Learn the PAST TENSE in 4 minutes📚 | Learn with examples

Summary

This educational video script delves into the nuances of English past tenses, focusing on the past simple, past perfect, past continuous, and past perfect continuous. It illustrates how to use each tense through relatable examples, such as 'I walked to work today' and 'I had finished my homework.' The script also addresses irregular verbs and the importance of knowing their past forms. It clarifies the structure of each tense, emphasizing the use of 'was' and 'were' with different subjects, and provides examples of ongoing actions interrupted by other events, like 'I was working when my mum called.'

Takeaways

• 📚 The past simple tense is used to describe actions that have already happened.
• 👣 The structure for past simple is subject plus the verb in the past form.
• 🌰 Examples include 'I walked to work today' and 'She arrived late to school'.
• 🔍 Irregular verbs change their form differently in the past, like 'eat' becoming 'ate'.
• 📈 Past perfect tense indicates an action completed before another past action.
• 🏫 The past perfect structure is subject plus 'had' plus the verb's past participle.
• 🚶 Past continuous tense is for actions that were ongoing and may have been interrupted.
• 🔄 The structure is subject plus 'was' or 'were' plus the verb ending in 'ing'.
• 🌧️ Past perfect continuous describes an action that started in the past and continued up to another action or time.
• ⏳ The structure for past perfect continuous is subject plus 'had been' plus the verb ending in 'ing'.

Q & A

What is the past simple tense used for?

The past simple tense is used to describe an action that has already happened.

What is the structure of the past simple tense?

The structure of the past simple tense is subject plus a verb in the past form.

Can you provide an example of the past simple tense?

Yes, an example is 'I walked to work today.'

How do irregular verbs change in the past simple tense?

Irregular verbs have different past forms. For example, 'eat' becomes 'ate'.

What is the past perfect tense and when is it used?

The past perfect tense is used to describe an action that was finished before another past action.

What is the structure of the past perfect tense?

The structure is subject plus 'had' plus a verb in the past participle.

Can you give an example of the past perfect tense?

An example is 'I had finished my homework to give to my teacher but she had already left.'

What is the past continuous tense and how is it used?

The past continuous tense is used to describe an ongoing action in the past, which may have been interrupted or occurred alongside another action.

What is the structure of the past continuous tense?

The structure is subject plus 'was' or 'were' plus the verb ending in 'ing'.

How do you form the past continuous tense for different subjects?

With subjects 'I', 'she', 'he', 'it', 'we', use 'was', and with subjects 'they', 'you', use 'were'.

What is the past perfect continuous tense and when is it used?

The past perfect continuous tense is used to describe an action that started in the past and continued up to another action or time in the past.

What is the structure of the past perfect continuous tense?

The structure is subject plus 'had been' plus the verb ending in 'ing'.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Past Tenses Overview

This paragraph introduces various past tenses in English, including the simple past, past perfect, past continuous, and past perfect continuous. The simple past is used for completed actions, with examples provided such as 'I walked to work today' and 'she arrived late to school'. Irregular verbs like 'eat' which becomes 'ate' are highlighted. The past perfect is explained for actions completed before another past action, using 'had' plus the past participle, like 'I had finished my homework'. The past continuous is for ongoing actions, possibly interrupted, using 'was' or 'were' plus 'ing', exemplified by 'I was working all day'. Lastly, the past perfect continuous is for actions that started and continued up to another past action or time, structured with 'had been' plus 'ing', such as 'it had been raining all day'.

Keywords

💡Past Simple

The Past Simple tense is used to describe completed actions or states in the past. It is formed with the subject followed by the past tense of the verb. In the video script, it is exemplified with sentences like 'I walked to work today' and 'She arrived late to school.' This tense is fundamental for understanding the narrative of past events.

💡Irregular Verbs

Irregular verbs are verbs that do not follow the standard rules for forming the past tense and past participle. The script mentions that 'eat becomes ate' as an example of irregular verb conjugation. Understanding irregular verbs is crucial for accurate communication about past actions, as they are common in everyday language.

💡Past Perfect

The Past Perfect tense is used to indicate that an action was completed before another action or time in the past. It is constructed with 'had' followed by the past participle of the verb. The script provides examples like 'I had finished my homework' and 'He had visited China.' This tense helps to sequence past events and understand their order.

💡Past Participle

The past participle is used to form perfect tenses and is often the third form of a verb, distinct from the base and past forms. In the context of the script, it is part of the construction for the Past Perfect tense, as seen in 'had finished' or 'had packed.' It is essential for expressing the completion of an action at a specific time in the past.

