Past Tense-Definition-Structure-How To Use It

Past Tense: (About Past Tense):

• A grammatical time called the past is used to talk about an action or occurrence that happened in the past.
• There stand four main past tenses in English: Simple Past, Past Continuous, Past Perfect, and Past Perfect Continuous.
• Each past tense form has a specific purpose and is used to convey information about the timing and duration of a past action or occurrence.
• The formula and sentence structure for each past tense form is different.
• The different past tense forms convey various information about the timing and duration of the past event or action. 
• The Simple past tense describes completed actions or events in the past.
• The Past continuous tense describes actions that were in progress at a specific time in the past.
• The Past perfect tense describes actions that were completed before another past action.
• The past perfect continuous tense describes actions that started in the past and continued up until another point in the past.
• Regular verb forms their past tense by adding -ed to the base form, while irregular verbs have different past tense forms.
• The choice of past tense forms depends on the context and the information the speaker/writer wants to convey about the past event or action.

Simple Past Tense: Structure-Definition – Examples:

Definition:

• Simple past tense is verb tense that describes an action or event that took place and was completed in the past.
• It refers to a specific time when an action or event occurred.

Formulas:

• Affirmative: Subject + Verd (Past form of a verb) + Object + Other words.
• Negative: Subject + Did not + Base form of verb + Object + Other words.
• Interrogative: Did + Subject + Base form of verb + Object + Other word.
• Wh Questions: Wh words + Did + Base form of verb + Object + Other words.

Structure: 

• For regular verbs, the simple past tense is formatted by adding -ed to the base form of the verb.
• For irregular verbs, the past tense form is not formed by adding -ed and needs to be memorized.
• The negative form is created using “did not” or “didn’t” + base form of the verb.
• The interrogative form is created by starting the sentence with the auxiliary verb “did,” followed by the subject and the base form of the verb.

Characteristics:

• The simple past tense describes a completed action or event that occurred in the past and is now finished.
• It is used to talk about past habits, completed actions, and sequential events that happened one after the other.
• It also describes a past situation or state that is no longer true.

Examples:

Affirmative: 

1. She walked to the store.
2. They played cricket yesterday.

Negative:

1. He did not finish his homework on time.
2. We didn’t eat breakfast this morning.

Interrogative:

1. Did you watch the new movie?
2. Did she call you back?

WH Questions:

1. What did you eat for breakfast?
2. Where did he go last night?
3. How did they solve the problem?
4. When did they arrive at the airport?

Indicator Words: (To Define Past Tense)

These words can help identify a sentence in the simple past tense. Here are some common indicator words used to describe the simple past tense.

• Yesterday
• Last night/week/month/year
• In 2001/1991s/past decade
• Ago (I saw the movie a week ago.)

Past Continuous Tense: Structure-Definition – Examples:

Definition:

• The Past continuous tense is also known as the past progressive tense and is used to describe an ongoing action that was happening in the past.
• This tense is formed by using an auxiliary verb (was/were) followed by the present participle (verb + ing ) of the main verb.
• The past continuous tense is often used to describe a longer action that was interrupted by a shorter action in the past.
• It can also be used to describe two actions that were happening simultaneously in the past.

Formulas:

• Affirmative: Subject + Was/Were + Present Participle ( Ing verb formas) + Object + Other words
• Negative: Subject + Was/Were + Not + Ing Verbs form + Object + Other words
• Interrogative: Was/Were + Subject + Ing Verb Forms + Object + Other words
• WH Questions: WH Questions + Was/Were + Ing Verbs Form + Object + Other words?

Structure:

• Subject: The sentence must have a subject, which can be a noun or pronoun.
• Auxiliary verb: The past continuous tense uses (Was/Were) as the auxiliary verb.
• Present Participle: The main verb is used in its present participle form (-ing), which follows the auxiliary verb.
• Object: The sentence may or may not have an object, which is a noun or pronoun that receives the action of the verb.

Characteristics:

• It is used to describe an action that was in progress at a specific time in the past.
• It is formed by combining the auxiliary verb (Was/Were) with the present participle of the main verb (-Ing form).
• It is often used to describe background actions in a story or to provide context for other past events.
• The negative form is created by adding (not) after the auxiliary verb, and the question form is created by reversing the order of the subject and auxiliary verb.

Examples:

Affirmative:

1. She was singing a song when I entered the room
2. They were playing scorer.

Negative:

1. They weren’t studying for the exam when the teacher walked in.
2. She was not watching TV.

Interrogative:

1. Was he watching the Game when you called him?
2. Were they studying for the exam?

WH Questions:

1. What were you doing at 8 PM last night?
2. Who was she talking to on the phone?

Indicator Words: (To Define Past Continuous  Tense):

• While: I was reading the book while she was cooking dinner.
• At this time yesterday: They were playing cricket at this time yesterday.
• When: He was studying for the exam when the phone rang.
• All Day/Week/Month: We were working on the project all week.
• At (Specific Time): I was sleeping at midnight last night.

Past Perfect Tense: Structure-Definition – Examples:

Definition: 

• The past perfect tense is a verb tense used to describe an action that was completed before a certain point in the past.
• It expresses an action that happened before another past event or action.
• The Past Perfect Tense is formed by using the auxiliary verb (had) followed by the past participle of the main verb.
• It can be used to show the relationship between two past events or actions.
• It is often used in conjunction with other past tenses, such as the Simple Past and the Past Continuous.

