Past tense facts for kids

Past tense is a special form of a verb that shows an action or state happened in the past. Think of time like a line: the past is everything that has already happened, the present tense is right now, and the future tense is what will happen later.

In English, verbs have different tenses. The two most common past tenses are the simple past tense and the perfect tense. They help us talk about things that are finished or connected to the past.

Simple Past Tense: What Happened?

The simple past tense is used to talk about actions that started and finished in the past. It's often used when telling stories or describing events that have already happened.

How to Form the Simple Past

Most verbs change to the simple past tense by adding "ed" to the end. These are called regular verbs.

• Example: walk becomes walked, play becomes played.

However, many verbs are irregular. This means they don't follow the "ed" rule. You just have to learn how they change.

• Example: go becomes went, eat becomes ate.

Making Sentences in Simple Past

Here's how you can make sentences using the simple past tense:

• Action Sentences (using verbs):

* Positive (+): Subject + Verb in past form (V2) * Example: I went to Bandung last week. * Negative (-): Subject + did not / didn't + Verb in present form (V1) * Example: I did not go to Bandung last week. * Question (?): Did + Subject + Verb in present form (V1) * Example: Did you go to Bandung last week?

• Descriptive Sentences (using "to be" verbs like was or were):

* Positive (+): Subject + was / were + Noun / Adjective / Adverb * Example: She was happy this morning. * Negative (-): Subject + was / were + not + Noun / Adjective / Adverb * Example: She was not happy this morning. * Question (?): Was / Were + Subject + Noun / Adjective / Adverb * Example: Was she happy this morning?

Types of Past Tenses

Grammar experts often divide past tenses into four main types:

• Past Indefinite Tense (which is the Simple Past Tense)
• Past Progressive Tense (for ongoing actions in the past)
• Past Perfect Tense (for actions completed before another past action)
• Past Perfect Progressive Tense (for ongoing actions completed before another past action)

Perfect Tense: Completed Actions

The perfect tense is about actions that are completed. It connects a past action to another point in time, often the present or another past event. In English, the perfect tense is usually made using a form of "have" plus the past participle of the main verb (often ending in "ed" for regular verbs).

Types of Perfect Tenses

• Present Perfect: This refers to an action that started in the past and continues up to the present, or an action completed in the past but important now.

* Example: I have lived in Dover since my birth. (Still living there) * Example: She has discovered it. (The discovery happened, and it's relevant now)

• Past Perfect (also called Pluperfect): This refers to an action that happened before another action in the past.

* Example: She had not been home since her parents divorced. (Not being home happened before the divorce) * Example: I had discovered that he had taken my key. (The discovery happened before he took the key)

• Future Perfect: This refers to an action that will be completed before a certain time or event in the future.

* Example: She will have finished her report for the next board meeting. (The report will be done before the meeting)

Verb Endings in Perfect Tenses

Remember these common endings:

• -ed usually means the action is finished.
• -ing usually means the action is continuing (often used with "progressive" tenses).

See also

In Spanish: Pasado (gramática) para niños