Past Tense : Tenses

Past Tense is defined as that form of a verb which indicates the state of an action or event which occurred in past.
For Example: -

1. He read the novel written by Chetan Bhagat.
2. Ramesh was expecting the victory of India.

Similar to Present Tense, Past Tense is also divided into four parts:

1. Past Indefinite Tense
2. Past Continuous Tense
3. Past Perfect Tense
4. Past Perfect Continuous Tense

1. Past Indefinite Tense 

• This is also known as Simple Past Tense. This tense is used for an act which occurred in the past. For this definite point of time is used like since, 1st, earlier, yesterday, ever since or any point of time in the past. 

The usual formulae for construction of a sentence in Past Indefinite Tense is as follows: -

Subject + Verb (2nd Form) + Object = Past Indefinite Tense

Example: -

1. I completed reading the book yesterday.
2. He bought a new home three years ago.

• This tense is also used to express a past habits. Habitual action are generally indicated by adverbs like 'normally, usually, normally, occasionally, always, frequently, rarely, daily, often, seldom, rarely, used to' etc. For example: -

1. He frequently used to drink wine.
2. I rarely visited the temple​ last week.
3. Raghav usually used to go to school.

2. Past Continuous Tense

• This Tense is generally used for past action in progress. The general formula for construction of sentence in Past Continuous Tense is as follows: -

Subject + had + Verb + ing + Succeeding action = Past Continuous Tense

For example: -

1. I was playing football in the ground.
2. He was busy in reading book last evening.

• It is also used for a definite future in the past. For example: -

1. He was leaving for America that night.
2. He asked her what she was doing next week.

3. Past Perfect​ Tense

• This Tense is used when out of two actions it is necessary to say that the preceding action was completely finished before the succeeding action started. The formula generally used to form a sentence in Past Perfect Tense as follows: -

Subject + had + Verb (3rd Form) + Succeeding action = Past Continuous Tense

For example: -

1. The train had started before we reached the station.
2. I had reached the venue before our team reached.

• Sometimes succeeding action is not added in the sentence because the preceding action is implied and is indicated by the use of 'recently, yet, so far, ever, just, by the time, before, just then, after' etc. For example: -

1. I had already finished my homework.
2. I had returned from school just then.

• This sometimes also used to express time by using 'since, for, all, all along, throughout, whole, how long' etc. For example: -

1. He had known her for two years.
2. Rajendra had owned this showroom for five years.

• This Tense is also used to indicate the action mentioned did not take place. This is indicated by 'think, expect, hope, want, suppose,  mean, intend' For example: -

1. Vishal had intended to become an engineer.
2. I had expected to pass.
3. I had wanted to help my brother in his studies.

Also Read: Present Tense (Tenses)

4. Past Perfect Continuous Tense

Past Perfect Continuous Tense is used to denote an action started in past and continue to present. This is indicated by the period of action, which is indicated by 'since, for, how long, throughout' . The usual formulae for construction of sentence is given as follows: -

Subject + had + been + Verb + ing + time expression + Object = Past Perfect Continuous Tense

For example: -

1. She had been reading for 2 hours.
2. Raghvendra had been playing football since 12 o'clock.

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