Past Tense in English | Rules, Definition and Examples

Hello friends, welcome to a2zenglish Grammar, in today’s post we will discuss Past Tense in English | Rules, Definition and Examples Will see. Tense is one of the most important parts of grammar. Because according to this tense, change is depicted as a verb. It also helps to understand the sentence clearly. Similarly, in English, all events described in the past are in the past tense. Terms, definitions and examples. Bhoot Kaal is called Bhoot Kaal in Hindi.

Past Tense in English | Rules, Definition and Examples

In this post Past Tense in English | Complete information about Rules, Definition and Examples. Full description of present perfect tense is given in English Grammar. This type of tense is used as “when”. What are its main points? What is the ‘identity’ of the sentences of this Tense and what are the rules and structures of the use of this Tense etc.

Types of Tense according to the form of the verb

• Present Tense
• Past Tense
• Future Tense

Identification of Past Tense

What is past tense?

Definition of Past Tense : If there is a sense of an action being or being done in the past, was happening, was happening, had happened, and had been happening for a long time, then it is called Past Tense. That is, this tense is used to give meaning to such sentences, which are only and only related to the past.

In other words, events that have already been completed in the past. That is, which has no relation with the present, it is called Past Tense. Or u say that, the change in the form of verb in the past time is called Past Tense.

How to identify the past tense?

Friends, we have come to know about Past Tense in Hindi and now it comes to know how to identify Past Tense?
The sentence in which the word comes at the end of the sentence is called past tense. All sentences ending with tha are in the past tense.

Example:

• Ramesh used to read newspaper.
• I had studied
• Ramesh had gone to play.
• I was reading a book.
• He had eaten food.
• I had eaten food.
• I was singing

Types of Past Tense | Types of Past Tense in english

Past Tense is mainly divided into four forms to express the past time in different sense and meaning. The differences of Past Tense express the events that happened in the past in different ways. The way there are 4-4 types of Present Tense and Future Tense. In the same way Past Tense is also divided into 4 types. Therefore, its study is necessary.

Following are the four types of Past Tense:-

• Past Indefinite Tense/ Simple Past Tense
• Past Continuous Tense
• Past Perfect Tense
• Past Perfect Continuous Tense

1. Past Indefinite Tense

Such a sentence which is known to have happened in the past, that sentence is called Past Indefinite Tense.

Identification of Past Indefinite Tense:- Those sentences which end in ‘ta tha, ti the, te the, ya, yi, ye aa, e’ come in all categories of Past Indefinite Tense.

Rules for Past Indefinite Tense:

First of all, we tell in Hindi in Past Tense, how to use ‘Past Undetention Tense’ in speaking and writing English sentences?

The past tense is identified by the fact that at the end of the verb of its Hindi sentence, ‘a tha, e thi, ai the and ta tha, ti thi, te the’ happens;

• Whereas in its English sentence, the second form of the verb is used with the subject.
• If the sentence is negative and interrogative, then the Helping Verb ‘Did’ is used with the subject;
• Pay attention to all the structures and examples below; Everything will be well understood.

Positive Structure : Subject + another form of Verb + object + other word

1. My Brother worked at insurance company.
2. I said.
3. She thought.
4. She looked at me.
5. I bought smart watch from Amazon
6. Radha sang a song.
7. Electricity went out.
8. The mother coocked the food.
9. The thief ran away.
10. The police caught the thief.

Negative Structure: Subject + did + not + first form of verb + object + other word

1. Mayavati did not contest the election.
2. Today the father did not go to office.
3. I did not take bath in this pond.
4. He did not give me his book.
5. The monkey did not climb in the tree.
6. Rahul did not kill him.
7. I did not recognize him.
8. He said nothing.
9. He did not want to go there.
10. I did not see him.

Interrogative Structure : Did + Subject + (not) + first form of verb + object + other word + ?

1. Did he talk to you ?
2. Did you go to take bath in the river ?
3. Did Rahul Gandhi deliver speech on the stage ?
4. Did he say something to you ?
5. Did Radha dance on the stage ?
6. Did the child weep loudly ?
7. Did you reach the station at 10 o’clock ?
8. Did you read this book ?
9. Did the thief run on the road ?
10. Did the police run after the thief ?

