CBSE Class 8 English Chapter 6 The Past Tense

CBSE Class 8 English Class 8 Chapter 6 The Past Tense

Forms of the Past Tense

Simple Past

Uses: We use Simple Past Tense

1. to express actions which have been finished before the time of speaking.
2. to express some past habit.

Examples:

1. We went to the new Mall in Saket yesterday.
   Did you go to the new Mall in Saket?
   No, we didn’t.
2. My father always read the newspaper before going to his office.

Exercise – 1

Fill in the blanks with the Past Form of the verbs given in the brackets:—

Question 1. In the olden days, children ________(treat) their elders with great respect.

Answer: teated

Question 2. In 1980, we___________(leave) India to settle down in Canada.

Answer: left

Question 3. American planes continually ________ (bomb) Taliban positions in Afghanistan.

Answer: bombed

Question 4. He __________ (take) early retirement from the army and__________ (start) a publishing firm in Delhi.

Answer: took ; started

Question 5. Kailash __________(try) to persuade his brother to give up his bad habits.

Answer: tried

Question 6. Why ______ (don’t) you stop the boy from throwing stones at people on the road?

Answer: did not

Question 7. We _______(look) everywhere but ______(not) find our little puppy.

Answer: Looked; did not

Question 8. __________ (do) you go to the new showroom opened by Marks and Spencers yesterday?

Answer: Did

Question 9. Last night,I _______(has) a shock when I _______(find) my car missing.

Answer: had ; found

Question 10. The smoke ________(sting) my eyes and I ______(can’t) see where I____________ (be) going.

Answer: stung; couldn’t;was

Exercise – 2

Rewrite the following passage in Simple Past Tense. (First underline all the verbs.):—

Near the bed, two little children — a boy and a girl — sleep together in a cradle and are smiling in their sleep. How soundly they sleep in their old tottering cradle! It seems as if nothing can wake them up. Outside the rain beats down in floods and the sea gives forth a sound like an alarm bell. From the old roof, drops of water fall on the floor.

Answer:

Near the bed, two little children — a boy and a girl — ‘slept’ together in a cradle and are ‘smiled’ in their sleep. How soundly they ‘slpt’ in their old tottering cradle! It ‘seemed’ as if nothing can wake them up. Outside the rain ‘beat’ down in floods and the sea ‘gave’ forth a sound like an alarm bell. From the old roof, drops of water ‘fell’ on the floor.

Past Continuous Tense

Uses :

1. We use Past Continuous Tense to express an action in progress at some moment before the time of speaking.
   Examples:
   1. I was checking my car tyres.
   2. The rescue team was looking for survivors of the boat disaster.
2. We use Past Continuous Tense for the longer action and the Simple Past Tense for the shorter action, to show something happened when a longer action was going on.
   Examples: I was checking my car tyres when my friends arrived.
   My brother and I were fighting over the new game when our mother came and scolded us.
3. Past Continuous Tense is used to refer to repeated actions in past with always or forever.
   Examples: Anuj and Sheela were forever fighting about their possessions.

Exercise – 3

Rewrite the following sentences, changing the verbs to Past Continuous Tense

Question 1. The boy leans against the tree.

Answer:

The boy ‘was leaning’ against the tree.

Question 2. A cold wind blows.

Answer:

A cold wind ‘was blowing’

Question 3. She hide herself.

Answer:

She ‘was hiding’ herself

Question 4. The leaves fell to the ground.

Answer:

The leaves ‘were falling’ to the ground

Question 5. He works hard for his examination.

Answer:

He ‘was working’ hard for his examination

Question 6. The soldiers fight and win.

Answer:

The soldiers ‘were fighting’ and winning.

Question 7. The birds are flying out of the cage since morning.

Answer:

The birds ‘were flying’ out of the cage since morning

Question 8. She is singing and cannot answer your phone call.

Answer:

She ‘wass singing’ and cannot answer your phone call

Question 9. Many of us live and work great distances from where we are bom or grow up.

Answer:

Many of us ‘were living’ and ‘working’ great distances from where we are bom or grow up

Question 10. They are praising her creative abilities, specially in dancing.

Answer:

They ‘were praising’ her creative abilities, especially in dancing.

Exercise – 4

Tick (S) the correct verb form in the brackets:—

Question 1. While mother (cooked/was cooking) for the party, my sisters cleaned the rooms.

Answer:

was cooking

Question 2. As the car (speeded/was speeding) down the hill, we heard a loud explosion.

Answer: was speeding

Question 3. While the teacher (was correcting/correcting) the exercise books, the children  (were reading/read) storybooks quietly.

Answer: was correcting ; were reading

Question 4. The old lady (was crossing/crossed) the road when she was (knocking/knocked) down.

Answer:

was crossing ; knocked

Question 5. Why (were you fighting/you fought) with your brother last night, whenI came to see you?

Answer:

Were you fighting

Exercise-5

Some of the verbs in the sentences given below are incorrect. Underline them and write the correct form

Question 1. My son coughing so badly last night that he could not sleep.