💡Past Continuous

The Past Continuous tense describes an action that was ongoing at a specific time in the past and may have been interrupted or was concurrent with another action. It is formed with 'was' or 'were' followed by the '-ing' form of the verb. The script illustrates this with 'I was working all day' and 'We were walking home.' This tense is important for describing the duration and continuity of past actions.

💡Subject-Verb Agreement

Subject-verb agreement refers to the grammatical rule that the verb must agree with its subject in number (singular or plural). The script notes the use of 'was' with singular subjects like 'I' and 'she' and 'were' with plural subjects like 'we' and 'they.' Correct subject-verb agreement is vital for clear and grammatically accurate communication.

💡Past Perfect Continuous

The Past Perfect Continuous tense is used to describe an action that started in the past and continued up until another action or a specific time in the past. It is formed with 'had been' followed by the '-ing' form of the verb. The script gives examples like 'It had been raining all day' and 'She had been preparing dinner.' This tense helps to convey the duration of past actions leading up to a certain point.

💡Action Interruption

Action interruption refers to the concept where an ongoing action in the past is stopped or paused due to another action or event. The script mentions this in the context of the Past Continuous tense, as in 'we were walking home when my mum called.' Understanding action interruption is important for narrating past events and their sequences.

💡Time Expressions

Time expressions are words or phrases that indicate when an action took place. In the script, time expressions like 'today,' 'when,' and 'all day' are used to situate actions in the past. These expressions are crucial for providing context and clarity to the timing of past events.

💡Conjugation

Conjugation is the process of changing the form of a verb to match the subject and the tense. The script discusses conjugation in the context of forming past tenses, such as 'walked' in 'I walked to work' and 'arrived' in 'She arrived late.' Verb conjugation is essential for constructing grammatically correct sentences in various tenses.

💡Action Sequence

Action sequence refers to the order in which actions occur. The script uses tenses like Past Perfect and Past Continuous to establish sequences, as in 'I had finished my homework' and 'we had been looking for my phone.' Understanding action sequence is key to recounting past events in a logical and coherent manner.

Highlights

Past simple tense is used to describe actions that have already happened.

The structure of past simple is subject plus a verb in the past form.

Examples of past simple usage include 'I walked to work today' and 'She arrived late to school'.

Irregular verbs have different past forms, such as 'eat' becoming 'ate'.

It's important to know the past forms of irregular verbs.

Past perfect tense describes an action finished before another past action.

The structure of past perfect is subject plus 'had' plus a verb past participle.

Example of past perfect: 'I had finished my homework' but 'she had already left'.

Past continuous tense is used for ongoing actions that may have been interrupted.

The structure of past continuous is subject plus 'was' or 'were' plus verb ending in 'ing'.

Examples include 'I was working all day' and 'we were walking home when my mum called'.

Past perfect continuous tense describes actions that started in the past and continued until another action or time.

The structure of past perfect continuous is subject plus 'had been' plus verb ending in 'ing'.

Example of past perfect continuous: 'It had been raining all day' so 'I couldn't walk to work'.

Subject-verb agreement in past continuous: 'I', 'she', 'he', 'it' use 'was'; 'we', 'they', 'you' use 'were'.

Past perfect continuous example: 'We had been looking for my phone for one hour' when it was found.

Past perfect continuous example: 'She had been preparing dinner' when 'I arrived home'.

Transcripts

past simple this tense is used to

describe an action that has already

happened the structure is subject plus a

verb in the past form for example I walk

to work today she arrived late to school

I ate my lunch in the cafe I saw my

friend in the shop it's important to

note that irregular verbs have different

past forms for example eat becomes ate

and eaten there are many different types

of irregular verbs so make sure you know

the past forms past perfect this tense

is used to describe an action that was

finished before another past action the

structure is subject plus had plus a

verb past participle for example I had

finished my homework to give to my

teacher but she had already left

he had visited China my mum hadn't

packed my lunch so I had to prepare it

myself past continuous this tense is

used to describe an action that was

ongoing this action may have been

interrupted or another action also

occurred this structure is subject plus

was or were plus the verb ending in ing

for example I was working all day to

finish my homework

we were walking home when my mum called

me he was waiting an hour when the bus

finally arrived it's important to note

with subjects I she he it we use was

with subjects we their you we use were

past perfect continuous this tense is

used to describe an action that started

in the past and continued till another

action or time in the past the structure

is subject plus hadbeen plus the verb

ending in ing for example it had been

raining all day so I couldn't walk to

work we had been looking for my phone

for one hour when Jasmine found it under

the sofa she had been preparing dinner

when I arrived home