PAST TENSE

Past tense is to tell the events or incidents at the past time.

Past tense is used :

• When the speaker thinks of an activity or state as occurred and complete at a specific time in the past
• For a non-fact in the present or future  time.This is traditionally called the” subjunctive mood “.

Example : If I had the money now,I’d buy a car.

• To refer a single event on the past

Example : I called Mary last night.

• The past habitual action.

Example : We went to school together,and we shared many experinces.

The  Simple Past Tense

Simple Past Tense is kind of tense which is used to describe an event or action that happened already in a certain time in the past.

Adverbs used: yesterday,last night ,last week,two days ago,a few minutes ago,last weekend ,last month ,last years,in 1984,etc

• Simple past for regular verbs is added by- ed to the root of a word.

Example : She worked at the office yesterday.

• A negation is produced by adding did not and the verb in its infinitive form.

Example : She did not work at the office yesterday.

Question sentence are started with did as in Did  she work at the office yesterday ?

Verbal

There are two pattern of Simple Past Tense :

1.( + ) Subject + verb II + complement

( -  ) Subject + did not + verb I + complement

( ?  ) Did + subject + verb I ?

Nominal

2. ( + ) Subject + to be ( was/were ) + Object

( – ) Subject + to be ( was/were ) + Not + Object

( ? ) To be ( was/ were ) + Subject + Object ?

Past Continuonus Tense

Past Continuonus Tense is a kind of tense that is used to describe an event or an action which was happening in a certain in the past.

As with the present tense,the continuous aspect that the activity is in progress ,or that it is uncompleted ,at  the specified time.

The Pattern :

( +  ) Subject + to be ( was/were ) + verb – ing + complement

(  -  ) Subject + was not / were not + verb- ing + complement

( ?   ) Was/were + subject + verb-ing + complement ?

Past Perfect Tense

Past Perfect Tense is a kind of tense that is used to describe an action or an event that started in a certain time in the past and completed or finished till certain or an event that had happened before the other event or action happened.

The Pattern :

( + ) Subject + had + verb III + complement

( – ) Subject + had not + verb III + complement

( ? ) Had + subject + verb III + complement ?

Past Perfect Continuous Tense

Past Perfect Continuous Tense is like the past perfect tense ,but it  expresses longer actions in the past.

The Pattern :

( + ) Subject + Had + been + verb –ing + complement

( -  ) Subject + Had + not + been + verb-ing + complement

(  ? ) Had + subject + been + verb –ing + complement ?