Past Indefinite Tense
What is the past indefinite tense?
We use the Past Simple tense to talk about an action or a situation – an event – in the past. The event can be short or long. (हम पास्ट् सिंपल टेंस का उपयोग अतीत में किसी क्रिया या स्थिति – एक घटना – के बारे में बात करने के लिए करते हैं। घटना छोटी या लंबी हो सकती है।)
This tense is also called simple past.
Uses of the Past Indefinite tense
Whenever we want to talk about our past time action or situation which was completed by that time, then we use it. The action or event can be long or short.
You can find below some short events from the Past Simple:
- She went to the door.
- We did not hear the telephone.
- Did you see that bike?
- I went to the market yesterday.
- The car exploded at 11 am yesterday.
You can find below some long events from the Past Simple:
- I lived in Delhi for 3 years.
- I lived in America for two years.
- I completed my engineering in Delhi.
- The Jurassic period lasted about 145 million years.
You can notice that it does not matter how long ago the event is: it can be a few minutes or seconds in the past or millions of years in the past. Also, it does not matter how long the event is. It can be a few milliseconds (car explosion) or millions of years (Jurassic period). We use the Past Simple tense when:
- the event is in the past.
- the event is completely finished.
- we say (or understand) the time and/or place of the event.
>> >> Some points to understand:
- It is used for the action completed in the past and not related to the present.
Example: They went to school at a young age. - It is also used to show past habits. To express past habits, we can use words like always, often, generally, sometimes, usually, every day, etc.
Examples: She always wore sunglasses during her travels. Sita visited the temple every day. - It is used to indicate the action that lasted for a period of time in the past.
Examples: Rohan lived in Delhi for 10 years. I worked at Google for two years. - It is used in asking for the time of action.
Examples: when did you go to market? Did you bake the cake this morning? - It is used to indicate the completed action in the past when the time is mentioned.
Examples: I was born in 1995. India won the first World Cup in 1983. - It is also used to express an action in which time is not given, but that is definite. Examples: She purchased her clothes in Padrauna. I was born and brought up in Gorariya.
Formation of the verb in past indefinite tense
In the past indefinite tense, the second form of the verb is used. Here we will see the formation of the second form of verb from the root or base form of the verb.
Rule 1: Most of the second form of the verb is formed by adding the suffix ‘ed‘ to the root or base form of the verb.
Examples:
- Want – wanted
- Call – called
- Listen – listened
- Need – needed
- Play – played
Rule 2: Many base forms of the verb ending by ‘e’ are changed into the second form of the verb by adding the suffix ‘d’ to it.
Examples:
- Like – liked
- Love – loved
- Taste – tasted
- Close – closed
- Decide – decided
Rule 3: Some of the verbs remain the same in both base form and in the simple past form.
Examples:
- Put – put
- Cut – cut
- Read – read
- Let – let
- Cost – cost
Rule 4: Some verbs are formed differently in simple past forms. That kind of verb is also called an irregular verb, and there is no rule for that.
Examples:
- Go – went
- Speak – spoke
- Steal – stole
- Bring – brought
- Do – did
Rules for Affirmative Sentences in the Past Indefinite Tense
In affirmative sentences of past indefinite tense, the second form (V2) of the verb is used. The structure of the sentence will be:
Subject + Verb (II form) + rest of the sentence.
Examples:
- I cooked the food.
- We cooked the food.
- They cooked the food.
- He cooked the food.
- She cooked the food.
- You cooked the food.
- Meera cooked the food.
- Jeesan cooked the food.
- Girls cooked the food.
- The boy cooked the food.
- Meera and Jeesan cooked the food.
Rules for Negative Sentences in the Past Indefinite Tense
In the negative sentence of past indefinite tense, ‘did not’ is used with the first form (V1) of the verb. The structure of the sentence will be:
Subject + did + not + Verb (I form) + rest of the sentences.
Examples:
- I did not cook the food.
- We did not cook the food.
- They did not cook the food.
- He did not cook the food.
- She did not cook the food.
- You did not cook the food.
- Meera did not cook the food.
- Jeesan did cook not the food.
- Girls did not cook the food.
- The boy did not cook the food.
- Meera and Jeesan did not cook the food.
Rules for Interrogative Sentences in the Past Indefinite Tense
There are two types of Interrogative sentences:
Yes/No type of question
The sentences which start with helping verbs or auxiliary verbs are called the Yes/No type of question.
Structure of Yes/No Type: Did + subject + Verb (I form) + rest of the sentence?
- Did I cook the food?
- Did we cook the food?
- Did they cook the food?
- Did he cook the food?
- Did she cook the food?
- Did you cook the food?
- Did Meer cook the food?
- Did Jeesan cook the food?
- Did the girls cook the food?
- Did the boy cook the food?
- Did Meera and Jeesan cook the food?
Wh-word type of question
The sentences which start with question words are called the Wh-word type of questions.
Structure for wh-word: Question word + did + subject + Verb (I form) + rest of the sentence?
- Why did I cook the food?
- Where did we cook the food?
- When did they cook the food?
- How did he cook the food?
- Why did she cook the food?
- When did you cook the food?
- Where did Meera cook the food?
- Why did Jeesan cook the food?
- Why did girls cook the food?
- Why did the boy cook the food?
- Why did Meera and Jeesan cook the food?
Rules for Interrogative Negative Sentences in the Past Indefinite Tense
Structure of Yes/No Type: Did + subject + not + Verb (I form) + rest of the sentence?
- Did I not cook the food?
- Did we not cook the food?
- Did they not cook the food?
- Did he not cook the food?
- Did she not cook the food?
- Did you not cook the food?
- Did Meer not cook the food?
- Did Jeesan not cook the food?
- Did the girls not cook the food?
- Did the boy not cook the food?
- Did Meera and Jeesan not cook the food?
Wh-word Negative type of question
Structure for wh-word: Question word + did + subject + not + Verb (I form) + rest of the sentence?
- Why did I not cook the food?
- Where did we not cook the food?
- When did they not cook the food?
- How did he not cook the food?
- Why did she not cook the food?
- When did you not cook the food?
- Where did Meera not cook the food?
- Why did Jeesan not cook the food?
- Why did girls not cook the food?
- Why did the boy not cook the food?
- Why did Meera and Jeesan not cook the food?
Swajms Tip: In general, if we say the past time or place of the event, we must use the Past Simple tense; we cannot use the present perfect.
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