Types of past tense/past tense sentences examples

Past Tense:- Definition, Structure, and Examples

what is past simple tense

Past simple Tense is also known as the ‘ Indefinite Past tense. But the question is,, what is the definite of Past Indefinite Tense? The definition is very simple.

When we indicate a complete action in the past or a past habit, it’s called Past Indefinite Tense. For example:

sentences with past

• I did my duty correctly.
• He retired from his job.
• She controlled her weight.
• Lopa completed her homework.
• They missed their childhood.
• Did you miss your friend?
• We enjoyed the party last night.
• They watched a horror movie.
• I forgot to participate in the program.
• I improved my English skills slowly.
• You did not catch the fish.

past tense formula

Structure: Subject+Verb(past form)+Object

 

Affirmative	Interrogative	Negative	Negative Interrogative
I forgot to send the file.	Did I forget to send the file?	I did not forget to send the file.	Did I not forget to send the file?
I missed my old days.	Did I miss my old days?	I did not miss my old days.	Did I not miss my old days?
He joined the conversation.	Did he join the conversation?	He did not join the conversation.	Did he not join the conversation?
We arranged a farewell program.	Did we arrange a farewell program?	We did not arrange a farewell program.	Did we not arrange a farewell program?
You failed in English.	Did you fail in English?	You did not fail in English.	Did you not fail in English?

Past continuous tense/what is past continuous tense

The past continuous describes actions or events in a time before now, which began in the past and were still going on when another event occurred.

The past continuous is made from the past tense of the verb be and the –ing form of a verb:

I was You were He was She was It was We were You were They were

working playing living talking etc.

past continuous tense examples

• They were waiting for the bus when the accident happened.
• Caroline was skiing when she broke her leg.
• When we arrived he was having a bath.
• When the fire started I was watching television.

Note: with verbs not normally used in the continuous form, the simple past is used.

past continuous tense formula

The past continuous of any verb is composed of two parts: the past tense of the verb “to be” (was/were), and the base of the main verb +ing.

Subject	+was/were	+base + ing
They	were	watching
Affirmative
She	was	reading
Negative
She	wasn’t	reading
Interrogative
Was	she	reading?
Interrogative negative
Wasn’t	she	reading?

what is past perfect tense / Past Perfect Tense

The past perfect tense describes a completed activity in the past. It is used to emphasize that an action was completed before another action took place.

what is past perfect tense examples

• • I had called the police before I investigated the noise in the garden.

(First: I called the police. Next: I investigated the noise.)

• • The weather changed, but the team had planned its next move.

(First: The team planned. Next: The weather changed.)

Past perfect tense can also be used to show dissatisfaction with the past. Examples of this use include:

• We wished we had purchased the winning ticket.
• I wished I had told the truth.
• She wished she had seen her friend.
• The boy wished he had asked another question.

Past perfect tense formula

The past perfect tense is formed:

subject + had + past participle

 

Structure of the Past Perfect Tense

Positive	Negative	Interrogative	Negative Interrogative
Subject + had + past participle + the rest of the sentence	Subject + had + not + past participle + the rest of the sentence	Had + subject + past participle + the rest of the sentence	Had + subject + not + past participle + the rest of the sentence (or) Hadn’t + subject + past participle + the rest of the sentence
Examples: I had completed my assignment before everyone else even started. You had completed your assignment before everyone else even started. He had completed his assignment before everyone else even started. She had completed her assignment before everyone else even started. They had completed their assignment before everyone else even started.	Exercise: I had not completed my assignment. You had not completed your assignment. He had not completed his assignment. She had not completed her assignment. They had not completed their assignment..	Exercise: Had I completed my assignment before everyone else even started? Had you completed your assignment before everyone else even started? Had he completed his assignment before everyone else even started? Had she completed her assignment before everyone else even started? Had they completed their assignment before everyone else even started?	Examples: Hadn’t I completed my assignment before everyone else even started? Hadn’t you completed your assignment before everyone else even started? Hadn’t he completed his assignment before everyone else even started? Hadn’t she completed her assignment before everyone else even started?   Hadn’t they completed their assignment before everyone else even started? Had you not finished your assignment before everyone else even started? Had she not finished her assignment before everyone else even started? Had he not finished his assignment before everyone else even started? Had they not finished their assignment before everyone else even started?

 

Past perfect continuous tense

Past perfect continuous

Past Perfect Continuous Tense represents an ongoing action that started and continued for some time in the past. To indicate time reference

“for” and “since” are used and it describes when the action started and how long it continued in the past.

Past perfect continuous examples

• I had been writing articles on various topics for three hours.
• He had been reading different kinds of books since morning.
• They had been playing football on that field before it started to rain.
• Jane had been gossiping in the coffee shop for two hours.

Usages of ‘since’ and ‘for’

Usages of ‘for’:
If the time is period of time or indefinite, you have to use ‘for’ in structure.

