Introduction
Past indefinite tense is a verb form that describes an action that occurred in the past but is no longer occurring.
It refers to habitual acts, behaviours, or situations that occurred or existed in both the current and distant past.
It is simply produced by adding ‘ed’ or ‘d’ to the conclusion or verb.
Structure of the Present Indefinite Tense
| Subject + verb (second form) + rest of the sentence. |
In the table given below, the structure of the Past Indefinite tense as per the type of sentences –
Check out these formulas below to understand the sentence formation using past indefinite tense.
| Sentence Type | Structure | Examples |
| Positive | Subject + verb in the past form + Object | 1. She worked late. 2. They went to the market. |
| Negative | Subject + didn’t + verb in the base form + Object | 1. She didn’t work late. 2. They didn’t go to the market. |
| Interrogative | Did + Subject + verb in the past base + Object + ? | 1. Did she work late? 2. Did they go to the market? |
| Interrogative negative | Didn’t + Subject + verb in the base form + Object +? | 1. Didn’t she work late? 2. Didn’t they go to the market? |
Application of the Past Indefinite Tense
The past indefinite tense is majorly used in scenarios. In the table below, each scenario is explained well with an example:
| Scenarios | Examples |
| Denoting already happened action | 1. He went for the vacation with his family last year. 2. He did not appear for the exam yesterday. 3. They forgot to carry an umbrella. |
| Mentioning about true events happened in the past | 1. I lived in a bungalow near Juhu. 2. We performed dance in the college events. 3. The manager established the set of rules. |
| Explaining an event happened multiple times | 1. Our daughter appeared for exams twice a month. 2. They enjoyed with us when we met. 3. She left for the gym till I woke up. |
Points to remember for the Past Indefinite Tense
1. ‘ed’ or ‘d’ (to the verb that ends with ‘e’) is added to the end of the regular verb.
For Example:
Hack – Hacked
Release – Released
Bake – Baked
Look – Looked
Walk – Walked
2. No change in the spelling and remains same as base form in the past indefinite tense.
For Example:
Beat – Beat
Hurt – Hurt
Put – Put
Shut – Shut
Quit – Quit
3. Spelling is changed for irregular verbs but there is no rule being followed that can explain this.
For Example:
See – Saw
Drink – Drank
Eat – Ate
Teach – Taught
Regular verbs vs. Irregular verbs
Regular verbs are converted into the past indefinite tense by adding ‘ed’ or ‘d’ at the end of their basic form.
This rule is not followed in irregular verbs, and the spelling pattern changes.
To help you understand the table below lists the most common regular and irregular verbs:
| Regular Verbs | Irregular Verbs | ||
| Study | Studied | Drink | Drank |
| Dance | Danced | Go | Went |
| Check | Checked | Sing | Sang |
| Blink | Blinked | Catch | Caught |
| Jump | Jumped | Eat | Ate |
| Step | Stepped | Have | Had |
| Cook | Cooked | Find | Found |
| Clean | Cleaned | Make | Made |
| Hug | Hugged | Buy | Bought |
Commonly made mistakes in the past indefinite tense –
1. Using present tense rather than past tense
For Example:
A. He talks to her on the phone. (Incorrect)
B. He talked to her on the phone. (Correct)
2. ‘ed’ and ‘d’ not added to regular verbs
For Example:
A. She look at the poster yesterday. (Incorrect)
B. She looked at the poster yesterday. (Correct)
3. Use of ‘did’ with past form of verb
For Example:
A. They did drank a glass of milk. (Incorrect)
B. They did drink a glass of milk. (Correct)
4. Confusion with irregular verbs
For Example:
A. She teached chemistry in the school. (Incorrect)
B. She taught chemistry in the school. (Correct)
5. Use of was/were in the interrogative sentences
For Example:
A. Was she made dinner? (Incorrect)
B. Did she make dinner? (Correct)
6. Confused between past indefinite tense and present perfect tense
For Example:
A. I visit the market to buy grocery. (Incorrect)
B. I visited the market to buy grocery. (Correct)