Past Sentence Patterns

By Matthew, 29 September 2008 - 11:10pm
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Grammar name (English): 
Past
Grammar name (日本語): 
過去形

An outline of the various ways to speak about past actions and states. This document puts all the ways of talking about the past onto one page to compare.

Simple Past (Preterite)

Regular Verbs

To form the simple past of a regular verb in English, add -ed to the verb stem:

VERB + ed

Make a negative with:

did not + VERB

Make a question with:

did [SUBJECT] + VERB 

He lived in Zurich. He did not live in Zurich. Where did he live?
I looked at the painting. I did not look at the painting. Did you look at the painting?
She called her friend. She did not call her friend. Did she call her friend?
Irregular Verbs

Irregular verbs form negatives and questions the same as regular verbs, but are different in positive sentences. Please learn the irregular verbs in English.

He went to Zurich. He did not go to Zurich. Where did he go?
I bought the painting. I did not buy the painting. Did you buy the painting?
She met her friend. She did not meet her friend. Did she meet her friend?

Past Progressive / Past Continuous

Make the past continuous aspect of a verb in English with:

was + VERB-ing

were + VERB-ing

[ the past of BE + the present participle ]

For a negative, use not between BE and the VERB:

was not + VERB-ing

were not + VERB-ing

A question puts BE before the [SUBJECT]:

was [SUBJECT] + VERB-ing

were [SUBJECT] + VERB-ing

He was living in Zurich. He was not living in Zurich. Was he living in Zurich?
I was looking at the painting. I was not looking at the painting. Were you looking at the painting?
She was calling her friend. She was not calling her friend. Was she calling her friend?

 

Present Perfect (Simple)

Use have and the past participle (P.P.) of the main verb:

have + P.P.

has + P.P.

Make the negative with not between have and the P.P.:

have not + P.P.

has not + P.P.

Questions swap have and the [SUBJECT]:

have [SUBJECT] + P.P.

has [SUBJECT] + P.P.

He has lived in Zurich. He has not lived in Zurich. Has he lived in Zurich?
I have looked at the painting. I have not looked at the painting. Have you looked at the painting?
She has called her friend. She has not called her friend. Has she called her friend?

Past Perfect (Simple)

Use had and the past participle (P.P.) of the main verb:

had + P.P.

Make the negative with not between have and the P.P.:

had not + P.P.

Questions swap have and the [SUBJECT]:

had [SUBJECT] + P.P.

He had lived in Zurich. He had not lived in Zurich. Had he lived in Zurich?
I had looked at the painting. I had not looked at the painting. Had you looked at the painting?
She had called her friend. She had not called her friend. Had she called her friend?
Notes: 
  1. This is a guide to the various past tenses, expressions and aspects.
  2. This document only shows you how to construct past sentences.
  3. A shorter list is here: the Poligo Past Sentence Patterns Cheat Sheet.