Vocabulary · Lesson 5

Past-time expressions: build a timeline your listener can follow

A past-time expression does more than answer When? It can establish the reference time, locate one event, measure a duration, show overlap, or order several events. Choose that job first, then choose the expression and tense viewpoint.

50–60 min corepoint · duration · sequence · overlapago · before · earlier15–20 min listening and retrieval

NoticeFind five time jobs in one event update.

DiscoverAnchor every expression to a reference time.

BuildLocate, measure, order, and connect events.

UseGive a fictional event timeline and repair ambiguity.

Can-do: By the end, you can establish a clear past reference time; distinguish a finished point from duration, sequence, and overlap; use ago, before, and earlier accurately; distinguish last week from the last week; combine time expressions naturally with past simple, past continuous, and present perfect; and clarify an ambiguous date or sequence.

Two-minute retrieval

Three tense viewpoints from earlier lessons

Use past simple for the completed call, past continuous for the scene open at 3:00, and present perfect for the situation continuing to now.

1The call was one completed event yesterday: Mara at 3:00 yesterday.

2The speaker opens the driving scene at exactly 3:00 yesterday: At 3:00 yesterday, Mara home.

3The job began in 2023 and continues now: Mara here since 2023.

Notice five time jobs in one update

Riverside workshop update

“The workshop opened last Saturday. We arrived at 8:00, and visitors entered an hour later. While the first group was touring the studio, the second group waited outside for fifteen minutes. We closed at 4:00. By then, 120 people had visited.”

Which phrase establishes the calendar day for the whole update?
Which expressions locate points, order a later event, measure a duration, and show overlap?
What does then refer to in By then?

Discovery check: identify each time job

1Last Saturday establishes the report’s .

2At 8:00 locates the arrival at an .

3An hour later places the visitor entry in a .

4For fifteen minutes measures the wait’s .

5While the first group was touring shows .

6In By then, then points back to the already stated 4:00 closing time, so it provides .

Get to the root: every expression needs a reference time

A time expression is understood from a reference time. The reference may be the moment of speaking, a calendar point, or another event already established in the conversation.

reference	expression	interpretation
the moment of speaking	two days ago	measure two days backward from now
the current calendar period	yesterday · last week · last year	locate the period before today, this week, or this year
a stated calendar point	on May 12 · at 8:00 · in 2022	locate an event with increasing precision
another past event	two days before the opening · an hour later	measure backward or forward from that event
shared discourse context	earlier · later · then · by then	recover a time the speakers can already identify

Ago and before are not interchangeable. The team arrived two days ago measures from the speaking moment. The team arrived two days before the opening measures from the opening. Earlier works only when the context makes its reference clear.

Locate a finished point precisely

expression family	natural pattern	important boundary
the day before today	yesterday · yesterday morning · yesterday afternoon · yesterday evening	Ordinary U.S. English says last night, not yesterday night.
the preceding calendar period	last night · last week · last month · last year	There is no article in this calendar meaning.
distance backward from now	an hour ago · three weeks ago · a long time ago	Put ago after the measured time.
year, month, season	in 2022 · in May · in the winter	Use in for the broad container.
day or date	on Monday · on May 12	Use on for the calendar surface.
clock point	at 8:00 · at noon · at midnight	Use at for the point.

Last week means the calendar week before the current one. The last week is grammatical when last means final or a measured period: the last week of the course or I have been busy for the last week. Do not delete the when that different meaning is intended.

Last Monday can be unclear near a week boundary because speakers do not always calculate it identically. For a booking, deadline, or record, use the date: Monday, May 12. Clarity is more important than defending one interpretation.

Drill 1: choose the reference and precision

1The speaker is calling now and measures three hours backward from this moment: The power returned three hours .

2The opening was Saturday, and the delivery came two days earlier than that event: The delivery came two days the opening.

3The speaker means the calendar week before the current week: We tested the lights week.

4The speaker means the final week of a four-week course: We practiced presentations during week of the course.

5The event record gives the exact date, May 12: The workshop opened May 12.

6The first visitor entered at the clock point 9:00: The first visitor entered 9:00.

