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Nothing is improbable until it moves into past tense.
George Ade

Meaning of "past tense" in the English dictionary

Dictionary
DICTIONARY
section

PRONUNCIATION OF PAST TENSE

past tense  [pɑːst tens] play
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GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF PAST TENSE

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Past tense is an adjective.
The adjective is the word that accompanies the noun to determine or qualify it.

WHAT DOES PAST TENSE MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Past tense

The past tense is a grammatical tense whose principal function is to place an action or situation in past time. In languages which have a past tense, it thus provides a grammatical means of indicating that the event being referred to took place in the past. Examples of verbs in the past tense include the English verbs sang, went and was. In some languages, the grammatical expression of past tense is combined with the expression of other categories such as mood and aspect. Thus a language may have several types of past tense form, their use depending on what aspectual or other additional information is to be encoded. French, for example, has a compound past for expressing completed events, an imperfect for expressing events which were ongoing or repeated in the past, as well as several other past forms. Some languages that grammaticalise for past tense do so by inflecting the verb, while others do so periphrastically using auxiliary verbs, also known as "verbal operators".

Definition of past tense in the English dictionary

The definition of past tense in the dictionary is denoting one of various tenses used in relating past events.

WORDS THAT RHYME WITH PAST TENSE


defense
ˈdiːfens
everywhence
ˈevrɪˌwens
offense
ˈɒfens
overintense
ˌəʊvərɪnˈtens
pretense
prɪˈtens
protense
prəʊˈtens
recense
rɪˈsens
refence
riːˈfens
somewhence
ˈsʌmˌwens
ultradense
ˌʌltrəˈdens
undersense
ˈʌndəˌsens

WORDS THAT BEGIN LIKE PAST TENSE

past
past anterior
past definite
past historic
past it
past life therapy
past master
past one´s sell-by date
past participle
past perfect
pasta
pastance
paste
paste-up
pasteboard
pastedown
pastel
pastel-coloured
pastelist
pastellist

WORDS THAT END LIKE PAST TENSE

dense
expense
extense
future tense
Hortense
hyperintense
hypertense
immense
intense
license
make sense
Ourense
perfect tense
present tense
primary tense
sense
simple tense
subtense
suspense
tense

Synonyms and antonyms of past tense in the English dictionary of synonyms

SYNONYMS

Translation of «past tense» into 25 languages

TRANSLATOR
online translator

TRANSLATION OF PAST TENSE

Find out the translation of past tense to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.
The translations of past tense from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «past tense» in English.

Translator English - Chinese

过去时
1,325 millions of speakers

Translator English - Spanish

tiempo pasado
570 millions of speakers

English

past tense
510 millions of speakers

Translator English - Hindi

पिछले तनाव
380 millions of speakers
ar

Translator English - Arabic

الفعل الماضي
280 millions of speakers

Translator English - Russian

прошедшем времени
278 millions of speakers

Translator English - Portuguese

pretérito
270 millions of speakers

Translator English - Bengali

অতীত কাল
260 millions of speakers

Translator English - French

passé
220 millions of speakers

Translator English - Malay

Masa lalu
190 millions of speakers

Translator English - German

Vergangenheit
180 millions of speakers

Translator English - Japanese

過去形
130 millions of speakers

Translator English - Korean

과거 시제
85 millions of speakers

Translator English - Javanese

waktu kapungkur
85 millions of speakers
vi

Translator English - Vietnamese

quá khứ
80 millions of speakers

Translator English - Tamil

இறந்த காலம்
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Marathi

भूतकाळ
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Turkish

geçmiş zaman
70 millions of speakers

Translator English - Italian

passato
65 millions of speakers

Translator English - Polish

czas przeszły
50 millions of speakers

Translator English - Ukrainian

минулому часі
40 millions of speakers

Translator English - Romanian

timpul trecut
30 millions of speakers
el

Translator English - Greek

αόριστος
15 millions of speakers
af

Translator English - Afrikaans

verlede tyd
14 millions of speakers
sv

Translator English - Swedish

preteritum
10 millions of speakers
no

Translator English - Norwegian

fortid
5 millions of speakers

Trends of use of past tense

TRENDS

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «PAST TENSE»

The term «past tense» is quite widely used and occupies the 46.072 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.
0
100%
FREQUENCY
Quite widely used
79
/100
The map shown above gives the frequency of use of the term «past tense» in the different countries.
Principal search tendencies and common uses of past tense
List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «past tense».

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «PAST TENSE» OVER TIME

The graph expresses the annual evolution of the frequency of use of the word «past tense» during the past 500 years. Its implementation is based on analysing how often the term «past tense» appears in digitalised printed sources in English between the year 1500 and the present day.

Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about past tense

EXAMPLES

2 QUOTES WITH «PAST TENSE»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word past tense.
1
George Ade
Nothing is improbable until it moves into past tense.
2
Erich von Stroheim
If I speak of Vienna it must be in the past tense, as a man speaks of a woman he has loved and who is dead.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «PAST TENSE»

Discover the use of past tense in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to past tense and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.
1
Irregular Past Tense Verbs
As students play these great games they naturally transfer skills they learn in class! Irregular Past Tense Verbs will help your students practice their English through play.
Lori L. Wolfe
2
Speaking in the Past Tense: Canadian Novelists on Writing ...
These sometimes startling conversations take the reader behind the scenes of the novels and into the minds of their authors.
Herb Wyile, 2009
3
The Development of Past Tense Morphology in L2 Spanish
This book presents an extended analysis of the development of L2 Spanish past tense morphology among L1 English-speaking learners.
M. Rafael Salaberry, 2001
4
Enter the Past Tense
Naval officer, family man, scholar, professional hit man
Roland W. Haas autofilled, 2007
5
Past Tense in English
And how do we decide which tense is needed in certain situations? Which role do adverbials play in combination with past tense formation and usage? These are the questions which lead us through our term paper.
Lisa Sangmeister, 2009
6
Spanish Preterite Past Tense Verbs
Spanish Preterite Past Tense Verbs includes great games to practice the preterite past tense in Spanish.
Lori L. Wolfe
7
Past tense, future sense: competing through creativity : 80 ...
An objective and richly-illustrated book, giving a fascinating insight into history of design at Philips.
Stefano Marzano, 2005
8
Practice Makes Perfect: Spanish Past-Tense Verbs Up Close
With plenty of opportunities for practice, practice, practice, Practice Makes Perfect: Spanish Past-Tense Verbs Up Close helps you better understand the nuances of this tricky grammar element and develop your skills and confidence as a ...
Eric Vogt, 2008
9
Jespersen's and the CGEL's Accounts of the Past Tense, the ...
Seminar paper from the year 2000 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, grade: 2+ (B), University of Wurzburg (Philosophy Institute), course: Proseminar, 2 entries in the bibliography, language: English, ...
Oliver Kast, 2008
10
Business English: A Complete Guide to Developing an ...
And the present participle is formed by simply adding an ING-ending to the infinitive without the to. With REGULAR VERBS, the PAST TENSE and the PAST PARTICIPLE are rather simple, too. In fact, both are formed by adding an ED- ending ...
Andrea B. Geffner, 2004

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «PAST TENSE»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term past tense is used in the context of the following news items.
1
No Need to Destroy the Old for a New Bangalore
The Bangalore Club is another such existing memory for us. The concern is that memory looks like it was shifting into the past tense, and that ... «NDTV, Jul 15»
2
Friends remember longtime community activist
“It's still weird talking about her in past tense.” Jolly passed away on Saturday, July 18 at the age of 57. She is survived by her husband of 36 ... «Forsyth County News Online, Jul 15»
3
Marina Police Log: Mom arrested in threats, neglect
2039 A MALE ADULT REPORTED A PAST TENSE HIT AND RUN THAT OCCURED SOMETIME ON 07/10/15 BETWEEN 1200 HOURS AND ... «The Salinas Californian, Jul 15»
4
Original short story: Calypso, by David Sedaris
... other side of the table said. “He's a friend of my brother.” I looked at the name again. “'Draven'. It sounds like… the past past tense of drove.” ... «The Guardian, Jul 15»
5
Everyday Grammar: Can I, Could I, May I?
Could is the past tense of can. However, when asking for permission, could does not have a past tense meaning. Could has the same meaning ... «VOA Learning English, Jul 15»
6
9 Teen Movies That Are Sad and Cool at the Same Time
HIS EYES! Hazel carries around a secret memory of her parents talking about being parents in the past tense. The author with whom Hazel and ... «Zimbio, Jul 15»
7
Rain washes out fourth day in Chittagong
With exactly the same members BD actually scored more runs than SA in the first innings. To me it was (past tense, because i think it's going to ... «ESPNcricinfo.com, Jul 15»
8
VALERIE SCHULTZ: Music of God always there — even if lyrics don …
No, that couldn't be right, I thought: after all, “got” is a past tense verb, and “pretend” is present tense, so the line isn't even grammatically correct ... «The Bakersfield Californian, Jul 15»
9
Quaxing is the word to use if you're a cyclist for all reasons, right?
It can obviously be used in the past tense, "quaxed", and in the present tense, "quaxing". How did Mr Quax create this word? By saying ... «Cambridge News, Jul 15»
10
Pietersen affair has been a disservice to the count
Bairstow has earned another chance, they say, and Pietersen is past tense. Even if that reading is correct (his 355 not out for Surrey 10 weeks ... «gulfnews.com, Jul 15»

REFERENCE
« EDUCALINGO. Past tense [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/past-tense>. Apr 2024 ».
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