W.H.Word Type Question Structure : W.H.word (question word) + did + subject + (not) + first form of verb + object + other word + ?

1. What did you do this ?
2. Where did the father go ?
3. Who beat you ?
4. Who did all this ?
5. Why did you go there ?
6. What did you see there ?
7. Who knocked the door?
8. How did you do this all ?
9. Which book did he buy ?
10. What did they decide ?

Interrogative Negative Sentences: Question + did + subject + not + verb(1st form) + object ………..

1. Why did you not go there ?
2. Did she not go to school today ?
3. Did the sun not rise yet ?
4. What did I not give him ?
5. Why did she not call you ?
6. Which film did you not watch ?
7. Who did not come to meet you today ?
8. Why did the boys not play the cricket in the field ?
9. Why did that girl not come in the class today ?
10. Why did they not talk to you ?

How did you like learning ‘Past indefinite tense’ in Hindi? If you like to learn this Tense then I hope you can use this Tense easily in speaking and writing English;

Past Continuous Tense

First of all, let us know in Past tense in Hindi that what is the identity of Past continuous tense? At the end of the verb of the Hindi sentence of this tense, expressions like ‘was, was, were and were lying, were standing and were sitting;

Rules for Past Continuous Tense:

In its English sentence, ‘Verb be – was, were’ is used after the subject; ‘Was’ is used with singular subject and ‘were’ with plural subject.

The first form of the verb + ing is used after Was or Were; After this we use object; Then write the remaining words in the form of other words; Understand through the structures and examples given below.

Positive Structure : Subject + was/were + (not) + first form of verb + ing + object + other word

1. I was watching TV when she came home.
2. They were playing football in the park yesterday.
3. He was studying for his exam when his friend called.
4. We were having dinner when the power went out.
5. The sun was setting over the mountains as we drove down the highway.
6. The children were singing songs in the school choir.
7. My dad was reading a book while my mom was knitting.
8. The workers were repairing the road during rush hour.
9. The teacher was explaining the lesson while the students were taking notes.
10. The band was recording their new album in the studio.

Interrogative structure: was/were + subject + (not) + first form of verb + ing + object + other word + ?

1. Were you watching TV when she came home?
2. Were they playing football in the park yesterday?
3. Was he studying for his exam when his friend called?
4. Were we having dinner when the power went out?
5. Was the sun setting over the mountains as you drove down the highway?
6. Were the children singing songs in the school choir?
7. Was your dad reading a book while your mom was knitting?
8. Were the workers repairing the road during rush hour?
9. Was the teacher explaining the lesson while the students were taking notes?
10. Were the band members recording their new album in the studio?

W.H.word type question structure: W.H.word + was/were + subject + (not) + first form of verb + ing + object + other word +?

Negative Sentence: subject + was/were + not + M.V1 + ing + object+ C

1. I was not watching TV when she came home.
2. They were not playing football in the park yesterday.
3. He was not studying for his exam when his friend called.
4. We were not having dinner when the power went out.
5. The sun was not setting over the mountains as we drove down the highway.
6. The children were not singing songs in the school choir.
7. My dad was not reading a book while my mom was knitting.
8. The workers were not repairing the road during rush hour.
9. The teacher was not explaining the lesson while the students were taking notes.
10. The band was not recording their new album in the studio.

Interrogative Negative Sentence: was/were +subject + not + M.V1 + ing +object + C

1. Were you not watching TV when she came home?
2. Were they not playing football in the park yesterday?
3. Was he not studying for his exam when his friend called?
4. Were we not having dinner when the power went out?
5. Was the sun not setting over the mountains as you drove down the highway?
6. Were the children not singing songs in the school choir?
7. Was your dad not reading a book while your mom was knitting?
8. Were the workers not repairing the road during rush hour?
9. Was the teacher not explaining the lesson while the students were taking notes?
10. Were the band members not recording their new album in the studio?

Past Perfect Tense

The past perfect tense is used to describe an action that was completed before another past action or time. It is formed by using the past tense of “have” (had) followed by the past participle of the main verb.

