Past Tense - Academic Mode

Definition of the past tense
In grammar, the past tense refers to a verb-tense combination, the sole purpose of which is to indicate an action that has taken place in the past time. It is the second tense after the present in which the action takes place in the present moment. A sentence in the past tense always uses the second form of the verb. A sentence in the past tense does not need any auxiliary means, unless it is in the negative or questioning form. In this case he uses “not” or “did” in negatives or questioning forms.

For example in the sentence: “She looked around carefully, then ran to the car, slipped in and locked the doors with a pounding heart. She went downtown ... ”(Tell me Your Dreams, by Sidney Sheldon), all underlined verbs are in the past tense.

In the past tense some specific words are also used to indicate when the action took place in the past, z. B. "yesterday", "last night", "the day before" or "the last day." There is also a difference in the past tense and the past tense of the verb. The past tense refers specifically to the past time, but the past tense of the Verbs is the second form of the verb after the current form used in the simple past tense.

Common use of past tense
I visited him in the hospital yesterday.
He planned the ceremony himself.
Yesterday, they came down the mountain.
Perry enrolled in college.
Whenever he played tennis, he got injured.
Examples of Past Tense in Literature
Example # 1: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (by L. Frank Baum).
“And the Scarecrow found a tree full of nuts and filled Dorothy's basket with them, so that she would not starve for long. She thought this was very kind and considerate of the Scarecrow, but laughed heartily at the awkward way the poor creature picked up the nuts. "

In this example, all past tense verbs are underlined. They include" I found "," filled, "" thought, "" laughed, "and" collected, "each referring to activities that happened in the past.

Example # 2: A Rust Romance (by Donovan Hohn)
“ I walked among fabulous machines so small as schnauzers and as large as elephants, all gleaming in the August sun. Drive belts buzzed, flywheels spun, pistons fired, and a forest of chimneys channeled foul smoke and rude music into the otherwise cloudless sky. “

Here the subject“ I ”has done some activities in the past, as indicated by the earlier forms of the verbs“ went ”,“ whirred ”,“ turned ”,“ fired ”and“ whistled ”.

Example 3: Pilgrims at Tinker Creek (by Annie Dillard)
"Last year I saw three migratory Canada geese fly low over the frozen duck pond where I was standing. I heard a heartbreaking surge of speed before I saw them; I felt the air hit my face. They thundered across the pond ... ”

Author Annie Dillard has described in this passage the habitual activities of the subject. These activities take place in the past, including“ saw ”,“ stand ”,“ felt ”.” and “thundered”.

Example 4: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (by J. Rowling)
"The two men appeared out of nowhere, a few meters apart in the narrow, moonlit alley ... They turned right. The high hedge Interest the table sharpened noticeably: some stiffened, others fidgeted, everyone looked at Snape and Voldemort. "

Each of the underlined verbs in this example is in the simple past tense. These include" appeared "," turned "," curved "," sharp "," stiff "and" restless ", and have used the second form.

5: Vacation '58 (by John Hughes)
"Dad came to the sidewalk and ran over a bicycle and some toys. Mom accused him of being asleep at the wheel, but said he was not familiar with the Illinois road signs ... took off his shoes, rolled down the window, turned up the radio ... ”

In this example, all the highlighted verbs in each sentence represent an activity that takes place at some point in the past.

Example # 6: The Chronicles of Narnia ( by CS Lewis)
“'There is nothing!' Peter said, and they all streamed out again, all except Lucy. She stayed because she thought it would be worth trying to open the closet door, although she was almost certain it would be closed. To her surprise, it opened quite easily, and two mothballs fell off. ”

Here, t The author has described a character in“ Lucy ”and what happened to her when others left her behind. All activities related to it took place in the past, as the underlined earlier forms of the respective verbs show.

Function of the past tense
The function of the past tense in language and writing is to express actions, activities, or a state of being in which it is supposed to have taken place is to place a situation or action or to relate to habitual activities, states, conditions and events in the past. It is mainly used in fiction and plays that state that the events took place in t