O past simple conta o que aconteceu e terminou em um momento fechado: I saw her yesterday. Verbos regulares ganham -ed (work → worked); os irregulares mudam a raiz e valem a pena decorar (go → went, see → saw, have → had).

O past continuous (was/were + -ing) descreve algo em andamento que serve de cenário: I was reading when you called — a leitura durava; o telefonema interrompeu.

O past perfect (had + particípio) é o passado antes do passado: By the time we arrived, the film had already started. Ele deixa clara a ordem dos fatos. Sua versão contínua (had been + -ing) marca duração até aquele ponto: She was tired because she had been working all day.

Tempo	Fórmula	Exemplo
Past simple	verbo + -ed / irregular	I went home.
Past continuous	was/were + -ing	I was sleeping.
Past perfect	had + particípio	I had eaten.
Past perfect cont.	had been + -ing	I had been waiting.

A grande distinção: past simple vs present perfect. I saw it (tempo fechado: ontem) contra I have seen it (alguma vez / resultado relevante agora). O teste: se cabe yesterday, use past simple; se aparece ever / just / already, use o present perfect.

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