Past Tenses in TOEIC®: The Method to Stop Confusing Them

English past tenses (past simple, past continuous, past perfect, past perfect continuous) are used to situate completed or ongoing actions in the past.

In the TOEIC®, they appear very often in Parts 5 and 6, especially to test your ability to spot time markers and understand the chronology of events.

For example, "The manager had reviewed the report before the meeting started" uses the past perfect to show that one action (the review) happened before another (the meeting).

Here, the TOEIC® tests your ability not to confuse auxiliary forms (did/was/had) nor to ignore the time cues that tell you which tense to use.

The Four Past Tenses: Forms and Uses

Each past tense has a well-defined role:

• Past Simple expresses a single, completed action (yesterday, last week).
• Past Continuous shows an ongoing action at a specific past moment (at 3 PM yesterday).
• Past Perfect establishes anteriority (Action A before Action B).
• Past Perfect Continuous emphasizes the duration of an action before a past point.

Past Simple

Affirmative form: Subject + verb-ed / irregular form

• “The manager reviewed the proposal yesterday.”
  Менеджер переглянув пропозицію вчора.

Negative form: Subject + did not + base verb

• “The team did not submit the report on time.”
  Команда не подала звіт вчасно.

Interrogative form: Did + subject + base verb ?

• “Did the CEO approve the budget last week?”
  Чи схвалив генеральний директор бюджет минулого тижня?

When to use it? The action must be completed, associated with a specific date or moment in the past.

Past Continuous

Affirmative form: Subject + was / were + verb-ing

• “The accountant was reviewing the files at 10 AM.”
  Бухгалтер переглядав файли о 10 ранку.

Negative form: Subject + was / were not + verb-ing

• “The employees were not attending the meeting at that time.”
  Співробітники не були присутні на зборах у той час.

Interrogative form: Was / Were + subject + verb-ing ?

• “Were you working on the project yesterday afternoon?”
  Ви працювали над проєктом вчора вдень?

When to use it? The action must be in progress at a specific moment in the past

Past Perfect

Affirmative form: Subject + had + past participle

• “The director had prepared the slides before the presentation began.”
  Директор підготував слайди до початку презентації.

Negative form: Subject + had not + past participle

• “The team had not finished the analysis before the deadline.”
  Команда не закінчила аналіз до дедлайну.

Interrogative form: Had + subject + past participle ?

• “Had the client signed the contract before the meeting?”
  Чи підписав клієнт контракт до зустрічі?

When to use it? The action must be prior to another past action.

Past Perfect Continuous

Affirmative form: Subject + had been + verb-ing

• “She had been working on the project for three months before the deadline.”
  Вона працювала над проєктом протягом трьох місяців до дедлайну.

Negative form: Subject + had not been + verb-ing

• “The consultant had not been reviewing the data before the error was found.”
  Консультант не переглядав дані до того, як помилку було виявлено.

Interrogative form: Had + subject + been + verb-ing ?

• “Had they been negotiating for weeks before the deal closed?”
  Вони вели переговори тижнями перед закриттям угоди?

When to use it? When you want to emphasize the duration of an action before a past point.

Time Markers That Determine the Tense

In the TOEIC®, time markers are your best allies.

Certain words impose a specific tense. If you spot them, you save 5 seconds per Part 5 question.

Yesterday, last week, ago, in 2019 → Past Simple is mandatory

• "The company launched its new product last quarter."
  Компанія запустила свій новий продукт минулого кварталу.

While, at that moment, at 9 AM yesterday → Past Continuous

• "The accountant was reviewing the files at 10 AM."
  Бухгалтер переглядав файли о 10 ранку.

Before, after, by the time, already, just → Past Perfect

• "By the time the CEO arrived, the meeting had started."
  На момент прибуття генерального директора, зустріч уже розпочалася.

For + duration + before → Past Perfect Continuous

• "She had been working on the project for three months before the deadline."
  Вона працювала над проєктом протягом трьох місяців до дедлайну.

What is often seen: candidates read too quickly and miss the words "before" or "already", which are obvious signals. You must get into the habit of spotting these cues when listening to the audios.

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Checklist: How to Choose the Tense in 3 Seconds

When facing a Part 5 question about past tenses, ask yourself these questions in order.

• Step 1: Is there a specific time marker (yesterday, last year, ago)? → Past Simple
• Step 2: Is there a precise time or "while"? → Past Continuous
• Step 3: Are there two actions with a known chronology (before, after, by the time)? → Past Perfect
• Step 4: Is there "for + duration + before" or an emphasis on duration? → Past Perfect Continuous
• Step 5: And if nothing jumps out at you, just look at the general context.

Candidates who progress quickly have one thing in common: they spot the cues in seconds.

Comparison: Past Simple vs Past Perfect

These two tenses are the most tested in Part 5. You can distinguish them this way:

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Ready to take action?

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