Learn Concept of Past Tense in English Grammar

Hello dear students explorer, this post continue from previous post of Present Tense, in this post we will study concept of past tense in English grammar. It is the basic of English grammar which is the base of writing the correct structured sentences in English language. Students must learn English grammar tense in order write and speak the English language.

 

What is Past Tense in English Grammar

The past tense is used for a past actions or incidents happened. For example:

I jumped in the lake. (This is a past activity.)

I was happy. (This is a past state of being.)

 

Past Indefinite Tense

The past indefinite or simple past tense is used to specify completed actions that happened at a specific point in time in the past. ‘A specific time’ covers a long period of time but it may not be undeterminable.

 

Formula for Writing Sentence in Past Indefinite Tense:

Subject + Verb(2nd Form) + Object

For Example:

• Alexa backed a cake.
• Jackson performed a sexy dance.
• Trump resigned from Prime Minister ship.

 

Past Progressive (Continuous) Tense

The past progressive (Continuous) tense is used to establish an action that was happening or continuing in the past for a period of time in a particular background. The background can be a action or specific time.

 

Formula for Past Progressive (Continuous) Tense:

Subject + Was/Were + Verb(ing Form) + Object

For Example:

• Don was running behind the train.
• They were hiding a glass of bear.
• Tom Cruise acted well in Mission Impossible.

 

 

Past Perfect Tense

The past perfect is used to determine an action that completed before another action in the past. There are commonly two completed actions in the sentence; one happens before another.

 

Formula for Writing Sentence in past Perfect Tens’:

Subject + had + verb (3rd form) + before + subject + simple past tense  

For Example:

• The train had left before I reached.
• Thieves had stolen all the stuff from home before police arrived.
• Musk had died in the accident before ambulance arrived.

 

Past Perfect Progressive (Continuous)

Past perfect progressive (Continuous) is used to determine an action which continued for a specific period of time but stopped before another action. Actually, it is an addition to the past perfect tense and its structures.

 

Formula for Writing Sentence in Past Perfect Progressive (Continuous)Tens’:

Subject + had + been + Verb (Ing Form) + for/since + before + subject + past simple tense

For Example:

• I had been writing articles on various topics for three hours.
• The Artificial Intelligence program that was terminated had been working well since 1965.
• Sarah had been throwing stones in the pond since last five minutes before her boyfriend finally arrived.