English Past Tenses Complete Guide: Past Indefinite, Past Continuous & Past Perfect

English Past Tenses Complete Guide (3 Main Past Tenses)

English Grammar • Beginner-Friendly • Urdu Examples • Updated December 2025 • Practice Exercises Included

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Past tenses describe actions that happened in the past. In this guide you'll master all 3 main Past Tenses with rules, formulas, examples, and exercises — plus Urdu explanations for fast understanding.

📚 Past Tenses Overview (All 3)

Past tenses describe completed actions or situations in the past. Each tense shows a different aspect of past time.

✅ The 3 Main Past Tenses:
  1. Past Indefinite (Simple Past) — completed actions at specific past time
  2. Past Continuous — actions in progress at specific past time
  3. Past Perfect — action completed before another past action
Earlier Past
Past Action
Now
Tense Main Use Signal Words Urdu Hint
Past Indefinite Completed past actions yesterday, last week, ago ماضی میں مکمل ہوا
Past Continuous Past action in progress while, when, at that time ماضی میں جاری تھا
Past Perfect Before another past action already, before, by the time ماضی سے پہلے مکمل

🟪 Past Indefinite Tense (Simple Past)

Used for completed actions at a specific time in the past.

🧩 Formula:
Subject + Verb(2nd form)
For regular verbs: add -ed
For irregular verbs: use 2nd form

Common Uses

Usage English Example Urdu Signals
Completed action I finished my work yesterday. میں نے کل اپنا کام ختم کیا۔ yesterdaylast week
Past habit She always arrived early. وہ ہمیشہ جلد آتی تھی۔ alwaysoften
Series of actions I woke up, brushed my teeth, and had breakfast. میں اٹھا، دانت صاف کیے اور ناشتہ کیا۔ sequence
Past fact He lived in Karachi for 5 years. وہ ۵ سال کراچی میں رہا۔ for 5 years

Regular vs Irregular Verbs

Regular Verbs (add -ed):

  • work → worked (کام کیا)
  • play → played (کھیلا)
  • watch → watched (دیکھا)

Irregular Verbs (memorize):

  • go → went (گیا)
  • eat → ate (کھایا)
  • see → saw (دیکھا)
  • write → wrote (لکھا)

Negative & Questions

Type Formula Example
Negative Subject + did + not + Verb(1st form) She did not work yesterday.
Question Did + Subject + Verb(1st form)? Did she work yesterday?
⚠️ Important Rule: Did کے ساتھ verb کی پہلی شکل استعمال ہوتی ہے، دوسری شکل نہیں۔
❌ Did she went to school?
✅ Did she go to school?

-ed Pronunciation Rules

  • /t/ sound: after voiceless sounds (p, k, s, sh, ch) → worked, helped
  • /d/ sound: after voiced sounds (b, g, v, z, m, n) → played, called
  • /ɪd/ sound: after t or d sounds → wanted, needed

🟪 Past Continuous Tense

Used for actions that were in progress at a specific time in the past.

🧩 Formula:
Subject + was/were + Verb(ing)
Was for I/He/She/It
Were for You/We/They
Situation Example Urdu Signals
Action in progress I was studying at 8 PM yesterday. میں کل شام ۸ بجے پڑھ رہا تھا۔ at 8 PMwhile
Interrupted action I was watching TV when she called. میں ٹی وی دیکھ رہا تھا جب اس نے فون کیا۔ whenwhile
Two simultaneous actions While I was cooking, he was cleaning. جب میں کھانا بنا رہا تھا، وہ صفائی کر رہا تھا۔ while
Background description The sun was shining, birds were singing. سورج چمک رہا تھا، پرندے گا رہے تھے۔ description

Past Continuous + Past Indefinite

When one action interrupts another:

Past Continuous (longer action) + when + Past Indefinite (shorter action)

Example: I was watching TV when she called.

میں ٹی وی دیکھ رہا تھا جب اس نے فون کیا۔

Negative & Questions

Type Formula Example
Negative Subject + was/were + not + Verb(ing) I was not sleeping.
Question Was/Were + Subject + Verb(ing)? Were you sleeping?

🟪 Past Perfect Tense

Used for an action that was completed before another action in the past.

🧩 Formula:
Subject + had + Verb(3rd form)
Had is used for all subjects (I, you, he, she, it, we, they)
Usage Example Urdu Signals
Before another past action I had finished my work before she arrived. میں نے اپنا کام ختم کر لیا تھا قبل اس کے کہ وہ آئی۔ beforeafter
Unrealized past hopes I had hoped to pass the exam. میں امتحان پاس کرنے کی امید رکھتا تھا۔ had hoped
Reported speech She said she had seen that movie. اس نے کہا کہ اس نے وہ فلم دیکھی تھی۔ said that
By the time By the time we arrived, the show had started. جب تک ہم پہنچے، شو شروع ہو چکا تھا۔ by the time

Past Perfect Timeline

Sequence of Events:

1. First action (Past Perfect) → 2. Second action (Past Indefinite)

Example: She had cooked dinner before I came home.

کھانا پکانا پہلے ہوا، گھر آنا بعد میں۔

Common Time Expressions

  • before → She had left before I arrived.
  • after → After I had eaten, I watched TV.
  • by the time → By the time we got there, they had left.
  • already → They had already finished when we arrived.

📊 Past Tenses Comparison

When to Use Which Tense?

Situation Past Indefinite Past Continuous Past Perfect
Completed action ✅ I finished my work. ❌ Not used ❌ Not used
Action in progress ❌ Not used ✅ I was working. ❌ Not used
Before another action ❌ Not used ❌ Not used ✅ I had finished before she came.
Two simultaneous actions ❌ Not used ✅ I was cooking while she was cleaning. ❌ Not used

All Three Together

Example using all three tenses:

I had finished (Past Perfect) my work when she called (Past Indefinite). At that time, I was watching (Past Continuous) TV.

جب اس نے فون کیا میں نے کام پہلے ہی ختم کر لیا تھا۔ اس وقت میں ٹی وی دیکھ رہا تھا۔

📝 Practice Exercises & Quick Test

Exercise 1: Choose the correct tense
  1. She ______ (study) English when I saw her.
    Answer: was studying
  2. I ______ (finish) my homework before I went out.
    Answer: had finished
  3. They ______ (visit) London last year.
    Answer: visited
  4. While I ______ (cook), the phone rang.
    Answer: was cooking
  5. He ______ (already/leave) when we arrived.
    Answer: had already left
Exercise 2: Correct the mistakes
  1. Did she went to school yesterday? → Did she go to school yesterday?
  2. I was study when she called. → I was studying when she called.
  3. They had ate dinner before we came. → They had eaten dinner before we came.
  4. She was cooked when I arrived. → She was cooking when I arrived.
Exercise 3: Translate to English
  1. میں کل سکول گیا تھا۔
    Answer: I went to school yesterday.
  2. جب میں پہنچا، وہ کھانا کھا رہا تھا۔
    Answer: When I arrived, he was eating.
  3. ٹرین چل چکی تھی جب ہم سٹیشن پہنچے۔
    Answer: The train had left when we reached the station.

✅ Quick Comparison Table (All Past Tenses)

Tense Formula Use Example
Past Indefinite S + V2 Completed past actions I worked yesterday.
Past Continuous S + was/were + Ving Action in progress in past I was working at 8 PM.
Past Perfect S + had + V3 Action before another past action I had worked before she came.

ماضی کے زمانے سمجھنا آسان ہے۔ صرف یہ یاد رکھیں کہ کون سا کام پہلے ہوا اور کون سا بعد میں۔

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