Learn and understand English past tense

Here you will learn how to form the English past tense. We show you in detail when to form the simple past and the past progressive tense.

We'll also help you find the right verb tense in English and give you sample sentences in the English past tense. This will help you understand how to form the simple past and the past progressive tenses.

The Simple Past tense describes activities that took place in the past and are already completed in the present. To understand this tense, you need to understand the conjunction of verbs in the Simple Past.

In addition to regular verbs, there are also irregular verbs in Simple Past tense. While the regular verbs in Simple Past are formed with the ending -ed, the irregular verbs of the English past tense Simple Past must be memorized.

The Past Continuous is a tense in English grammar used to talk about an action in the past that continued at a certain point in time. To form this tense, you combine the auxiliary verb "to be" in the past tense ("was" or "were") with the verb in the gerund (-ing form).

It is important to keep Simple Past tense and Past Continuous tense apart, as they convey different meanings and are used for different purposes. The two English past tenses have different meanings and purposes of use in English grammar. While the Simple Past tense emphasizes a completed action, the Past Continuous tense emphasizes the duration or progression of an action in the past.

The Past Perfect is a tense in English used to express that an action in the past was completed before another action. It is formed by combining the auxiliary verb "had" in the past tense and the past participle of the verb.

The English Past Perfect Tense emphasizes the completion or duration of an action in the past and establishes a link between two events. It is often used in stories and narratives to clarify the chronological order of events.

Using the Past Perfect tense correctly helps you make clear and precise statements about the past in English.

The English past perfect progressive tense is used to express that an action in the past has lasted until a certain point in time. It is formed by combining the auxiliary verb "had" in the past tense, the verb "been" and the present participle of the verb.

This tense emphasizes the duration or continuity of an action in the past and establishes a connection between two events. The Past Perfect progressive tense is often used in stories and narratives to describe the background of an action.

Using the Past Perfect tense progressive tense correctly will help you make more complex and precise statements about the past in English.