past-tense
/ˌpɑːst ˈtens/ (bre, ipa) · /ˌpæst ˈtens/ (ame, ipa)
past-tense — noun
1. the form of a verb that shows the action or state took place before now; in Engl
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')
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]
Mr. Andrés asked the class to put every verb in the past tense before reading aloud.
Beginner learners often add '-ed' to every verb when they first try the past tense.
In her diary entry, Gabriela described yesterday's hike entirely in the past tense.
- 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')
- present tense
verb form for actions or states happening now
- future tense
verb form for actions or states that will happen later
文法句型
the past tense of [verb]
in the past tense
用法筆記
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.