Past Tense
(English Grammar – Tense – Chapter-2)
The Tense stands for a verb form or series of verb Tense used to express a time relation. Tense occurs as a verb or verb used to express a time relationship for a series of tenses. There are three types of Tense.
- Present Tense – (Read here in Chapter-1)
- Past Tense
- Future Tense
Every Tense has four types. Here we will discuss and learn about Past Tense only. For the Present Tense, you may visit Chapter-1 by clicking above on the Present Tense Heading.
Now let’s start – Past Tense:
| Past Tense | 1. Past Indefinite Tense
2. Past Continuous Tense 3. Past Perfect Tense 4. Past Perfect Continuous Tense |
Now we will study all these tenses separately in detail.
1. Past Indefinite Tense
At the end of the verb of a Hindi sentence – ता था, ती थी, ते थे, एवं आ, ए, ई (पढ़ा, पढ़ी), etc. when it comes, we usually translate that verb in Past Indefinite Tense.
Rules of Translation:
- Affirmative Sentences (S+V2+o)
राम बिद्यालय जाता था / राम बिधालय गया – Ram went to school. मै विधालय जाता था / मै विधालय गया – I went to school. रानी एक किताब पढ़ती थी / रानी ने एक किताब पढ़ी – Rani read a book
- Negative Sentences (S+did not+V1+O)
Ram did not go to school. I did not buy a house. Rani did not read a book.
- Interrogative Sentences (Did+S+V1+O+?)
Did Ram go to school? Did you help Ram? Did Rani read a book?
For Past Habit: I never told a lie. Aayan went to school daily.
For Work Done in the Past: I went to Delhi last month. I bought a book yesterday.
To express the action of the Past Tense while another action was going on for a long time: When I entered the class, the teacher was teaching.
ADVERBS TO REMEMBER – Last, ago, yesterday, Fixed Year (1995), after before, before after.
2. Past Continuous Tense
When the verb of a Hindi sentence comes at the end of which रहा था, रही थी, रहे थे, etc, then we usually translate that verb in Past Continuous Tense.
Rules of Translation:
- Affirmative Sentences (S+was/were+V1+ing+o)
Ram was reading a book. You were waiting for me. They were going to school.
- Negative Sentences (S+was/were+not+V1+ing+O)
Ram was not reading a book. You were not waiting for me. They were not going to school.
- Interrogative Sentences (Was/were+S+V1+ing+O+?)
Was Ram reading a book? Were you waiting for me? Were they going to school?.
For an action going on at a certain time in the past tense: I was writing a letter when my friend came. Ram was taking a bath when I went to see him. I was sleeping in my room when it started raining.
When we are interested in the continuation of the verb and not in the time of the main verb: I saw her when she was singing a song. It began to rain when I was having breakfast. I heard that my friends were calling me.
For two simultaneous actions in the past: When I was reading, Mohan was playing.
ADVERBS TO REMEMBER – Always, at the time, in those days, all day all evening.
3. Past Perfect Tense
When the verb of a Hindi sentence comes to the end of which चूका था, चुकी थी, चुके थे, या लिया था, etc., then we usually translate that verb in Past Perfect Tense.
Rules of Translation:
- Affirmative Sentences (S+had+V3+O)
I had finished my work. We had solved all the questions. Rani had gone to school.
- Negative Sentences (S+had+not+V3+O)
I had not finished my work. We had not solved all the questions. Rani had not gone to school.
- Interrogative Sentences (Had+S+V3O+?)
Had Ram read a book? Had you played? Had Rani went to school?.
For the first of two actions in the past: I had finished my work before my father arrived. The teacher had started the lesson before I entered my class. The doctor came after the patient had died.
To reveal an unfulfilled desire: I wish I had worked hard. I wish I had listened to the principal’s advice.
For an action that was completed by a certain time in the past: I had written five poems by evening. The peon had ring the bell before I entered my school.
ADVERBS TO REMEMBER – Already, never, before से पहले, after के बाद, by the end of, at the age of.
4. Past Perfect Continuous Tense
When the verb of a Hindi sentence comes at the end of time, रहा था, रही थी, रहे थे, etc., then we usually translate that verb in Past Perfect Continuous Tense.
Rules of Translation:
- Affirmative Sentences (S+had been+V1 ing+O+since/for+time)
Mohan had been playing football for two hours. Rama had been writing a book since Monday. We had been waiting for you for two hours.
- Negative Sentences (S+had not been+V1 ing+O+ since/for+time)
Mohan had not been playing football for two hours. Rama had not been writing a book since Monday. We had not been waiting for you for two hours.
- Interrogative Sentences (Had+S+been+V1 ing+O+since/for+time?)
Had Mohan been playing football for two hours? Had Rama been writing a book since Monday? Had you been waiting for me for two hours?.
To express an action that began before a certain time in the past was going on at that time and did not end: He had been reading a book for five hours. I had been reading in that school for three years. Mohan had been playing football for two hours.
When Past Indefinite Tense (V2) is given in a part of the sentence, then with since/for + time: I had been raining for two hours when you came. Someone had been knocking at the door for five minutes when I went to open it.
There are also four different types of Future Tense. To read its four types, go to Chapter-3. Click on the link given below. Thank You
