Past tense is a form of a verb that indicates the time of a certain action in the past.
In the aggregate, past tense forms in English are usually combined with the concept of Past Tenses. This article will consider three main times, which differ in duration and quality. So, there are indefinite past (Past Indefinite or Simple), long (Past Continuous) and perfect (Past Perfect) times.
Past Simple Shape
The Past Simple is the most common and frequent past tense in English. This is the main time for expressing any action that happened some time ago. Very often it competes with the present perfect tense (Present Perfect), which, despite belonging to the present tenses, is translated by verbs in the past tense. We must not forget that the perfect present tenseis appropriate only when the past action affects the present. If the events are not related to the present, you should use Past Simple.
This time is formed very simply. If the verb is correct, you should simply add the ending -ed to it, if it is incorrect, the desired form is in the standard table of irregular verbs:
We played the piano three days ago; I forgot my hat at home.
To form a question, use the auxiliary verb did:
Did you play the piano yesterday?
This auxiliary verb is also used for negation, but with the negative particle not:
She did not watch TV.
Thus, Past Simple should be used if the action happened in the past and has nothing to do with the present. Words that foreshadow the use of this tense form of the verb are yesterday (yesterday), 8 years ago (8 years ago), in 1989 (in 1989) and so on.
Past Continuous
Past Continuous is a tense that denotes a long action in the past. In other words, it is used when talking about a specific moment, about an action in a process. For example, She was playing the guitar yesterday at 10 p.m. The example shows that the Past Continuous is formed with the help of the additional verb to be in the past tense and the verb with the ending -ing. If the sentence is interrogative, the auxiliary verb should be moved to the beginning, if negative, not is added to it:
Were you playing the piano yesterday at 10 p.m.?No, I wasn't doing this at that time.
In addition, this past tense in English is used to denote an action that once happened at a particular moment and was interrupted by another simultaneous action. For example, We were looking through the magazine when he called.
Past Perfect and Past Perfect Continuous
These tenses are called perfect and past perfect long tenses respectively. To form them, you must have a good knowledge of the forms of verbs. The past tense in English is completely based on this knowledge. So, for the Past Perfect, you need an additional verb have / has in the form had and the second participle of the main verb. The latter can be found in the table of irregular verbs or formed by adding the familiar ending -ed.
It should be remembered that the simple perfect tense is used to express an action that has already ended up to a particular moment. In turn, Past Perfect Continuous is used in situations where a certain action began before a certain moment in the past and lasted for some time. Past Perfect Continuous is formed using the form had been, to which the main verb is added with the ending -ing.
In general, the past tense in English is not as difficult as it might seem at first glance. It is very important to understand everything and practice on various exercises that will demonstrate the above rules in the best way possible.practice.
