Fun Easy English - American English Grammar Past tense.

Learning objectives

In this lesson you will learn the definition of past tense and study examples of past tense.

Definition of past tense

Past tense is an action, event, or condition which occurred before the present and includes the following:
simple past
past perfect
past progressive
past perfect progressive
The table below shows the past tense

tense & aspect		aspect
tense & aspect		simple	perfect	progressive	perfect progressive
tense	past	simple past	past perfect	past progressive	past perfect progressive
	present	simple present	present perfect	present progressive	present perfect progressive
	future	simple future	future perfect	future progressive	future perfect progressive

Examples of past tense

Simple past: "I went." In English this implies that the action took place in the past and that it is not taking place now.
I painted the house.
I ate breakfast this morning.
I went to the bookstore with my best friend.
Past perfect: "I had gone." Expresses that an action was completed prior to some other event.
I had painted the house.
I had eaten breakfast this morning.
I had gone to the bookstore with my best friend.
Past progressive: "I was going."
I was painting the house.
I was eating breakfast this morning.
I was going to the bookstore with my best friend.
Past perfect progressive: "I had been going." Usually expressed with duration, this indicates that an event was ongoing for a specific time, then completed before a specific event.
I had been painting the house.
I had been eating breakfast this morning.
I had been going to the bookstore with my best friend.