Today is our topic of discussion – Past Tense
Past Tense
Definition of past tense
Past tense refers to incidents that happened in past. As-
I went to school.
They won the championship.
She was trying to do the math by herself.
In the above mentioned sentences, some incidents are mentioned (went, won, was trying) which indicate that the actions happened in past or earlier. They are the examples of past tense.
Classification of past tense
Past tense is classified into four divisions:
i. Past indefinite tense.
ii. Past continuous tense.
iii. Past perfect tense
iv. Past perfect continuous tense.
Past indefinite tense
Past Indefinite Tense indicates an action took place before the present moment and that has no real connection with the present time. As-
He played in the team last year.
She went to the market yesterday.
The actions (played and went) took place in the past, and they are finished and completely unrelated to the present. These are the examples of past indefinite tense. Note:
a. The form of Simple Past Tense is – Subject + verb + ed
b. The verb ‘went’ is an irregular verb which does not take ‘ed’ in the past tense like regular verbs.
Past continuous tense
Past continuous Tense indicates an action going on at some time in the past or an action in the past that is longer in duration than another action in the past.
We were getting late.
Shubho was watching cartoon when the phone rang.
The actions (were getting and was watching) were taking place in the past and they are completely unrelated to the present. These are the examples of past continuous tense.
Note:
a. The form of past continuous tense is – Subject +was/were + verb + ing
Past perfect tense
Past perfect tense indicates an action in the past that had been completed before another time or event in the past. As –
He had studied before the show started. We had reached there before she left
The actions (had studied and had reached) had been finished before other events/ actions (started and left) took place. These are the examples of past perfect tense. Note:
a. The form of Past Perfect Tense is- Subject +had + verb (past participle form or the 3rd form of the verb)
b. The task which took place before, its main verb takes the past participle form and the other verb takes past indefinite form. As-
The patient had died before the doctor came.
The train had left before we reached the station.
Here, the actions which took place before are had died and had left which are in past perfect tense and the other action or verbs are came and reached which are in past indefinite tense.
Past perfect continuous tense
Past perfect continuous tense indicates an action in the past that took place before another time or event in the past and continued during the second event/time point in the past. As –
At that time, he had been learning Spanish for five months.
I had been working at the company for five years when I got the promotion.
The actions (had been learning and had been working) had been going on for a certain time in past. These are the examples of past perfect continuous tense.
Note
a. The form of Past Perfect Continuous Tense is- Subject + had + been + verb + ing
Conjugation of Verb ‘go’ in all forms of Past Tense
Past indefinite tense
Person
- 1st
- 2nd
- 3rd
Singular
- I went.
- You went.
- S/He went.
Plural
- We went.
- You went.
- They went
Past continuous tense
Person
- 1st
- 2nd
- 3rd
Singular
- I was going.
- You were going.
- S/He was going
Plural
- We were going.
- You were going.
- They were going.
Past perfect tense
Person
- 1st
- 2nd
- 3rd
Singular
- I had gone.
- You had gone.
- S/He had gone.
Plural
- We had gone.
- You had gone.
- They had gone.
Past perfect continuous tense
Person
- 1st
- 2nd
- 3rd
Singular
- I had been going.
- You had been going.
- S/He had been going.
Plural
- We had been going.
- You had been going.
- They had been going.