Rules for Past Perfect Tense:

The past perfect tense is formed by using the past tense of “have” (had) followed by the past participle of the main verb.

The past perfect tense is formed by using the past tense of “have” (had) followed by the past participle of the main verb.

Helping Verb

The helping verb of Past Perfect Tense is ‘Had’. Had is used in Past Perfect Tense with the actions which end first and the actions ending later are done in simple past tense and its auxiliary verb is did.

Main Verb

The sentences of Past Perfect Tense use the III form of the Main Verb.

Note – We make the action that ended earlier in Past Perfect Tense and the action that ended later in Past Indefinite Tense.

1. If the word ‘former’ or ‘before’ appears in the sentence –

Past Perfect Tense + before + Simple Past Tense

(Subject + had + verb III + object + other + before + subject + verb II + object + other)

Positive Structure : Subject + had + past participle of the main verb + (object)

1. I had finished my dinner before the movie started.
2. They had already left by the time we got there.
3. He had lived in that city for ten years before moving to the countryside.
4. She had written the report before the deadline.
5. The team had won the championship twice before losing in the final.
6. We had visited that museum before, but it was still interesting.
7. The cake had been baked for an hour when it was finally ready.
8. He had read all of the books by that author before the new one was published.
9. The company had grown a lot in the past five years.
10. She had known him since they were children.

Interrogative structure: Hadn’t + subject + past participle of main verb + (object)?

1. Had you seen that movie before?
2. Had they finished their homework before the party?
3. Had she visited that museum before?
4. Had he ever traveled to Europe before?
5. Had the company grown before the recession hit?
6. Had you ever tasted sushi before that restaurant?
7. Had they known about the problem before the meeting?
8. Had she finished reading the book before the movie was released?
9. Had he played that game before?
10. Had the project been completed before the deadline?

Negative Sentence: Subject + had not + past participle of the main verb + (object)

1. I had not finished my homework before my parents came home.
2. She had not seen that movie before.
3. They had not studied for the exam enough.
4. He had not eaten lunch before the meeting started.
5. We had not visited that place before.
6. train had not arrived on time.
7. The concert had not started yet when we left.
8. The guests had not arrived by the time the dinner was ready.
9. She had not lived in that city for very long.
10. They had not completed the project on time.

Interrogative Negative Sentence: Hadn’t + subject + past participle of main verb + (object)?

1. Hadn’t you finished your work before the deadline?
2. Hadn’t they left before we arrived?
3. Hadn’t he lived in that city for ten years before moving to the countryside?
4. before the deadline?
5. Hadn’t the team won the championship twice before losing in the final?
6. Hadn’t we visited that museum before?
7. Hadn’t the cake been baked for an hour when it was finally ready?
8. Hadn’t he read all of the books by that author before the new one was published?
9. Hadn’t the company grown a lot in the past five years?
10. Hadn’t she known him since they were children?

Present Perfect Continuous Tense

The sentences of this tense show that the work has been going on continuously for some time but has not been completed. In Present Perfect Tense, the words raha hai, rahi hai, rahe hain, raha ho, rahe ho etc. come at the end of Hindi sentences. In this tense, the time for the continuation of the work is given whereas in Present Continuous Tense, the time for the continuation of the work is not given.

Rules for Past Perfect Continuous Tense:

While translating these sentences, the subject is written first.
After this, the helping verb has been/have been written according to the subject.
If the subject is a s-ingular number, then the helping verb ‘has been’ is used.
If the subject is plural, then the helping verb ‘have been’ is used.
After this, the first form of the verb is written by adding ing.
Then write object.
After this, if any other word is inside the sentence, then its English is written.

Affirmative Sentences : Subject + has been/have been + verb(ing form) + for/since + time

1- He has been taking tea for ten minutes.
2- These boys have been playing cricket since ten o’clock.
3- The gardener has been watering the plants for two hours.
4- My boy has been studying in this school for two years.
5- She has been waiting for you for two hours.
6- The father has been reading newspaper since morning.
7- The boys have been bathing in the swimming pool for one hour.
8- That naughty boy has been flying the kite since ten o’clock.
9- She has been working in this field for years.
10- I have been living in Delhi for one year.

