Examples of Past Tenses | What is the Past Tense?

Examples of Past Tenses: What is the Past Tense?

What is the past tense? The past tense refers to actions which happened in the past. There are four past tenses. These are the past simple tense, past continuous tense, past perfect tense and past perfect continuous tense. In these examples the past tense is in bold. Check out our past tenses infographic below.

Past Tense Sentence Examples

Practice past tenses in sentences. Learn the following tenses: past simple tense past continuous tense, past perfect tense and past perfect continuous tense. Have a go and make your own sentences with the past tenses poster above and sentences below.

Past simple: base form of the verb + ed
I jumped in the puddle.
We climbed the tree.
They cooked some dinner.
She cleaned the house.
He joined the gym.
You sliced the beef.

Past continuous: subject + was + present participle
I was jumping in the puddle.
We were climbing the tree.
They were cooking some dinner.
She was cleaning the house.
He was joining the gym.
You were slicing the beef.

Past perfect: had + past participle
I had jumped in the puddle.
We had climbed the tree.
They had cooked some dinner.
She had cleaned the house.
He had joined the gym.
You had sliced the beef.

Past perfect continuous: subject + had been + present participle
I had been jumping in the puddle.
We had been climbing the tree.
They had been cooking some dinner.
She had been cleaning the house.
He had been joining the gym.
You had been grilling the beef.

Past Tense Games and Worksheets

Looking for more resources related to the past tense? Check out our comprehensive list of worksheets and video games. Download worksheets and play interactive games for free.

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