The Three Forms of Past Tense

The Three Forms of Past Tense

The past tense is used to show something that has happened in the past. Just as there are three present tense formations, there are also three past tense formations:

(1) a habitual or frequent action,

(2) an action in progress or incomplete, and

(3) an emphatic response in the past tense.

The past tense conjugation of a habitual or frequent action is quite simple. Just add -ed to the end of a regular verb. If the verb ends in a consonant followed by a -y, drop the -y and add -ied. If a one-syllable verb ends in a single consonant, double that consonant and add -ed. Look at these examples:

Just Add -ed: call - called, borrow - borrowed, etc
Consonant -y: bury - burried, carry - carried, etc
Single Consonant: bed - bedded, pin - pinned, etc

The verbs listed above are regular verbs. They form their past tense by the addition of -ed. There are also irregular verbs. They form their past tense by making a change within the stem of the verb. It is usually a vowel change, but there can also be a consonant change as well. Following are the irregular past tense forms of some commonly used verbs:

break - broke
bring - brought
build - built
go - went
etc

Use the past tense of to be (was/were) plus an -ing ending on the verb to form the past tense of an action in progress or incomplete. There is no difference for regular or irregular verbs:

to sing ➞ was singing to go ➞ was going

to carry ➞ was carrying, and so on

Use the past tense of to do (did) to form the past tense of an emphatic response. Let’s compare the three past tense formations:

Habitual Statement (something done frequently)

I spoke English. We went to school. They played soccer.

In Progress (incomplete)

I was speaking English. We were going to school. They were playing soccer.

Emphatic Response

“You did not speak English.” ➞ “I did speak English.” “We went to school.” ➞ “We did not go to school.” “They did not play soccer.” ➞ “They did play soccer.”

Questions and negations with not are formed with the past tense of to do (did) in the same way they are formed in the present tense:
Does he like the article? - Did he like the article?
You do not understand. - You did not understand

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