Past tense

Past tense

 

The main rule is that for every verb in English, there is only one form of it in the past tense.

(The exception is the Past tense of To Be, which has two forms: was and were)

For example: The past tense of the verb want is wanted.

Wanted is used as the past tense for all subjects/pronouns.

I wanted

You wanted

He wanted

She wanted

It wanted

We wanted

They wanted

So you just have to learn one word to be able to use it in the past tense. In this case we just needed to learn the one word wanted which can be used for all subjects (or people).

Past Tense Regular Verbs

To change a regular verb into its past tense form, we normally add –ED to the end of the verb.

play – played

cook – cooked

rain – rained

wait – waited

There are some exceptions with a slight change in spelling which you can see here:

Past Tense

Any event or action that took place in the past can be referred to as the past tense. Below we have discussed in detail the four sub parts of past tense in English grammar. 

Simple Past 

Simple Past Tense

Rule: Subject + V2 + Object

For example: He ran away

Here, the subject is “He” and “ran” is the second form of verb (V2) of “run” followed by the object

Past Continuous 

Past Continuous Tense

Singular Plural

Rule: Subject + was + V1 + ing + Object Rule: Subject + were + V1 + ing + Object

For example: She was going shopping

Here, the subject is “She” + was

It is followed by the first form of verb (V1) “go” + “ing” and then the object “shopping”

For example: They were going shopping

Here, the subject is “They” + were

Followed by the first form of verb (V1) “go” + “ing” and then the object “shopping”

Past Perfect 

Past Perfect Tense

Rule: Subject + had + V3 + Object

For example: Sumit had left the job

Here the subject is “Sumit” + had

Then “left”, which is the third form of verb (V3) “leave” is given followed by the object

Past Perfect Continuous 

Past Perfect Continuous Tense

Rule: Subject + had been + V1 + ing + Object

For example: They had been preparing for their performance for two months

Here the subject  is “They” + had been

It is followed by “preparing”, which is the first form of verb (V1) of “prepare” and then the object

To help you understand past tense and its form even better, given below are a few examples to simply the concept:

I played football yesterday (Simple Past)

I was playing football yesterday (Past Continuous for Singular)

They were playing football yesterday (Past Continuous for Plural)

They had played football yesterday (Past Perfect)

They had been playing football the entire yesterday (Past Perfect Continuous)

Read the below given sentences

1. I watched TV last week.

2. We ate meat with my best friend yesterday.

3. The bus stopped a few minutes ago.

4. I met my wife 9 years ago.

5. She left the school in 2010.

6. He bought a new house last month.

7. Did she clean her home?

8. I read an interesting book last month.

9. We did a lot of shopping at the shopping mall.

10. He cut his finger and went to hospital.

11. She finished her work at six o’clock.

12. The rain stopped an hour ago.

13. He discovered a new land.

14. We watched a movie last weekend.

15. We were good friends.

16. You were at station.

17. I went to bed early yesterday.

18. George came home very late last night.

19. I forgot my wallet.

20. He had a dog last year.

21. Last year I traveled to Germany.

22. Two boys played with a ball.

23. An old lady walked with her cat.

24. A nurse brought a little girl baby to the park.

25. An old man sat down and read his book.

26. A large trunk came around the corner.

27. She finished all the exercises.

28. I enrolled to the painting course.

29. Dr Smith healed the patient.

30. They bought 2 tickets for the U2 concert.

31. Michael studied hard all year.

32. Did you play football last day?

33. I missed the class last week.

34. My brother drank a glass of milk 2 hours ago.

35. They had a meeting with her colleagues.

36. They were students last year.

37. He smoked a cigarettes'.

38. They lived in the Spain.

39. Alex changed his place.

40. I liked the film.

41. Did they lose the match?

42. A gardener swept up dead leaves.

43. We listened to music.

44. Where was she at 7 o’clock last night?

45. Amelia chose to stay with her father.

46. Mary forgot to turn off the light.

47. I cancelled my meeting for tomorrow.

48. I went to school yesterday.

49. We played basketball last Sunday.

50. We saw the Eiffel Tower.