Past Tense – JSS1 English Lesson Note (Second Term)

The past tense is used to talk about actions that took place in the past. This lesson covers three forms: the simple past, the past perfect and the past perfect continuous. Regular verbs form the simple past by adding ‘-ed’, irregular verbs change in different ways, and the perfect forms use ‘had’.

Behavioural objectives

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

• form the simple past tense of regular and irregular verbs;
• form the past perfect tense using ‘had’ and the past participle;
• explain what the past perfect continuous tense is;
• write correct sentences in each of these tenses.

What is the simple past tense?

Regular verbs form their past tense by adding ‘-ed’ to the simple form of the verb. Irregular verbs form their past tense in different ways.

Examples

• Dada worked on the farm yesterday. (Regular)
• The boys talked to me this morning. (Regular)
• We ate last night. (Irregular)
• She spoke kindly to me. (Irregular)

What is the past perfect tense?

The perfective aspect is formed by combining a form of the verb ‘have’ with the main verb in the past participle form. ‘Have’ becomes ‘had’.

Examples

• I had been to Lagos.
• Tunde had eaten his food before my arrival.

What is the past perfect continuous tense?

The past perfect continuous tense is the combination of the progressive and perfective aspects. It must be represented in the past tense.

Examples

• I had been coming to this place for two years.
• I had been attending Good Shepherd School since primary school.

Evaluation

Write ten sentences showing the following tenses: Simple Past Tense, Past Perfect Tense and Past Perfect Continuous Tense.