Order events and keep the reference clear

Use first, then, after that, later, and finally to guide the listener through a sequence. These words do not supply a date by themselves. Establish the reference first: Last Saturday, we opened at 8:00. First, we checked the rooms. Then, we unlocked the doors.

relationship	form	example
next event	then · after that · later	We checked the rooms. Then we opened the doors.
event after a noun	after + noun	After lunch, the second session began.
event after a clause	after + subject + verb	After the visitors left, we cleaned the room.
earlier event	before + noun or clause	We tested the sound before the talk began.
final event	finally · in the end	Finally, we locked the doors.

An hour later means one hour after the established reference event. An hour before needs an understood or stated later reference. If the listener could ask “before what?” or “later than what?”, name the event.

Drill 2: connect the event sequence

1The Saturday report begins with the earliest task: , the team checked every room.

2The sound check immediately followed the room check: , the technician tested the sound.

3The team arrived at 8:00, and the visitors entered at 9:00: The team arrived at 8:00. , the visitors entered.

4The sound test happened earlier than the 9:00 opening: The technician tested the sound .

5Cleaning began only when the final visitor had gone: , the team cleaned the room.

6Locking the doors was the last event in the report: , the manager locked the doors.

Separate point, duration, endpoint, and overlap

time job	use	example
duration	for + amount of time	The talk lasted for forty minutes.
two boundaries	from + start + to + end	The desk was open from 9:00 to 4:00.
continuing endpoint	until + endpoint	We waited until noon.
deadline or limit	by + point	Please finish by noon. means no later than noon.
inside a period	during + noun phrase	The lights failed during the talk.
two situations overlap	while + clause	The lights failed while Maya was speaking.

During takes a noun phrase, not a complete clause: during the talk. While introduces a clause with a subject and verb: while Maya was speaking. Neither word automatically chooses past simple or past continuous. The intended viewpoint chooses the tense.

A duration does not tell us whether a situation continues now. I worked there for two years is a finished past period when context says the job ended. I have worked here for two years connects the same duration to now. Likewise, this morning can be an open or closed reporting period depending on the speaking time and intended viewpoint.

Drill 3: choose the time relationship

1The wait lasted fifteen minutes, and the sentence gives only its length: We waited fifteen minutes.

2The information desk opened at 9:00 and closed at 4:00: It was open 9:00 to 4:00.

3The team continued waiting and stopped at noon: The team waited noon.

4The forms could arrive earlier, but noon was the latest acceptable time: Please send the forms noon.

5The lights failed inside the event named by the noun phrase the talk: The lights failed the talk.

6The light failure happened during the clause Maya was speaking: The lights failed Maya was speaking.

Sound natural: stress the reference and link the frame

Yesterday is /ˈjɛstɚdeɪ/. The first syllable is strongest. Ago is /əˈgoʊ/: its first vowel is weak and its second syllable is strong. Say a week ago as one group: /ə ˈwik əˈgoʊ/.

In last week and last night, connect the consonants without inserting a vowel. In fast U.S. speech, the /t/ may be lightly released, but the phrase must remain recognizable. For is often weak /fɚ/ before a duration: for fifteen minutes.

In a neutral question, did you may link as /ˈdɪdʒə/: When did you arrive? Keep the information word and event strong. To repair a date, use contrastive stress: It was TWO weeks ago, not last week.

Chunk a sequence at event boundaries: Last Saturday | we arrived at eight | an hour later, the doors opened | and after the last visitor left | we cleaned the room.

Listen for the time relationship

Tutor-read listening: Keep the transcript closed. Read each item once naturally and once more after the learner chooses. Preserve weak forms and connected speech, but keep the contrasting time information audible.

Six timeline decisions

1. When did the delivery arrive relative to the call?

2. How is the 9:00 opening related to the 8:00 arrival?

3. What does the speaker report about the repair?

4. What is the deadline for the forms?

5. Which relationship does the sentence express?

6. What time boundary does the speaker intend?

Read one complete event record

Riverside workshop log

The workshop took place on Saturday, May 12. The team arrived at 8:00. An hour later, the doors opened. During the first session, a projector stopped working. The technician repaired it in twenty minutes while the presenter answered questions. After the final session ended at 3:30, the team spoke with visitors for thirty minutes. By 4:15, everyone had left and the doors were locked.

Reading check: use only the event log

1. What exact date anchors the whole record?

2. At what clock time did the doors open?

3. What happened at the same time as the projector repair?

4. Which statement gives the record’s final time boundary and status?

Build clear timeline statements

Drill 4: build a relative past reference

The workshop is the reference point. The delivery came two days earlier.

Drill 5: build an overlap

Maya’s talk was in progress when the shorter light failure happened.