Answer:

My son ‘coughed’ so badly last night that he could not sleep

Question 2. The book reading this afternoon is very interesting,I couldn’t leave it.

Answer:

The book ‘I read’ this afternoon is very interesting,I couldn’t leave it

Question 3. While I clearing my cupboard,I found my old diary.

Answer:

While I ‘was clearing’ my cupboard,I found my old diary

Question 4. Our teacher last year always reminding us to work harder.

Answer:

Our teacher last year always ‘reminded’ us to work harder

Question 5. The farmers fought to save their homes from the fire which spread quickly through their fields.

Answer:

The farmers ‘were fighting’ to save their homes from the fire which spread quickly through their fields.

Past Perfect Tense

Uses :

The Past Perfect Tense is used when we wish to say that some action had been completed before another was started.

Examples: We had eaten our dinner before the guests arrived.

Note: The verb expressing the previous action is put into Past Perfect Tense.

Exercise – 6

Complete the sentence by putting a tick (✔) against the correct part

Question 1. He had visited many towns before

1. he was returning home.
2. he had returned home.
3. he returned home.

Answer: 3. he returned home.

Question 2. I had been reading this book for two weeks before

1. she had arrived.
2. she arrived.
3. she has arrived.

Answer: 2. she arrived.

Question 3. The servant had finished his work when

1. I had called him.
2. I called him.
3. I have called him.

Answer:

2. I called him.

Question 4. The rain had stopped when

1. we came out.
2. we had come out.
3. we would come out.

Answer:

1. we came out.

Question 5. Three years have passed since

1. his father had died.
2. his father have died.
3. his father died.

Answer:

3. his father died.

Exercise – 7

Fill in the blanks with the correct Past Perfect Tense of the verbs in brackets:—

Question 1. She_____ the dress before she went to sleep, (complete)

Answer: had completed

Question 2. They ________ to India to meet us before returning home,(come)

Answer: had come

Question 3. They went home only after they ___________f or four hours, (work)

Answer: had worked

Question 4. The servant _____ all the cash before his master_____home, (steal, return)

Answer: had stolen; returned

Question 5. We _______ dinner only after we_______ our drinks, (eat,finish)

Answer: had finished

Past Perfect Continuous

Use :

We use the Past Perfect Continuous Tense to refer to an action which had been going on continuously up to that time in the past that we are talking about.

Example: My father had been managing the factory for thirty years before he retired.

Exercise-8

Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verbs given in the brackets

Question 1. They ______ for an hour when they _______the doors of the theatre, (wait, open)

Answer: had been waiting; opened

Question 2. Suman ________for almost two hours before the concert__________ (sing, conclude)

Answer: had been singing; concluded

Question 3. Rajan___________throughout the day before his mother_______ him up. (sleep, wake)

Answer: had been sleeping; woke

Question 4. The hospital __________ other specialists before they the treatment of the patient, (consult, started)

Answer: had consulted; started

Question 5. They __________ the examination until all the students ___________ (not start, thoroughly check)

Answer: did not start; had been thoroughly checked.

Exercise – 9

There is an error in each sentence of this passage. Underline error and write the correct word in its place in the space given. One is done for you.

Question 1. The writer was twelve years old and she use to____________

Answer: Usually

Question 2. stay with her grandparents in north Karnataka_________

Answer: North

Question 3. Since there are very few diversions_________

Answer: diversions

4. The entire family eagerly wait for a_______

Answer: waits

Question 5. Weekly magazine call “Karamveera.”________

Answer: called

Question 6. This magazine is publishing a famous____________

Answer: was publishing

Question 7. Novel “Kashi Yatre” as a serial which deal______

Answer: deals

Question 8. With the heroine’s struggle visit Kashi.__________

Answer: to visit

Question 9. Since grandmother believe in Kashi Yatra________

Answer: grandmother believed

Question 10. As a pilgrimage, she would identify with__________

Answer: No error

Question 11. The problems of the main characters._________

Answer: character

Exercise – 10

Take any person you admire — he/she can be a sportsman, a leader, an actor or even a relative. Write ten sentences about him or her using all four forms of the Past Tense.

Here are ten sentences about Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam using all four forms of the past tense:-

1. Simple past:- Dr. Kalam worked as a scientist at ISRO before becoming president.
2. Simple past:- He wrote many inspiring book for young indians.
3. Past Continuous:- while he was serving as president, he was teaching students every weekend.
4. Past Continuous:- People were cheering when he was giving motivational speeches.
5. Past Perfect:- Before he became famous, he had developed India’s missile technology.
6. Past Perfect:- The government had awaeded him the Bharat Ratna long before 2002.
7. Past perfect continuous : He had been inspiring youth for decaded before his passing.
8. Past perfect continuous: Scientists had been collaborarting with him long before his presidency.
9. Mixed past:- When he arrived at events children had been waiting for hours to meet him.
10. Mixed past:- After he had delivered a speech, the audience clapped for minutes.