it's a fact expressed in the future tense.)
• "She was studying all day long." (The speaker thinks it's a fact expressed in the past continuous tense.)

The indicative mood is the basic mood of verbs in English and in all Indo-European languages.

Imperative Mood

"Get plenty of rest!"

Imperative means "expressing an order."

The imperative mood is a category of verb forms that we use to express orders, instructions, commands or requests.

Examples:

• "Go outside!" (This is a command.)
• "Close the door, please." (This is a request.)
• "Don't move the object." (This is an instruction.)

Subjunctive Mood

"I wish I had some cheese..."

Subjunctive means "subordinate" (less important than something else) or "dependent" (needing something/someone else).

The subjunctive mood is a category of verb forms that we use to express things that are not facts: wishes, possibilities, doubts, suggestions, conditions, etc.

Examples:

• "It may snow"
  (It is not a fact yet. It is a possibility in the speaker's mind.)
  (Incorrect: "It will snow tomorrow.")
• "I would do it if I had the time."
  (It is not a fact. It depends on me having the time.)
• "You should listen to your parents."
  (It is not a fact. It is a suggestion.)
• "I doubt that Mary would forget your birthday."
  (It is not a fact that Mary will forget the birthday. The speakers has doubts about it.)
• "I wish I were"
  (I am not faster. This is a wish in my mind.)
  (Incorrect: "I wish I was faster.")
• "If I were you, I would accept the offer."
  (I am not you. This is an unreal condition in my mind.)
  (Incorrect: "If I was you, I will accept the offer.")
• "I wish it were summer now."
  (It is not summer now. This is a wish in my mind.)
  (Incorrect: "I wish it is summer now.")

All these sentences were examples of the use of the subjunctive mood.

What is a conditional?

A conditional is a sentence or part of a sentence that expresses a condition. It usually begins with the words "when," "if" and "unless."

A condition is what must happen before something else can happen.


Examples of conditionals (note that the conditions are in italics):

I will come if I have enough time.
(I am not sure that I will come. It depends on something else.)

She would tell me if she knew.
(She doesn't know.)

Unless she agrees to pay us we will not take the job.
(She must agree to pay before we take the job.)

They will come when I call them.
(They will not come before I call them.)


There are four basic conditionals in English, or in other words: there are four ways to express that something is dependent on something else.

Note: in the examples below the conditions are in GREEN, and the results are in BROWN.

The First Conditional

"If he catches a fish, he will be very happy."

We use first conditional when talking about possible future events.


Structure:

If + Simple Present, + Will

OR

Will + If + Simple Present


Examples:

• Lisa will be very happy if she wins the prize.
• If it rains, then we will stay at home.
• You will always be able to take another test if you fail.
• If I see Sam, I will ask him to give you a call.

Note:
You can use these modal verbs instead of will:
shall, can, may.


Examples:

• If you fail, you can always try again.
• If you finish everything on time, you may go home earlier.
• We shall meet on Sunday, if it's alright with you.

The Second Conditional

"If I met a genie, I would ask for infinite wealth..."

We use the second conditional when talking about future events that are not likely to happen.

Structure:

If + Simple Past, + Would + Base Form

OR

Would + Base Form + If + Simple Past


Examples:

• If I won a million dollars, I would travel around the world.
  (There is a small possibility that I would actually win.)
• If I met him again, I would tell him the truth.
  (There is a small possibility that I would actually meet him again.)
• She would quit school if her parents agreed.
  (It is unlikely that her parents agree.)
• I would be surprised if I saw pigs in the sky.
  (It is very unlikely for me to see pigs in the sky.)

We also use the second conditional when talking about things which are contrary to the present facts.


"If I had any money, I would give you some."

Examples:

• If she worked less, she wouldn't be so tired.
  (In reality she doesn't work less, so she is tired.)
• You would see John if you were here now.
  (In reality you are not here now, so you don't see John.)
• If things were different, we would be happy.
  (In reality things are not different, and we are not happy.)
• We would be good friends if she were nicer.
  (In reality she is not nice, and we are not good friends.)

Note:
You can use these modal verbs instead of would:
should, could, might.


Examples:

• If she didn't have her job, she could come with us to the North Pole.
• If they wanted to move, they could sell the house to us.

Note:
The short form of would is 'd.
For example: If Kathleen were at home, she'd pick up the phone.

The verb BE

The verb BE has a special rule in this case.

Usually we say: I was, he was, she was, it was, we were, you were, they were.

However, in these cases, we use:
I were, he were, she were, it were, we were, you were, they were.

In other words: "were" is the only form.

Examples:

If I were you I would apologize.
(In reality I am not you.)

I would fight back, if I were you.
(In reality I am not you.)

The Third Conditional

"If I had paid more attention, I wouldn't have hit myself..."

We use the third conditional when talking about things which are contrary to the past facts. In other words: events that did not happen in the past.

Structure:

If + Past Perfect, + Would have + V3

OR

Would have + V3 + If + Past Perfect


Examples:

• If I had woken up on time, I would have taken the bus.
  (What really happened was that I didn't wake up on time, and so I didn't take the bus.)
• Tom would have helped us if he had known we were there.
  (What really happened was that he didn't know we were there, and so he didn't help us.)
• If I had told Sarah the truth, I would have felt much better.
  (What really happened was that I didn't tell Sarah the truth, and so I didn't feel so good.)
• If it hadn't rained yesterday, we would have enjoyed a nice picnic.
  (What really happened was that it rained yesterday, and we didn't go for a picnic.) 

Note #1:
The short form of had is 'd.
For example: If he'd passed his exams, he would have gotten a diploma.


Note #2:
You can use these modal verbs instead of would have:
should have, could have, might have.

Examples:

• Jessica might have gotten the job if she hadn't been so nervous.
• You could have arrived on time if you had used a map.
• If she had known what to do, she should have told us.

In order to be able to use these moods, and the conditional fluently one must have a complete understanding of the different tenses.

The tenses of the Indicative mood

They can be summarized in this visual representation

Their formation follow the pattern

To discriminate how and when to use past tenses you can watch this video.

Now we can practice using two fundamental verbs to be and to do.

Now you can practice at home by printing and completing the three following worksheet and handing them over to your tutor in the next class.

-The Indo-European languages are a family of related languages that today are widely spoken in the Americas, Europe, and also Western and Southern Asia. The earliest possible end of Proto-Indo-European linguistic unity is believed to be around 3400 BCE.  Sanskrit, which belongs to the Indic sub-branch of Indo-European languages, is the best known among the early languages of this branch; its oldest variety, Vedic Sanskrit, is preserved in the Vedas, a collection of hymns and other religious texts of ancient India. Indic speakers entered the Indian subcontinent, coming from central Asia around 1500 BCE: In the Rig-Veda, the hymn 1.131 speaks about a legendary journey that may be considered a distant memory of this migration.