Past Tense in English, Rules, Formula, Types with Examples

Past Tense: In English Grammar there are three types of tenses, that is Present Tense, Past Tense, and Future tense. Among the three, Past tense is a type of grammatical tense that state the events of the actions which has happened in the past. For example, When you say, “ I joined the coaching last month". the word ‘joined’ here has been used to indicate the action which has happened in the past. In Past Tense, a word such as was, were, has, and -ed is commonly used.

Definition of Past Tense

According to Oxford Learner’s Dictionary ‘Past Tense’ is defined as the “the form of a verb used to describe actions that has happened in the past.”

The definition given by Cambridge Dictionary of Past Tense is "A verb forms in many languages used for actions that has finished earlier.”

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines Past Tense as “A form of verb tense expressing action or state in or as if in the past”.

Tense Chart of Past Tense

Tense Chart of Past Tense
Types	Formula & Rule	Example
Simple/Indefinite Past Tense	Subject + Verb + ed / verb in the past tense + the rest of the sentence	Nupur went to the supermarket yesterday.
Past Perfect Tense	Subject + Helping Verb (had) + Past participle of the main verb + the rest of the sentence along with the time frame.	She had met him before the party.
Past Continuous Tense	Subject + Helping Verb(was/were) + Main verb + ing + the rest of the sentence	It was snowing today.
Past Perfect Continuous Tense	Subject + Had + Been + Verb + ing + the rest of the sentence	He had been drinking milk out the carton when Mom walked into the kitchen.

Tense Chart of Past Tense In Hindi

Past Tense is used to indicate the events or actions which has occurred in the past. It is of four types, that is, Simple/Indefinite Past tense, Past Continuous Tense, Past Perfect Tense, Past Perfect Continuous Tense. To know Past tense in Hindi below is the tense chart of Past Tense in Hindi.

Tense Chart In Hindi
	Past
Indefinite	आ, ई, ये, या, था, ता, ती, थे, Did+ V1
Continuous	रहा था, रही थी, रहर थे, Was/Were + V4
Perfect	चुका था, चुकी थी, लिया था Has+ V3
Perfect Continuous	रहा था, रही थी, रहे थे+ समय Had been+ V4+ Since/For

Structure of Sentences in Past Tense

Past Tense sentences can be in three forms, that is, Positive or Affirmative, Negative, Interrogative sentences. Below is the structure of all three forms and examples to make you understand better.

Affirmative/Positive Sentence Structure	Negative Sentence Structure	Interrogative Sentence Structure
Subject + Past tense form of the verb + Rest of the sentence	Subject + Did not / Didn’t + Base form of the verb + Rest of the sentence	Did + Subject + Base form of the verb+ Rest of the sentence?
Example- She cooked the food.	Example- She did not cook the food.	Example- Did she cook the food?

Examples of Past Tense

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)

Types of Past Tense

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

1. Simple Past Tense: When the verb defines/denotes an activity that is used to indicate an action or event that happened in the past.

Definition	When the verb defines/denotes an activity that is used to indicate an action or event that happened in the past.
General Formula & Rule	Subject + Verb + ed / verb in the past tense + the rest of the sentence
Simple Past tense Example	Satya cooked a tasty dinner yesterday. My sister saw a movie yesterday. Last month I travelled to France.

2. Past Perfect Tense: When the verb defines/denotes an activity that is used to represent an event or action that happened in the past before another event or action that happened in the past, then such verb is used as Past Perfect Tense.

Definition	When the verb defines/denotes an activity that is used to represent an event or action that happened in the past before another event or action that happened in the past, then such verb is used as Past Perfect Tense
General Formula & Rule	Subject + Helping Verb (had) + Past participle of the main verb + the rest of the sentence along with the time frame.
Past Perfect Tense Example	She had met him before the party. The plane had left by the time I got to the airport. I had written the email before he apologized.

3. Past Continuous Tense: When the verb defines/denotes an activity that is used depict an action or event that was continuing in the past, then such verb is used as Past Continuous Tense.

Definition	When the verb defines/denotes an activity that is used depict an action or event that was continuing in the past, then such verb is used as Past Continuous Tense.
General Formula & Rule	Subject + Helping Verb(was/were) + Main verb + ing + the rest of the sentence
Past Continuous Tense Example	They were eating at the dhaba. You were working tomorrow. I was studying last night.

4. Past Perfect Continuous Tense: This verb forms is used to defines/denotes used to denote an action or event that was taking place in the past until another action or event happened in the past.

Definition	This verb forms is used to defines/denotes used to denote an action or event that was taking place in the past until another action or event happened in the past.
General Formula & Rule	Subject + Had + Been + Verb + ing + the rest of the sentence
Past Perfect Continuous Tense Example	I had been working at the company for five years when I got the promotion. Martha had been walking three miles a day before she broke her leg. The program that was terminated had been working well since 1945.

Related Links-
Tense Chart	Present Tense
Present Perfect Tense	Simple Present Tense
Present Perfect Continuous Tense	Present Continuous Tense
Simple Past Tense

Past Tense- FAQs

Ans. In English Grammar there are three types of tenses, that is Present Tense, Past Tense, and Future tense. Among the three, Past tense is a type of grammatical tense that state the events of the actions which has happened in the past. For example, When you say, “ I joined the coaching last month". the word ‘joined’ here has been used to indicate the action which has happened in the past. In Past Tense, a word such as was, were, has, and -ed is commonly used.

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.

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)

Ans. The general rule of Past Continuous Tense is Subject + Helping Verb(was/were) + Main verb + ing + the rest of the sentence.

Ans. Some of the examples of Past Continuous tense is- They were eating at the dhaba, You were working tomorrow, I was studying last night.