For an example
I had been planning on the project for 3 days.
(Here, the time ‘3 days’ is not definite that which 3 days of a week are. So, here, ‘for’ has been used)

Usages of ‘since’:
If the time is point of time or definite, you have to use ‘since’ in structure.

For an example
I had been planning on the project since Sunday.
(Here, the time ‘Sunday’ is the definite and particular name of a day in a week. So, here, ‘since’ has been used)

past perfect continuous formula

Subject + had + been + present participle (verb+ing) + the rest of the sentence

Structure of the Past Perfect Continuous Tense
Positive	Negative	Interrogative	Negative Interrogative
Subject + had + been + present participle + the rest of the sentence	Subject + had + not + been + present participle + the rest of the sentence	Had + subject + been + present participle + the rest of the sentence	Had + subject + not + been + present participle + the rest of the sentence (or) Hadn’t + subject + been + present participle + the rest of the sentence
Examples: I had been cooking my mom’s favourite dish when she walked into the kitchen. You had been cooking your mom’s favourite dish when she walked into the kitchen. He had been cooking his mom’s favourite dish when she walked into the kitchen. She had been cooking her mom’s favourite dish when she walked into the kitchen. They had been cooking their mom’s favourite dish when she walked into the kitchen.	Example: I had not been cooking my mom’s favourite dish when she walked into the kitchen. You had not been cooking your mom’s favourite dish when she walked into the kitchen. He had not been cooking his mom’s favourite dish when she walked into the kitchen. She had not been cooking her mom’s favourite dish when she walked into the kitchen. They had not been cooking their mom’s favourite dish when she walked into the kitchen.	Example: Had I been cooking my mom’s favourite dish when she walked into the kitchen? Had you been cooking your mom’s favourite dish when she walked into the kitchen?   Had he been cooking his mom’s favourite dish when she walked into the kitchen? Had she been cooking her mom’s favourite dish when she walked into the kitchen? Had they been cooking their mom’s favourite dish when she walked into the kitchen?	Examples: Hadn’t I been cooking my mom’s favourite dish when she walked into the kitchen? Hadn’t you been cooking your mom’s favourite dish when she walked into the kitchen? Hadn’t he been cooking his mom’s favourite dish when she walked into the kitchen? Hadn’t she been cooking her mom’s favourite dish when she walked into the kitchen? Had you not been cooking your mom’s favourite dish when she walked into the kitchen? Had she not been cooking her mom’s favourite dish when she walked into the kitchen? Had he not been cooking his mom’s favourite dish when she walked into the kitchen? Had they not been cooking their mom’s favourite dish when she walked into the kitchen?

verbs in English

irregular verbs English

This is a list of some irregular verbs in English. Of course, there are many others, but these are the more common irregular verbs

 

V1 Base Form	V2 Past Simple	V3 Past Participle
awake	awoke	awoken
be	was, were	been
beat	beat	beaten
become	became	become
begin	began	begun
bend	bent	bent
bet	bet	bet
bid	bid	bid
bite	bit	bitten
blow	blew	blown
break	broke	broken
bring	brought	brought
broadcast	broadcast	broadcast
build	built	built
burn	burned or burnt	burned or burnt
buy	bought	bought
catch	caught	caught
choose	chose	chosen
come	came	come
cost	cost	cost
cut	cut	cut
dig	dug	dug
do	did	done
draw	drew	drawn
dream	dreamed or dreamt	dreamed or dreamt
drive	drove	driven
drink	drank	drunk
eat	ate	eaten
fall	fell	fallen
feel	felt	felt
fight	fought	fought
find	found	found
fly	flew	flown
forget	forgot	forgotten
forgive	forgave	forgiven
freeze	froze	frozen
get	got	got (sometimes gotten)
give	gave	given
go	went	gone
grow	grew	grown
hang	hung	hung
have	had	had
hear	heard	heard
hide	hid	hidden
hit	hit	hit
hold	held	held
hurt	hurt	hurt
keep	kept	kept
know	knew	known
lay	laid	laid
lead	led	led
learn	learned or learnt	learned or learnt
leave	left	left
lend	lent	lent
let	let	let
lie	lay	lain
lose	lost	lost
make	made	made
mean	meant	meant
meet	met	met
pay	paid	paid
put	put	put
read	read	read
ride	rode	ridden
ring	rang	rung
rise	rose	risen
run	ran	run
say	said	said
see	saw	seen
sell	sold	sold
send	sent	sent
show	showed	showed or shown
shut	shut	shut
sing	sang	sung
sink	sank	sunk
sit	sat	sat
sleep	slept	slept
speak	spoke	spoken
spend	spent	spent
stand	stood	stood
stink	stank	stunk
swim	swam	swum
take	took	taken
teach	taught	taught
tear	tore	torn
tell	told	told
think	thought	thought
throw	threw	thrown
understand	understood	understood
wake	woke	woken
wear	wore	worn
win	won	won
write	wrote	written

 

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