past-tense

IPA/ˌpɑːst ˈtens/
IPA/ˌpæst ˈtens/

past-tense — noun

1. the form of a verb that shows the action or state took place before now; in Engl

1.nounA2
Definition

the form of a verb that shows the action or state took place before now; in English this often ends in -ed (e.g. 'walked') or uses an irregular form (e.g. 'wrote', 'went')

Example

Hana wrote 'I walked to school' to show the past tense of 'walk'.

the past tense of [verb]

The past tense of 'go' is 'went', which is one of many irregular forms in English.

the past tense of [irregular verb]

Common collocations
  • the past tense of [verb]
  • in the past tense
  • put / change a verb into the past tense
  • the past tense form
  • the simple past tense
Synonyms
  • preterite

    technical linguistics term for the simple past tense, rare outside grammar books

  • past simple

    the everyday name English teachers use for the most common past tense form (e.g. 'walked', 'wrote')

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

the past tense of [verb]

in the past tense

Usage Note

Distinguish from the present and future tenses, which describe what is happening now or what will happen. In English grammar lessons, 'the past tense' most often refers to the past simple (e.g. 'walked', 'wrote'), but it can also cover the past continuous ('was walking') and past perfect ('had walked') depending on the textbook.

Common Mistakes

Yesterday I go to the market.
Yesterday I went to the market.
past time words like 'yesterday' need the past tense, not the present.
He runned home.
He ran home.
'run' is irregular, so its past tense is 'ran', not 'runned'.

Word family

  • tense
    nounB1
  • past
    nounA2
  • past
    adjectiveA2
  • present tense
    nounA2
  • future tense
    nounA2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four describe past-time verb forms, but English teachers use them differently. 'Past tense' is the broadest, everyday label for any verb form that shows an action happened before now. 'Past simple' is the most common specific form (e.g. 'walked', 'wrote') and is what most learners study first; teachers often say 'past tense' when they technically mean 'past simple'. 'Preterite' means the same thing as 'past simple' but is a formal linguistics term — rarely seen outside grammar references. 'Past participle' is different: it is the verb form used after 'have' or 'be' (e.g. 'have walked', 'was written'), not a tense on its own. For classroom use, prefer 'past tense' or 'past simple' over 'preterite'.

past tensepast simplepreteritepast participle

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

A compound of two Latin-rooted words. 'Past' comes from the Old French 'passé', the past participle of 'passer' (to pass), itself from Latin 'passus'. 'Tense' (the grammatical sense) entered English in the 14th century from Old French 'tens', from Latin 'tempus' meaning 'time'. So 'past tense' literally means 'past time' — the verb form that locates an action in time gone by.

First known use

1729

1729, in the meaning defined above