நேற்றைப் பற்றி பேசுதல் — கடந்த காலம்
Talking About Yesterday — Past Tense
Learn to talk about things that already happened using simple past tense.
By the end of this lesson you will be able to— இந்த பாடத்தின் இறுதியில்
- Use regular past tense by adding '-ed' (walked, played, helped)
- Use common irregular past tense forms (went, ate, saw, did, had)
- Form complete past-tense sentences: 'I went to school yesterday'
Let's Learn
What you will learn today
Learn to talk about things that already happened using past tense.
You already know the present!
In English Confidence — Foundations, you learned to say things like 'I eat rice' and 'She reads a book.' These are present tense — they happen now, today, or every day.
அடிப்படை பாடத்தில் நீங்கள் நிகழ்காலம் கற்றீர்கள். 'I eat rice', 'She reads a book' போன்றவை இன்று நடப்பவை.
What is past tense?
Past tense tells us something ALREADY happened — yesterday, last week, or before. In English, we change the verb to show this.
- Present: I walk to school. (Today, every day)
- Past: I walked to school. (Yesterday, already done)
- Present: She plays cricket. (Every evening)
- Past: She played cricket. (Last evening, finished)
கடந்த காலம் என்பது ஏற்கனவே நடந்ததை சொல்கிறது. ஆங்கிலத்தில் வினைச்சொல்லை மாற்றுவோம்.
Regular verbs: just add '-ed'
Most English verbs are regular — you just add '-ed' to make them past tense. This is the easiest rule in English!
- walk → walked (நடந்தேன்)
- play → played (விளையாடினேன்)
- help → helped (உதவினேன்)
- cook → cooked (சமைத்தேன்)
- clean → cleaned (சுத்தம் செய்தேன்)
பெரும்பாலான வினைச்சொற்கள் '-ed' சேர்த்தால் கடந்த காலமாகும்.
Irregular verbs change completely!
Some common verbs don't follow the '-ed' rule — they change into a completely different word. You need to learn these by practice, not by rule.
Time words are your friends
Adding a time word makes your past-tense sentence clearer and more natural. Use: yesterday, last week, last month, last year, this morning, before, ago.
கால வார்த்தைகள் சேர்ப்பது வாக்கியத்தை தெளிவாக்கும்: நேற்று, கடந்த வாரம், காலையில்.
📐 Past tense in real life
Let's see how a child might describe their yesterday:
- 1I woke up at 7 o'clock. (wake → woke)
- 2I ate dosa for breakfast. (eat → ate)
- 3I walked to school with my friend. (walk → walked)
- 4We played football after school. (play → played)
- 5I did my homework in the evening. (do → did)
- 6I went to bed at 9 o'clock. (go → went)
ஒரு குழந்தை நேற்று நடந்ததை எப்படி விவரிக்கும் என்று பார்ப்போம்:
Your turn — change to past tense
Think about what you did yesterday. Can you say 3 sentences in past tense? Try it in your mind before the quiz.
What you learned
You can now talk about yesterday! Regular verbs add '-ed'. Irregular verbs change completely. Time words make it clear. You're one step closer to real English fluency.
இப்போது நேற்றைப் பற்றி பேச முடியும்! '-ed' சேர்ப்பது, ஒழுங்கற்ற வினைச்சொற்கள், கால வார்த்தைகள் — எல்லாம் கற்றீர்கள்.
Past tense lets you share your stories. Every memory, every experience — they all need past tense. Practice by telling someone what you did today, every evening.
↪ Next: you'll learn to talk about tomorrow — future tense with 'will' and 'going to'.
Key Points
முக்கிய குறிப்புகள்
- ✓Past tense tells us something already happened — yesterday, last week, before
- ✓Regular verbs: add '-ed' — walk → walked, play → played, help → helped
- ✓Irregular verbs change completely — go → went, eat → ate, see → saw, do → did
- ✓Time words help: yesterday, last week, last year, this morning, before
- ✓Tamil comparison: Tamil adds '-ேன்' (சாப்பிட்டேன்), English adds '-ed' or changes the word
Glossary
சொல் அகராதி
Past tense
கடந்த காலம்
Yesterday
நேற்று
Regular verb
வழக்கமான வினைச்சொல்
Irregular verb
ஒழுங்கற்ற வினைச்சொல்
Already happened
ஏற்கனவே நடந்தது
Practice Activities
Quizவினாடி வினா
Answer each question to check your understanding.
What is the past tense of 'go'?
Match the Termsபொருத்துக
Click a term on the left, then click its matching definition on the right.
Click a term, then click its matching definition.
Terms
Definitions
Fill in the Blanksஇடைவெளி நிரப்புக
Type the missing word and press Check or Enter.
Type the missing word and click Check or press Enter.