Negative Sentences : Subject + has/have + not + been + verb(ing form) + for/since + time

1- He has not been eating the food since morning.
2- Her father has not been eating the medicine for two days.
3- I have not been driving for last year.
4- I have not been reading the newspaper for ten minutes.
5- The students have not been making a noise for one hour.
6- He has been waiting for me for hours.
7- A girl of nine has not been crying for half an hour.
8- The birds have not been sitting in their cage for one hour.
9- No one has been walking on this way for one hour.
10- Raju has not been reading his book for one hour.

Interrogative : Has/Have + subject + been + verb(ing form) + for/since + time

Question Word + has/have +subject + been + verb(ing form) + for/since + time

1- Has Radha been doing her homework since ten o’clock ?
2- Has the washerman been washing the clothes since morning ?
3- Have the girls been dancing on the stage for one hour ?
4- Has the teacher been teaching the students for half an hour ?
5- Has the doctor been checking the patients since morning ?
6- Has it been raining since last night ?
7- Have we been going to their home for years ?
8- Have you been living in Delhi for two years ?
9- Have you been working in this department for five years ?
10- Have these two brothers been studying in this very school for two years ?

Interrogative : Question Word + has/have +subject + been + verb(ing form) + for/since + time

1- What have you been doing in this room for one hour ?
2- Where have you been living in this sity for so many days ?
3- Who has been calling him for one hour ?
4- Where have you been hiding for two hours ?
5- Whom have you been searching for since ten o’clock ?
6- What have they been doing since Monday ?
7- Why has he been crying so loudly for one hour ?
8- What have these boys been doing in this school for two years ?
9- Whose clothes have the washerman been washing since morning ?
10- Which film have you been watching since last night ?

Interrogative Negative Sentences : WH + had + S + Not + been + V4 + Other Words + ?

1- Why has he not been coming to school for one week ?
2- Why has the teacher not been teaching you for two days ?
3- Why have these children not been playing on the road for ten minutes ?
4- Why have you not been doing the work for many days ?
5- Why has she not been eating the food for two days ?
6- Who has not been reading the students in this school for one year ?
7- Why has he not been coming to our home for one month ?
8- Why has you not been going to the doctor for two days ?
9- Why has Rahul not been coming to office since monday ?
10- Why has the gardner not been watering the plants since morning ?

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Conclusion:-

In this post you will learn Past Tense in English | Have read about Rules, Definition and Examples in English. And about this tense you know that some action event happened in the past and we come to know that the action is completely finished. Past tense is used to express different situations. Through this post you can learn Past Tense in English. You can read Rules, Definition and Examples in English.

FAQs:-

1. What are the rules for past tense in English? 

Ans. If a verb ends in -e, you add -d. If a verb ends in a vowel and a consonant, the consonant is usually doubled before -ed. If a verb ends in consonant and -y, you take off the y and add -ied. But if the word ends in a vowel and -y, you add -ed.

2. Give some examples of Past tense.

Ans. 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)

3. What are the rules past tense questions?

Ans. The formula for asking a question in the simple past tense is did + [subject] + [root form of verb].

4. What is the rule of past perfect?

Ans. The formula for the past perfect tense is had + [past participle]. It doesn’t matter if the subject is singular or plural; the formula doesn’t change.

5. What is the structure of the present continuous tense interrogative sentences?

Ans. Interrogative Sentences-

Structure: Is/am/are + subject + verb I + ing + object + other words +?

6. How many types of Past Tense are there?

Ans. In English Grammar, there are four types of past tense, these are: Simple Past Tense, Past Perfect Tense, Past Continuous Tense, Past Perfect Continuous Tense.

Also Read:-

http://Fill in the blanks with tense forms of the verbs given in brackets

http://50+ Present Simple (Indefinite) Tense Examples.

http://50+ Present Perfect Continuous Tense with Examples.

http://Future Indefinite Tense Exercises with Answers in Hindi-English (Translation) [2023]

http://30+ Present Perfect Tense Example with Hindi Meaning [2023]

http://Present Perfect Tense | Present Perfect Tense In English Grammar