Basically, tense denotes time. It tells us when an action takes place.

 Verb is a word used to describe an action, state of being, or

occurrence, and forming the main part of the predicate of a
sentence while tense refers to the form a verb takes to indicate
when and/or how long the action is, was, or will be done (whether
it is done in the present, past or in the future).

 Past tense and past perfect tense are used to talk about actions
that occur in the past. However, past perfect tense is used to
denote two actions, one past action happened before another past
action.

Examples:

Sentence 1: I saw the movie.

Sentence 2: I had seen the movie when she came.

(Sentence 1 uses the simple past tense. Sentence 2 uses past perfect
tense.)

 The past tense expresses an action that has already occured. In

regular verbs, the past tense is formed by adding -ed or -d to the
base form. In irregular verbs, the past tense takes a variety of
forms. The verb be uses two past forms -was and were.

 The past perfect tense is used to show that one action in the past
began and ended before another action in the past started.

Forming the Past Perfect Tense

 The past perfect tense in English is composed of two parts: the

past tense of the verb to have (had) + the past participle of the
main verb.

Uses of Past Tense and Past Perfect Tense

Uses of Past Tense Example

Completed Action (indefinite time)
Completed Condition (indefinite
time)
Completed Action (definite time)
Completed Condition (definite time)
She bought food.
They were ecstatic
She bought food yesterday.
They were ecstatic last night.

Uses of Past Perfect Tense Example

Action completed before another She had changed her mind before I
talked to her
Condition completed before another Marie had been sickly before she
caught dengue fever.
Guided Activity

Directions: Fill in the correct past tense or past perfect tense of the verb inside the
parenthesis. Write your answer on the space provided.

1. After the company ________ Joe, he began to work on his first project. (hire)

2. _______ you ______ the news before you saw it on TV? (hear)

3. Michael didn’t want to see the movie because he ____________ the book yet (not
read)

4. The concert __________ already ___________ when we _____________ the stadium.

(begin/enter)

5. Until Anne __________ Mark, she ___________never__________ in love.

(meet, be)

6. Bill ____________for years before he finally ____________. (smoke/quit)

7. ______________ Sara ever __________ to Dapitan by herself before then. (drive)

8. How many fish ______________ the boys _________ by the time it started raining?
(catch)

9. You ___________ them to go to the beach, hadn’t you? (forbid)

10.The girls ___________ in weeks? That’s why they _______ so much afterwards.
(exercise/hurt)

Assessment

Directions: Change the verb used in each sentence to simple past

form. Rewrite each sentence on the blank.

1. We move to a new house. _______________________________________.

2. They bring a cup of coffee. ______________________________________.

3. He doesn’t do the homework. ____________________________________.

4. They sell cars. _______________________________________________ .

5. Does he visit his friends? _______________________________________ .

6. The sisters talk to each other. ___________________________________.

7. The team scores a touchdown. ___________________________________.

Directions: Choose the correct past or past perfect tense of the verb. Circle
the letter of the correct answer.

1. We had already eaten when John _____________ (come) home.

A. came B. had came C. have came D. has came

2. Last year, Juan ____________ (pass) all his exams.

A. passed B. had passed C. has passed D. had pass

3. When I ____________ (get) to the airport I discovered I had forgotten my

passport.

A.got B. gotten C. had gotten D. have gotten

4. I went to the library, then I __________ (buy) some milk and went home.

A. bought B. has bought C. had bought D. have bought

5. I opened my handbag to find that I _________________ (forget) my credit

card.

A. forgot B. forgotten C. will forget D. had forgotten

6. When we __________ (arrive) at the station, the train had already left.

A. arrived B. had arrived C. has arrived D. have arrived

7. We got home to find that someone ______________ (break) into the house.

A. broke B. had broken C. had broke D. has broke

8. I opened the fridge to find that someone _____________ (eat) all my

chocolate

A. has ate B. had ate C. had eaten D. has eaten

9. It _____________ (rain) all summer, so the grass was completely dead.

A. had rained B. has rained C. hadn’t rained D. hasn’t rained

10. Julie was very pleased to see that John _____________ (clean) the
kitchen.

A. cleaned B. has cleaned C. had cleaned D. have cleaned

11. After Loren _______________ the alarm, she locked the door.

A. turned on B. has turned on C. have turned on D. had turned on

12. By the time Simon ___________ the police had already left

A. arrived B. had arrived C. has arrived D. have arrived

13. I washed the floor when the painter _______________.

A. has go B. has gone C. had gone D. have gone

14. Before I knew it, she _________ out the door.

A. has ran B. had ran C. has run D. had run

15. Harold _________ about it for a while.

A. knew B. has knew C. had known D. have known