Past Simple / Continuous / Perfect

Article excerpt · target grammar marked

Ní Dhomhnaill was spending her early childhood in the Kerry Gaeltacht while her aunts were raising her. By the time she left for university, English had become dominant.

Grammar Reference · Past Simple / Continuous / Perfect

Past simple —

She switched back to Irish in her twenties. — single completed action at a known past time

Past continuous —

English was pulling at her while she studied in Cork. — ongoing backdrop to a narrative

Past perfect —

She had forgotten the room existed until she returned. — action completed before another past moment

Common error

She already left when I arrived. ✗ → She had already left... ✓ — use past perfect for

01Exercise 1 — Form · Write the Correct Form

Past Simple / Continuous / Perfect

1.By the time the family (emigrate) to England, the children had already stopped speaking Irish at home.

2.While Ní Dhomhnaill (study) in Cork, she was still writing her early poetry in English.

3.She (not / realise) how much the language meant to her until she tried writing in it again.

4.The translation (already / appear) in three anthologies before critics read the original Irish.

5.Seamus Heaney (work) on the translation for several months when Ní Dhomhnaill finally read the draft.

6.For decades, fewer people (speak) Irish daily, and community groups began to organise revitalisation programmes.

02Exercise 2 — Find and Correct the Error

find the error · rewrite the sentence

1.She already made the decision before the interview began.

2.While she wrote the poem, she realised the English version felt hollow.

3.The audience didn't know that she lived in Turkey for five years before returning to Ireland.

4.He studied Breton for three years when his grandmother finally agreed to speak it with him.

5.Critics offered their deference to the translation while they overlooked the original text entirely.

03Exercise 3 — About You

in your notebook

Personalise: complete five sentences about yourself using the target grammar.

Past Simple / Continuous / Perfect01EnglishPlans.com