Formulas:

• Affirmative: Subject + Had + PP + Object + Other words
• Negative: Subject + Had + Not + PP + Object + Other words
• Interrogative: Had + Subject + PP + Object + Other words
• WH Question: 

Structure:

Here is the structure of the Past Perfect Tense

• The Past Perfect Tense is formed using the auxiliary verb (had) followed by the past participle of the main verb.
• The basic structure of the Past Perfect Tense ( Subject + Had + PP + Object + Other words )
• The negative form of the Past Perfect Tense is formed by adding (not) after had (Subject + Had + Not + PP + Object + other words)
• The interrogative form of the Past Perfect Tense is formed by reversing the order of the subject and Had.

Characteristics:

• The Past Perfect Tense expresses completed actions that took place before a certain point in the past.
• It is formed using an auxiliary verb (had) followed by the past participle of the main verb.
• It can be used to show the relationship between two past events or actions.
• It is often used in conjunction with other past tenses, such as Simple Past and Past Continuous.

Examples:

Affirmative

1. She had finished her work before she left the office.
2. I had studied for two hours before the exam.

Negative:

1. He had not visited his parents in years before they passed away.
2. She had not traveled to Europe before her trip last summer. 

Interrogative:

1. Had you visited New York City before your trip last month?
2. Had he called the client before leaving the office?

WH Questions:

1. What had you done before the storm hit?
2. Where had she worked before joining this company?

Indicator Words: (To Define Past Perfect Tense)

• Words like ( before, after, already, and By the time) are often used with the Past perfect Tense.
• The Past Perfect Tense is often used to describe actions that happened in the distant past.
• The Past Perfect Tense can also be used to express regrets about a past action or event.

Past Perfect Continuous Tense: Structure-Definition – Examples:

Definition: 

• It is a verb tense used to describe a past action that was ongoing or in progress before another past action.
• It is formed using an auxiliary verb “had been + Present Participle form of the main verb” (-ing form).
• It emphasizes the duration of action in the past leading up to a specific moment or event.
• It is often used in storytelling to provide background information or to show how one action led to another in the past.
• The past perfect continuous tense is used to illustrate action that started in the past and continued up to a specific point in the Past.
• The Past Perfect Continuous Tense is usually used to express regret, frustration, or disappointment about a past action.
• It is also used to describe a past action that affected the present.

Formulas:

• Affirmative: Subject + Had been + PP (-ing form of verb) + Object + Other words
• Negative: Subject + Had been + Not + PP (-ing form of verb) + Object + Other words
• Interrogative: Had + Subject + been + PP (-ing form of a verb) + Object + Other words +?
• WH Questions:

Structure:

• You form the Past Perfect Continuous Tense using the auxiliary verb “had been” followed by the present participle (-ing form) of the main verb.
• The auxiliary verb (had) indicates that the action took place before another past Action, and (been) indicates that the action was ongoing or continuous.
• The present participle (-ing form) of the main verb is used to indicate the ongoing nature of the action.
• The subject of the sentence usually comes before the auxiliary verb (had been).
• The object of the sentence follows the present participle (-ing form) of the main verb.
• The negative form of the past perfect continuous tense is formed by adding (not) after had.
• Time expressions such as (since, for, all day) can be used to indicate the duration of the action.

Characteristics:

• The past perfect continuous tense is used to describe a past action that was ongoing or in progress before another past action.
• It emphasizes the duration of action in the past leading up to a specific moment or event.
• To form the Past Perfect Continuous Tense, you use the auxiliary verb (had been) followed by the present participle (-ing form) of the main verb.
• The Past Perfect Continuous tense can be used to show the cause-and-effect relationship between two past actions.
• People often use the Past Perfect Continuous Tense in storytelling to provide background information or to show one action led to another in the past.
• Typically, people use the Past Perfect Continuous Tense in conjunction with the simple past tense to show a sequence of events in the past. 
• Time expressions such as (since, for,  all day) are used to indicate the duration of the action.
• You form the negative form of the Past Perfect Continuous Tense by adding (not) after (had).
• To form the interrogative form of the Past Perfect Continuous Tense, you invert the subject and auxiliary verb (had) and add a question mark at the end of the sentence.
• People usually use the Past Perfect Continuous Tense to express regret, frustration, or disappointment about a past action.

Examples:

Affirmative:

• I had been studying for two hours before I took a break.
• She had been working on the project all day long.

Negative: 

• We had not been paying attention to the lecture.
• They had not been taking care of their health.

Interrogative:

• Had you been playing tennis for a long when it started raining?
• Had she been working in the company for a year before she got promoted?

WH Questions:

• What had you been doing before you came to the party?
• How long had he been preparing for the exam before he got sick?

Indicator Words: (To Define Past Perfect Continuous Tense):

• “Had been” is the most prominent indicator word for the past perfect continuous tense.
• Time expressions such as ( Since, for, all day) are also common indicators of the past perfect continuous tense.
• People frequently used phrases such as (had been doing) or (had been working) to indicate the past perfect continuous tense.
• You can use the adverb (Continuously, Incessantly, and Steadily) to indicate that the action was ongoing.
• The context of a sentence can sometimes provide clues that the past perfect continuous tense is being used, such as when describing a duration of time or a sequence of events in the past.