Past tense is a grammatical tense used to describe actions or events that have already happened in the past
भूत कालले पहिले घटेका क्रियाहरू वा घटनाहरू वर्णन गर्न प्रयोग गरिन्छ। . The past tense is called भूत काल in Nepali.
| Present | Past |
| go – जानु – jaanu | went – गयो – gayo |
| walk – हिँड्नु – hidnu | walked – हिँड्यो – hidyo |
| eat – खानु – khanu | ate – खायो – khaayo |
| come – आउनु – aaunu | came -आयो – aayo |
| stop – रोक्नु – roknu | stopped – रोक्यो – rokyo |
| play – खेल्नु -khelnu | played – खेल्यो – khelyo |
| listen-सुन्नु – sunnu- | listened -सुन्यो – sunyo |
| push – ठेल्नु Thelnu | pushed – ठेल्यो – Thelyo |
Simple past tense :
The simple past tense is called सामान्य भूत काल in Nepali.
Structure
Subject + verb (past form) + object
- To talk about something that happened and finished at a specific time.
Examples
🔹 He finished her homework at 5 pm
उसले पाँच बजे आफ्नो गृहकार्य सकायो ।
🔹 She baked a cake yesterday
उनले हिजो एक केक बनाइन् ।
- Something that remained true during a period in the past.
Examples
🔹 They lived in Japan for five years.
उनीहरू पाँच वर्ष जापानमा बसे।
🔹 We were best friends in high school.
हामी उच्च विद्यालयमा सबैभन्दा मिल्ने साथी थियौँ।
🔹 I used to be afraid of dogs.
म कुकुरहरूसँग डराउँथें।
- Life experiences in the past tense describe things someone has done at some point in their life, but they are expressed as completed actions.
🔹 I traveled to Japan in 2008.
मैले २००८ मा जापान यात्रा गरेँ।
Maile 2008 ma Japan yatra gare.
🔹 We met a famous actor once.
हामीले एक पटक प्रसिद्ध अभिनेता भेट्यौं।
Hamile ek patak prasiddha abhinetaa bhetyau.
🔹 She worked at a hospital for three years.
उसले तीन वर्ष अस्पतालमा काम गरिन्।
Usle tin barsha aspataalmaa kaam garin.
- A series of completed actions :
To describe events that happened one after another in the past.
🔹He got up, took a shower, and left for work.
उ ऊठ्यो, नुहायो, र काममा गयो।
U uthyo, nuhayo, ra kaamma gayo.
🔹 She packed her bag, locked the door, and walked to the station.
उसले झोला प्याक गरिन्, ढोका बन्द गरिन्, र स्टेसनतिर हिंडिन्।
Usle jhola pack garin, dhoka band garin, ra station tira hidin.
🔹 I finished my homework, ate dinner, and watched a movie.
मैले गृहकार्य सकेँ, खाना खाएँ, र फिल्म हेरेँ।
Maile grihakarya saken, khana khaye, ra film heyrey.
- Habits or routines in the past:
To talk about things people regularly did in the past.
🔹 He walked to school every morning.
उ प्रत्येक बिहान स्कुल हिँडेर जान्थ्यो।
U pratyek bihana school hīḍera janthyo.
🔹 We visited our grandparents every summer.
हामी हरेक गर्मीयामा हाम्रा हजुरबुबा र हजुरआमालाई भेट्थ्यौं।
Hami harek garmi ma haamra hajurbuwa hajurama sanga bhetnathiyau.
🔹 I read a book before bed every night.
म प्रत्येक रात सुत्नु अघि किताब पढ्थेँ।
Ma pratek raat sutaune aghi kitab padhthe.
- The simple past tense is used to describe an action that happened once in the past and is now finished.
🔹 They graduated from college last year.
उनीहरूले गत वर्ष कलेजबाट स्नातक गरे।
🔹 She painted the wall blue.
उसले भित्तामा नीलो रंग लगाइन्।
🔹 They enjoyed the concert.
उनीहरूले कन्सर्टमा रमाइलो गरे ।
- Negative Sentences (Simple Past)
we use did not (didn’t) followed by the base verb form.
Structure :
Subject + did not/didn’t + verb (base form) + object
🔹 I did not understand the lesson.
मैले पाठ बुझिन।
Maile paṭh bujhina.
🔹 They did not watch the movie last night
उनीहरूले हिजो राति फिल्म हेरेन।.
Uniharule hijo rati film heren.
🔹 She did not answer me.
उसले मलाई उत्तर दिइन।
Usle malai uttar di’ina.
Structure
Did + Subject + Base Verb(V1) + Object?
Did you go to the park?
के तपाईं पार्क जानुभयो ?
Did (helping verb) + subject (you) + base verb (go) + object (to the park)
Did she call you yesterday?
के उनले तपाईंलाई हिजो फोन गरिन् ?
Did (helping verb) + subject (she) + base verb (call) + object (you yesterday)