![]() So, what’s the difference between the past tense and the past participle?īasically, the past tense is a tense while the past participle is a specific verb form used in the past and present perfect tenses. The Difference Between Past Tense and Past Participle I have listened to this song five times now.I had lived in the United States for seven years before coming back home.In the perfect form, we use the words “have” and “had” followed by the verb conjugated in the past tense. The definition also tells us that the past participle is most often used when forming the perfect forms of tenses. ![]() For example, “the book has already been talked about.” Here, the word “ talked” is used as an adjective. These words can also be used as adjectives. This means that verbs in the past participle form usually end in the letters “ed.” For example, the word “ talked.” “Past participle” is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as “the form of a verb, typically ending in -ed in English, which is used in forming perfect and passive tenses and sometimes as an adjective.” The verb “to eat” has been conjugated (changed) to “ate” or “had eaten,” which tells us the sentence is in the past tense. I had eaten buttered toast and scrambled eggs by 10 AM yesterday…and I was still hungry!.I ate a chicken sandwich for breakfast yesterday.Therefore, your answer should be in the past tense. ![]() The word “yesterday” tells us that the event (eating breakfast) happened already (yesterday). Let me explain this with the help of the first question from the introduction: “What did you eat for breakfast yesterday?” In other words, we use the past tense to talk about something that happened in the past. In English, we use the concept of tenses to talk about time-to refer to an action that happened in the past, is happening in the present or will happen in the future.Īccording to the Oxford Dictionary, “past tense” is defined as “A tense expressing an action that has happened or a state that previously existed.” The more comfortable you get with these formations, the deeper you can go. This is a very brief guide but for now, just focus on the Simple Past and the Past Perfect. Past Perfect Continuousįinally, we use this verb form to refer to an action that was still happening until another event occurred.Įxample, “ I had been eating chicken sandwiches from the local diner until I learned to cook on my own.” The use of the verb “had” along with the specific verb form “eaten” (which is the participle form) tells us that it’s in the past perfect. We usually use this to talk about events that have already been completed before a specified time or another event.Įxample: “ I had eaten a chicken sandwich that my mother had made for me.” The “-ing” verb gives us the impression of an action that is happening, while the “was” means that it took place in the past. We use this to refer to something in the past that has already happened, but as though it were still happening (usually in the context of another event).Įxample: “ I was eating a chicken sandwich when he called me.” The easiest form, we use this when the action has already happened or has been completed.Įxample: “ I ate a chicken sandwich.” Past Continuous These tenses can further be divided into four distinct forms (simple, continuous, perfect and perfect continuos). Depending on which tense we’re using, the verbs we use become modified or conjugated. This concept of tenses is reflected in the way we use verbs. Most likely, you already know that there are three tenses in English: Hold onto this because I’ll constantly refer to it while explaining the terms. This exercise is also an excellent way to learn the past tense and past participles.īefore reading further, I suggest you grab paper and a pencil to try writing down the answers to the questions I asked, in full sentences. What’s the nicest thing that happened to you the day before?.What did you eat for breakfast/dinner yesterday?.I try to get my students to talk about themselves, such as the things they did the day before. Past Participle: A Simple ExerciseĪs an English teacher, there’s a really simple trick I use to teach my students this concept. Past Tense Verb Forms Quiz from ĭownload: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that youĬan take anywhere. ![]()
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