Past time in English

Past time is called the form of the verb, indicating the time of the commission of a certain action in the past.

In aggregate, the past temporal forms in the English language are accepted to be combined with the concept of Past Tenses. In this article, we 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 Form

The Past Simple form is the most common and often past tense in the English language. This is the basic time for expressing any action that happened some time ago. Very often it competes with the present perfect time (Present Perfect), which, despite belonging to the present times, is translated by verbs in the past tense. We must not forget that the perfect present time is suitable 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 very simple. If the verb is correct, simply add the ending -ed to it, if it is incorrect - the desired form is found in the standard table of irregular verbs :

We played the piano three days ago; I forgot my hat at home.

To form the question use the auxiliary verb did:

Did you play the piano yesterday?

For the negation, this auxiliary verb is also used, but with the negation part not:

She did not watch TV.

Thus, Past Simple should be used if the action has occurred in the past and is not relevant to the present. Words that foreshadow the use of this temporal form of the verb - yesterday, 8 years ago, in 1989 (in 1989) and so on.

Past Continuous Form

Past Continuous is the time that indicates a lasting action in the past. In other words, it is used when it comes to a specific moment, about the action in the process. For example, She was playing the guitar yesterday at 10 pm The example shows that Past Continuous is formed using 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, it is added to:

Were you playing the piano yesterday at 10 pm? No, I was not doing this at that time.

In addition, this past tense in English is used to refer to an action that once occurred at a particular moment and was interrupted by another one-step action. For example, We were looking through the magazine when he called.

Past Perfect and Past Perfect Continuous

These times are called perfect and perfect long past tenses, respectively. To form them, you must have a good knowledge of the forms of verbs. The past time in English is completely based on this knowledge. So, for 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 time is used to express the action that has already ended before a particular moment. In turn, Past Perfect Continuous is used in situations where a certain action has started up to a certain point in the past and lasted for a while. Past Perfect Continuous is formed using the had been form, to which the main verb with the ending -ing is added.

In general, the past tense in the English language is not as difficult as it might seem at first glance. It is very important in all to understand and practice on various exercises that perfectly demonstrate the above rules in practice.