Notice and repair time-reference errors

Drill 6: repair the speaking-time measurement

The speaker is calling now. Tap the word that makes the reference wrong.

Drill 7: repair the overlap connector

Tap the connector that cannot introduce the complete clause.

Drill 8: repair the final-period meaning

The course lasted four weeks. Tap the word before week that needs an article.

Play and practice

Games and a short reading that recycle this lesson. Use them as a warm-up, a fast finisher, or homework. Each one checks itself.

Read

Notes from the city job fair

Read once for meaning. Then read again and do the tasks below.

Event record128 wordsAbout 1 min

The city job fair took place on Saturday, March 8, in the main hall of Bayview College. Our team arrived at 7:30, and the doors opened an hour later. Before the doors opened, we put up signs and tested the microphones.

During the morning, more than three hundred people visited. While the first speaker was talking, the coffee machine stopped, so Lena bought coffee for the volunteers from a shop across the street. We had lunch at noon, and the afternoon was quieter.

We closed at 4:00 and cleaned the hall until 5:00. Two days ago, we sent a thank-you email to every company. The first city job fair was in 2019, and the next one is in September. Finally, please send your notes to Omar by Friday.

Find it

Tap the 6 words in, on, or at that begin a time phrase. Skip any in, on, or at that shows a place.

Check your understanding

1. When did the doors open?

2. What happened while the first speaker was talking?

3. When did the team send the thank-you email?

Sort it

In, on, or at?

Which word goes before each time? Tap it, then tap its box.

Memory

Time phrase memory

Flip two cards. If they belong together, they stay. Find every pair in as few turns as you can.

Word search

Hidden time words

Find the word for each clue. Words run across, down, or diagonally. Tap the first letter, then the last.

measured back from now: two days ___ → ?
the day before today → ?
We waited ___ noon, and then we left. → ?
inside a period, + noun: ___ the talk → ?
overlap, + clause: ___ Maya was speaking → ?
after that: an hour ___ → ?
the last step: ___, we locked the doors → ?
earlier than: ___ the doors opened → ?

Use it without disclosing private information

You never need to disclose your real work, home, schedule, travel, health, family, or personal history. Use the fictional event record below. Real details are optional.

Fictional event card: Harbor Skills Day took place on Saturday, June 8. The team arrived at 8:15. The doors opened 45 minutes later. During the first session, the sound stopped for ten minutes while the host answered questions. The final session ended at 3:30. Visitors stayed until 4:00. By 4:20, the team had locked the building.

Timeline map: Sort the card into five jobs: reference date, clock points, relative sequence, duration or endpoint, and overlap. Explain why each expression has that job.

Clarify an ambiguity: A listener says, “So the sound stopped ten minutes ago?” Repair the reference: “No. It stopped for ten minutes during the first session.”

Viewpoint switch: Change The host answered questions for ten minutes into an open scene containing a shorter event: While the host was answering questions, the sound returned.

Final production and check

Final production: give a 45–60 second fictional event timeline

Use the Harbor Skills Day card or invent another fictional public event. Include one exact date, two clock points, one expression measured from another event, one duration or endpoint, one overlap, and at least three sequence markers. Finish by clarifying one deliberately ambiguous expression such as earlier or last Monday.

Evidence check: Can the listener reconstruct the order and time relationships without guessing? If not, name the missing reference point.

Final check: protect the timeline meaning

1. The opening was Saturday, and the materials arrived Thursday. Which expression states that relationship without depending on today?

2. Which sentence sets a deadline rather than an activity continuing to 4:00?

3. Which sentence presents one event inside an open past scene?

4. Compare At 3:00, Maya called and At 3:00, Maya was driving. What is the best explanation?

Reflect: can your listener rebuild the timeline?

Explain the system without the tables

Complete these ideas aloud: Ago measures from... Before measures from... For gives... By gives... During is followed by... While is followed by...

Then identify one expression in your final timeline that could be misunderstood. Replace it with an exact date, clock time, duration, or named reference event.

Return tomorrow for the three-item retrieval check before rereading any rule.

Next-day retrieval

Return without rereading the lesson. Explain the reference for each answer before you check.

Three delayed checks

1. The event was on Friday, and the package arrived on Wednesday. Which sentence keeps the relationship correct no matter when you speak?

2. What does the last week of the course mean?

3. Which pair uses both overlap frames accurately?