What is Past Tense in Grammar ?

Past Tense (भूतकाल)

The Past Tense is used to talk about actions that have already happened. These actions may have occurred in the distant past or a few minutes ago. Past tense helps us describe completed activities, feelings, experiences, and situations.

What is Past Tense? (भूतकाल क्या है?)

Past tense shows that an action or event has already taken place. It is one of the basic tenses in English. We use it to describe what happened yesterday, last year, a moment ago, or even long ago in history. Past tense is essential for storytelling, news reporting, sharing experiences, and daily conversation. Every sentence in the past tense gives us information about something that is no longer happening in the present.

Hindi: Past tense वह काल है जिसमें किसी काम के हो चुकने की स्थिति को व्यक्त किया जाता है। यह क्रिया का वह रूप है जो बीते समय में घटित होती है।

Types of Past Tense (भूतकाल के प्रकार)

• Simple Past Tense – Describes a completed action. (e.g., She went to school.)
• Past Continuous Tense – Describes an action that was happening at a specific time in the past. (e.g., They were watching TV.)
• Past Perfect Tense – Describes an action completed before another past action. (e.g., He had eaten before she arrived.)
• Past Perfect Continuous Tense – Describes an action that was going on for some time in the past until another action happened. (e.g., We had been studying for two hours.)

Hindi: भूतकाल के चार प्रकार होते हैं – सामान्य भूतकाल, अपूर्ण भूतकाल, पूर्ण भूतकाल और पूर्ण अपूर्ण भूतकाल।

Rules and Tips for Using Past Tense

• Most regular verbs take -ed in the past form. (play → played)
• Irregular verbs do not follow regular patterns. (go → went)
• Use did + base verb for negative and questions in Simple Past.
• Use was/were + verb-ing for Past Continuous.
• Use had + past participle for Past Perfect.
• Use had been + verb-ing for Past Perfect Continuous.

Fill in the Blanks – Practice Questions

1. She ______ (finish) her homework before dinner.
2. They ______ (watch) a movie when the power went out.
3. Rahul ______ (play) football yesterday evening.
4. We ______ (study) for three hours before the exam started.
5. I ______ (see) a rainbow after the rain stopped.
6. My parents ______ (visit) my school last week.
7. The dog ______ (bark) loudly last night.

Answers with Explanation

1. She had finished her homework before dinner. (Past Perfect)
2. They were watching a movie when the power went out. (Past Continuous)
3. Rahul played football yesterday evening. (Simple Past)
4. We had been studying for three hours before the exam started. (Past Perfect Continuous)
5. I saw a rainbow after the rain stopped. (Simple Past)
6. My parents visited my school last week. (Simple Past)
7. The dog was barking loudly last night. (Past Continuous)

Common Error Correction Rules

• ❌ He go to school yesterday. → ✅ He went to school yesterday.
• ❌ I was play football. → ✅ I was playing football.
• ❌ They didn’t went to the market. → ✅ They didn’t go to the market.
• ❌ She had ate dinner. → ✅ She had eaten dinner.

Always use the correct past tense form. Do not mix it with present tense.

Find the Error – Practice Questions

1. She was go to the market when I saw her.
2. I didn’t knew the answer to that question.
3. They had went to the zoo before it started raining.
4. He play with his dog yesterday.
5. We was watching a movie at that time.
6. The teacher give us homework last week.
7. They didn’t liked the food at the party.

Correct Answers with Explanation

1. ❌ She was go → ✅ She was going
2. ❌ didn’t knew → ✅ didn’t know
3. ❌ had went → ✅ had gone
4. ❌ He play → ✅ He played
5. ❌ We was → ✅ We were
6. ❌ give → ✅ gave
7. ❌ didn’t liked → ✅ didn’t like

Passage-Based Practice

Passage 1: Last weekend, my friends and I visited the zoo. We saw many animals like lions, tigers, and giraffes. The monkeys were jumping around and playing with each other. After exploring the zoo, we had ice cream and took some photos. It was a fun day, and we returned home tired but happy.

Questions:

1. Where did the narrator go last weekend?
2. What were the monkeys doing?
3. Which tense is used in this passage?
4. Find two verbs in past tense.

Answers:

1. The narrator went to the zoo.
2. The monkeys were jumping and playing.
3. Past tense is used in the passage.
4. Saw, had

Passage 2: Two years ago, Rina started learning the guitar. She practiced every day for an hour. By the end of the year, she had learned to play many songs. Her parents were proud of her, and she performed at the school function. Everyone clapped and cheered for her.

Questions:

1. When did Rina start learning the guitar?
2. How often did she practice?
3. What had she learned by the end of the year?
4. What did the audience do?

Answers:

1. Two years ago.
2. Every day for an hour.
3. She had learned to play many songs.
4. They clapped and cheered for her.

This page is part of a free English grammar guide for learners of all ages. Continue exploring more topics to improve your English fluency.