How to Use The Past Tense (Explanation, Examples, Worksheet)

What is the past tense in grammar?

The past tense describes something that took place at a point in the past. Just like the present and future, the past uses 4 tenses:

1. Past simple: I drove there last night.
2. Past continuous: I was sleeping when the alarm went off.
3. Past perfect: They went to watch a movie after they had finished their homework.
4. Past perfect continuous: They had been working for three days before they finally finished the project.

The simple past

The simple past tense describes something that happened at a previous time. It can be an action, event, circumstance, or state of existence (e.g., "I felt sad").

Regular verbs convert to the simple past by attaching -ed to the end of the word:

• I walked to the store earlier.
• She laughed at all of my jokes during our date.

What differentiates the simple past from the other past tenses is that duration is often left unknown. In fact, this is what makes the simple past “simpler”, since it doesn’t need auxiliaries to convey the progression of past events and works as a whole tense on its own.

The simple past, or preterite (i.e., “having to do with the past”), uses the base form of the verb + -ed for regular verbs.

Irregular verbs do not use –ed to denote the past; e.g., ate, wrote, hid, drove. To see a comprehensive list of all the irregular verb patterns, check out Grammarflex’s guide on irregular verbs.

• The virus spread uncontrollably by the end of the outbreak.
• I read a fascinating article about Siamese cats yesterday.
• She led the horse back into the stable.

• To form a negative statement in the simple past, add did not or the contraction didn't between the subject and the simple form of the verb (e.g., "I didn't finish my work that day.").
• To ask a question in the simple past, use the formula did + subject + base form of verb (e.g., "Did you finish your work yesterday?").

The past continuous

The past continuous, also called the past progressive, pairs the past tense of the verb to be, was + present participle (verb ending in -ing).

We use the past continuous to refer to ongoing past actions, "I was working all night". The past continuous only uses active verbs (rather than stative).

• I was watching TV when you called me.
• She was driving to work when it started to rain.
• They were playing football in the park all afternoon.

The past perfect

The past perfect pairs the past tense auxiliary had with the past participle verb form (usually ending in -ed). The construction stays the same irrespective of the subject (e.g., "I had said", "they had said").

Regular verbs in the past perfect look like:

• She had seen the lectures long before the semester started.
• They had left the party by the time I arrived.
• I'd read the series numerous times prior to the film adaption.

Irregular verbs in the past perfect:

• They had left before I had spoken with either them.
• She had driven an SUV before she bought a sportscar.

We communicate in the past perfect to describe something that began and ended fully in the past, before something else that also took place in the past. When you want to clarify the order in which past events transpired, use the past perfect tense.

Past perfect continuous

Write in the past perfect continuous by combining had + been + present participle (e.g., had been studying; had been practicing; had been waiting).

The past perfect continuous depicts an action that began at a past time and continued up until another point. In other words, the action was in-progress (or continuous) up until another past time; (e.g., “I had been studying for three hours before I took a break”).

• I had been studying for three hours before I took a break.
• They had been waiting in line for two hours before the store opened.
• She had been practicing the piano for two weeks before the recital.

Worksheet: 4 forms of the past tense

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