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'.