Simple Past Tense

Simple past tense indicates an action took place sometime in the past. To know about the tense in detail, let us begin with the definition of tense.

What is tense?

Tense denotes the time and duration of action.

The broad categories of the tense are:

1.     Present tense
2.     Future tense
3.     Past tense 

What is the Simple Past Tense?

Simple past tense is the tense that describes events which have occurred previously.

For example –  I went to school in the morning

Some of the rules to form the simple past tense are:

For assertive sentences: 

Subject +verb+ed

For example- I skipped

For negative sentences:

Subject+did not + infinitive without to

For example- They didn’t go.

For interrogative sentences:

Auxiliary verbs + Subject + Main verb + object or phrase + ?

For example: Did you go to the market?

Simple Past Tense is used to:

• explain an event that happened within history or at a particular time
• explain an event that is completed regularly and repeatedly
• explain an event in the past and a feeling that was experienced within the history

The knowledge of this tense is important as it often comes in the questions of national level exams.

Conclusion

Simple past tense denotes an action that happened in the past. It can be used to make assertive, negative and interrogative sentences. The knowledge of the rules and functions of the tense can help crack competitive exams like NDA, SSC, etc.