Past Tense in English, Rules, Formula, Types with Examples
Past Tense: In English Grammar there are three types of tenses, that is Present Tense, Past Tense, and Future tense. Among the three, Past tense is a type of grammatical tense that state the events of the actions which has happened in the past. For example, When you say, “ I joined the coaching last month”. the word ‘joined’ here has been used to indicate the action which has happened in the past. In Past Tense, a word such as was, were, has, and -ed is commonly used.
Definition of Past Tense
According to Oxford Learner’s Dictionary ‘Past Tense’ is defined as the “the form of a verb used to describe actions that has happened in the past.”
The definition given by Cambridge Dictionary of Past Tense is “A verb forms in many languages used for actions that has finished earlier.”
According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines Past Tense as “A form of verb tense expressing action or state in or as if in the past”.
Tense Chart of Past Tense
| Tense Chart of Past Tense | ||
| Types | Formula & Rule | Example |
| Simple/Indefinite Past Tense | Subject + Verb + ed / verb in the past tense + the rest of the sentence | Nupur went to the supermarket yesterday. |
| Past Perfect Tense | Subject + Helping Verb (had) + Past participle of the main verb + the rest of the sentence along with the time frame. | She had met him before the party. |
| Past Continuous Tense | Subject + Helping Verb(was/were) + Main verb + ing + the rest of the sentence | It was snowing today. |
| Past Perfect Continuous Tense | Subject + Had + Been + Verb + ing + the rest of the sentence | He had been drinking milk out the carton when Mom walked into the kitchen. |
Tense Chart of Past Tense In Hindi
Past Tense is used to indicate the events or actions which has occurred in the past. It is of four types, that is, Simple/Indefinite Past tense, Past Continuous Tense, Past Perfect Tense, Past Perfect Continuous Tense. To know Past tense in Hindi below is the tense chart of Past Tense in Hindi.
| Tense Chart In Hindi | |
| Past | |
| Indefinite | aa, e, ye, ya, tha, ta, ti, the, Did+ V1 |
| Continuous | was living, was living, was living, Was/Were + V4 |
| Perfect | had finished, had finished, had taken Has+ V3 |
| Perfect Continuous | was, was, were + time Had been+ V4+ Since/For |
Structure of Sentences in Past Tense
Past Tense sentences can be in three forms, that is, Positive or Affirmative, Negative, Interrogative sentences. Below is the structure of all three forms and examples to make you understand better.
| Affirmative/Positive Sentence Structure | Negative Sentence Structure | Interrogative Sentence Structure |
| Subject + Past tense form of the verb + Rest of the sentence | Subject + Did not / Didn’t + Base form of the verb + Rest of the sentence | Did + Subject + Base form of the verb+ Rest of the sentence? |
| Example- She cooked the food. | Example- She did not cook the food. | Example- Did she cook the food? |
Examples of Past Tense
Some of the examples of Past tense are-
- Satya cooked a tasty dinner yesterday.(Simple Past Tense)
- The plane had left by the time I got to the airport.(Past Perfect Tense)
- They were eating at the dhaba. (Past Continuous Tense)
- I had been working at the company for five years when I got the promotion.(Past Perfect Continuous Tense)
Types of Past Tense
In English Grammar, there are four types of past tensethese are:
- Simple Past Tense
- Past Perfect Tense
- Past Continuous Tense
- Past Perfect Continuous Tense
1. Simple Past Tense: When the verb defines/denotes an activity that is used to indicate an action or event that happened in the past.
| Definition | When the verb defines/denotes an activity that is used to indicate an action or event that happened in the past. |
| General Formula & Rule | Subject + Verb + ed / verb in the past tense + the rest of the sentence |
| Simple Past tense Example |
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2. Past Perfect Tense: When the verb defines/denotes an activity that is used to represent an event or action that happened in the past before another event or action that happened in the past, then such verb is used as Past Perfect Tense.
| Definition | When the verb defines/denotes an activity that is used to represent an event or action that happened in the past before another event or action that happened in the past, then such verb is used as Past Perfect Tense |
| General Formula & Rule | Subject + Helping Verb (had) + Past participle of the main verb + the rest of the sentence along with the time frame. |
| Past Perfect Tense Example |
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3. Past Continuous Tense: When the verb defines/denotes an activity that is used depict an action or event that was continuing in the past, then such verb is used as Past Continuous Tense.
| Definition | When the verb defines/denotes an activity that is used depict an action or event that was continuing in the past, then such verb is used as Past Continuous Tense. |
| General Formula & Rule | Subject + Helping Verb(was/were) + Main verb + ing + the rest of the sentence |
| Past Continuous Tense Example |
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4. Past Perfect Continuous Tense: This verb forms is used to defines/denotes used to denote an action or event that was taking place in the past until another action or event happened in the past.
| Definition | This verb forms is used to defines/denotes used to denote an action or event that was taking place in the past until another action or event happened in the past. |
| General Formula & Rule | Subject + Had + Been + Verb + ing + the rest of the sentence |
| Past Perfect Continuous Tense Example |
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