The Past Tense | Verb Forms, Examples & Exercises
The past tense is a verb tense used to discuss past actions, occurrences, or states of being.
The past tense has four forms:
- Simple past (e.g., “she called”)
- Past progressive (e.g., “I was waiting”)
- Past perfect (e.g., “they had walked”)
- Past perfect progressive (e.g., “you had been eating”)
| Past simple | Past progressive | Past perfect | Past perfect progressive |
|---|---|---|---|
| I walked | I was walking | I had walked | I had been walking |
| You walked | You were walking | You had walked | You had been walking |
| He/she/it walked | He/she/it was walking | He/she/it had walked | He/she/it had been walking |
| We walked | We were walking | We had walked | We had been walking |
| You (plural) walked | You were walking | You had walked | You had been walking |
| They walked | They were walking | They had walked | They had been walking |
Simple past
The simple past tense is used when discussing completed past events or actions.
For regular verbs, the simple past tense is formed by adding the suffix “-ed” to the infinitive form of the verb (e.g., “wait” becomes “waited”). For irregular verbs, the formation of the past tense does not follow a single pattern (e.g., “run” becomes “ran,” and “bring” becomes “brought”).
The conjugation of most verbs in the simple past does not change based on the subject of the phrase. However, the verb “be” is an exception. It can take the form “was” or “were” based on the subject.
Asher went to the bakery yesterday.
I played baseball in college.
Past progressive
The past progressive tense is used when describing an action or event that was ongoing at a specific time in the past.
The past progressive is formed with the past tense of the auxiliary verb “be” (i.e., “was” or “were”) and the present participle (“-ing” form) of the main verb (e.g., “I was talking”).
The past progressive can indicate that two past actions were occurring simultaneously, in which case both verbs appear in the past progressive. It can also indicate that the ongoing past action was interrupted by another action, in which case the other verb is in the simple past tense.
Cara was drawing while her professor was talking.
I was driving to work when the storm started.
Past perfect
The past perfect tense is used when discussing a past action or event that happened before another past action or event. In this case, the other verb is in the simple past tense.
The past perfect tense is also used in conditional sentences when referring to hypothetical past events.
To form the past perfect, the auxiliary verb “had” and the past participle of the main verb are used.
Daniel had already bought tickets when the show was canceled.
If I had studied more, I would have passed the test. [conditional sentence]
Past perfect progressive
The past perfect progressive tense is used when describing an action that started in the past and continued until another specific time in the past. Often, this other specific time is indicated by a verb in the simple past tense.
The auxiliary verbs “had” and “been” and the present participle of the main verb are used to form the past perfect progressive.
When the test date was announced, the group had been studying for several weeks.
I had been eating eggs for years before I found out I was allergic to them.
Past tense exercises
Test your understanding of the past tense by answering these practice quiz questions.
Frequently asked questions about the past tense
- What is the past tense of dream?
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The past tense form of “dream” is dreamed or dreamt. “Dreamed” is more common in American English, and “dreamt” is more common in British English. The past tense form is used when describing a past action (e.g., “I dreamed/dreamt I was a bird”).
The past participle of “dream” is also “dreamed” or “dreamt” (e.g., “I had dreamed/dreamt of being a doctor for years”).
QuillBot’s grammar check tool can help ensure you’re using the past tense of “dream” correctly.
- What is the past tense of teach?
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The past tense form of “teach” is “taught.” It is used to describe an action that occurred in the past (e.g., “My parents taught me how to ride a bike”).
The past participle of “teach” is also “taught” (e.g., “He had taught for thirty years when he retired”).
- What is the past tense of fly?
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The past tense form of “fly” is “flew.” It is used to describe an action that occurred in the past (e.g., “She flew to Tokyo from London”).
The past participle of “fly” is “flown” (e.g., “We had already flown to Chicago when we found out the wedding was canceled”).
A QuillBot grammar check can help ensure you’re using the past tense of “fly” correctly.
- What is the difference between the present perfect and the simple past?
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Both the simple past and the present perfect are verb tenses that are used to refer to past actions, but there are some differences in their use:
- The present perfect describes an action that happened in the past and has present effects or that began in the past and might continue (e.g., “I have seen that movie three times”).
- The simple past typically describes an action that happened at a specific time in the past and won’t continue (e.g., “I ate a waffle for breakfast”).
