Formation and Uses of Past Tense

Formation of Past Tense

• Regular verbs: add -ed to the base form of the verb
  • Examples: walk -> walked, run -> ran
• Irregular verbs: change the base form of the verb to form the past tense
  • Examples: go -> went, take -> took

Uses of Past Tense

• To describe completed actions in the past
  • Example: I went to the store yesterday.
• To describe past habits or states
  • Example: I used to live in New York.
• To describe past hypothetical or contrary-to-fact situations
  • Example: If I had studied harder, I would have passed the exam.

Past Tense Forms

• Simple past: used to describe completed actions in the past
  • Example: I walked to school.
• Past continuous: used to describe ongoing actions in the past
  • Example: I was walking to school.
• Past perfect: used to describe an action that occurred before another action in the past
  • Example: I had walked to school before it started raining.
• Past perfect continuous: used to describe an ongoing action that started before another action in the past
  • Example: I had been walking to school for an hour before it started raining.

Signal Words for Past Tense

• Yesterday
• Last week/month/year
• Ago
• In the past
• When I was a child
• Historically

Common Past Tense Mistakes

• Using the present tense instead of the past tense
  • Example: I go to the store yesterday (incorrect)
• Using the past tense instead of the past perfect tense
  • Example: I walked to school, and then it started raining (incorrect)

Formation of Past Tense

• Regular verbs form the past tense by adding -ed to the base form of the verb
• Irregular verbs change the base form of the verb to form the past tense
• Examples of regular verbs: walk -> walked, run -> ran
• Examples of irregular verbs: go -> went, take -> took

Uses of Past Tense

• Describes completed actions in the past
• Describes past habits or states
• Describes past hypothetical or contrary-to-fact situations
• Examples: I went to the store yesterday, I used to live in New York, If I had studied harder, I would have passed the exam

Past Tense Forms

• Simple past: describes completed actions in the past
• Past continuous: describes ongoing actions in the past
• Past perfect: describes an action that occurred before another action in the past
• Past perfect continuous: describes an ongoing action that started before another action in the past
• Examples: I walked to school, I was walking to school, I had walked to school before it started raining, I had been walking to school for an hour before it started raining

Signal Words for Past Tense

• Yesterday
• Last week/month/year
• Ago
• In the past
• When I was a child
• Historically

Common Past Tense Mistakes

• Using the present tense instead of the past tense
• Using the past tense instead of the past perfect tense
• Examples: I go to the store yesterday (incorrect), I walked to school, and then it started raining (incorrect)