Mr. Hundhausen’s Magic Past Tense System


75% PAST SIMPLE – default tense

                  (klasika / standardní nastavení)


“Yesterday Bob ate 4 chocolate-covered cockroaches. Yum.”


Use PAST SIMPLE unless you have a special situation:


                                       3 special situations


I)                         15% PŘEDPŘÍTOMNÝ ČAS (present perfect) for things connected to the
present (e.g. they started in the past and are still happening, OR the event happened in the
day/week/month that we are still in.) Can also be předpřitomný průběhový


“So far this month I have eaten 18 chocolate-covered cockroaches.”

[DEL: I live in Brno for 4 years :DEL] L

!!! I have lived in Brno for 4 years.


II)                    5% PŘEDMINULÝ ČAS (past perfect) together with PAST SIMPLE to say which past
event happened first. Can also be předminulý průběhový.

Tedy bojovali proti Madianským, jakož byl přikázal Hospodin Mojžíšovi.

Antepreteritum J


[DEL: “Bob threw up because he ate 4 chocolate-covered cockroaches.” :DEL] = soucasně L


“Bob threw up because he had eaten 4 chocolate-covered cockroaches.” = dřiv snědl, a potom zvracel
J


III)              5% PAST CONTINUOUS for the background (zákulisí) to an event in the PAST SIMPLE.


“While Bob was throwing up, his mum called.”

















After Karel had bought a lot of textbooks, he drank a lot of coffee.



While the runners were waiting for 30 minutes, they did stretching exercises.


After the judges had finished counting down, the runners started.


While they were running, one of them fell down and broke his leg. The others got to the finish line
healthy.