Past Tenses in English
This page focuses on two important past tenses in English: Past Simple and Past Continuous.
Past Simple
The Past Simple tense is used for actions that were completed in the past. Its structure varies for affirmative, negative, and interrogative sentences.
Example: I played basketball yesterday.
For negative sentences, "didn't" is used with the base form of the verb:
Example: I didn't play basketball yesterday.
Questions are formed using "Did" at the beginning:
Example: Did you play basketball yesterday?
Vocabulary: Common time expressions used with Past Simple include "yesterday", "that day", "last time", "two years ago", "last", "in 2000".
Past Continuous
The Past Continuous tense describes actions that were ongoing for a period in the past. It uses "was/were" with the -ing form of the verb.
Example: I was playing basketball.
Negative sentences use "wasn't/weren't":
Example: I wasn't playing basketball.
Questions invert the subject and "was/were":
Example: Were you playing basketball?
Vocabulary: Time expressions often used with Past Continuous include "when", "at 8 o'clock", "all day", "while".
Highlight: The Past Continuous is particularly useful for describing the context or background of a past event.
