Powerful Past Tense Checker Online

Basic Information About Past Tense in Writing

Past tense is one of the three basic verb tenses (past, present, future) and is used to describe a past action or a past state of being. There are four types of past tense that can be identified using a past tense checker:

  • Simple Past tense. The main function of simple past tense is to indicate that an action was started and completed in the past. It has no relevance at all to the present time. Example: “My football team had a game last week.
  • Past Continuous tense. The past continuous tense is used to describe an action that started in the past and continues through the time frame of the sentence. It is made up of past tense of ‘to be’ followed by a verb ending in “-ing”. Example: “Lisa was playing basketball with her friends yesterday.”
  • Past Perfect tense. This form of the past tense is used to describe an action that happened in the past before another action that occurred in the past.  Example: “When I reached the museum the tour had started.”
  • Past Perfect Continuous tense. The past perfect continuous text is used when discussing an action that started in the past and continued until another time in the past. Example: “The children had been playing for 30 minutes when it started to rain.”

Guidelines for Past Tenses Revision

Each type of past tense has certain situations it is appropriate to use it in as well as some rules governing its use. The following are some basic guidelines for using past tense in sentences:

  • Simple past tense may be used to describe imaginary present or future events that may not occur. Example: “If I had longer vacations I would travel more.”
  • Simple past tense can also be used to describe habits in the past. Example: “When I was young, I played video games every day after class.”
  • Simple past tense can be used to describe a series of events in the past. Example: “I finished work, walked to the store and bought some milk.”
  • Past continuous tense can be used to describe persistent habits in the past. Example: “He was always eating pizza.”
  • Past continuous tense is often used for two actions that are taking place in parallel or to indicate an action that was interrupted by another action. Example: “While you were washing the dishes, I was cutting the grass.”
  • To describe an action that happened before a specific time in the past, use the past perfect tense. Example: “David had never been to a live concert before last night.”
  • Past perfect can be combined with simple past to describe a cause and effect. Example: “They were hungry because they had not eaten in 12 hours.”

Poor Past Tense Use Highlighted by Our Past Tense Finder

So you know the type of past tense and some basic guidelines for using it in sentences. The next step is learning how to spot the improper use of past tense in your text. The following are some common past tense-related mistakes:

errors to detect with past tense finder
  • Using past continuous to describe habits that aren’t persistent. Example: “I was playing video games every day when I was young.” Instead use simple past tense. Corrected: “I played video games every day when I was young.”
  • Using the past simple tense to refer to time up until the present. Example: “I didn’t pay my gas bill yet.” In this instance, you should use the present perfect tense. Corrected: “I haven’t paid my gas bill yet.”
  • Using the past perfect tense in the main clause of a conditional sentence. Example: “If we had known you were coming we had waited.”  Past perfect is only used in the conditional clause. Corrected: “If we had known you were coming, we would have waited.”
  • Using the past continuous to refer to repeated main events. Example: “He was hiking to the mountain top every day.” Use the past simple tense in this case. Corrected: “He hiked to the mountain top every day.”
  • Emphasizing completed actions at a specific time in the past using past continuous. Example: “I was calling Dave’s office at noon yesterday.” Instead, you should use the past simple tense. Corrected: “I called Dave’s office at noon yesterday.”

It isn’t always easy to spot mistakes in the use of past tense, and fixing problems can be even more difficult. If you were wondering is there an app for checking past tense misuse, you are in luck. We have a website that checks for past tense verbs and if they are used correctly. Our past tense English app not only checks for mistakes related to past tense; it also provides recommendations on how to fix this type of error. Whether you are in need of a past continuous tense checker or are looking for other types of past tense use, our past tense finder is up to the task. It can also fix any type of past tense error including those mentioned above. The converter present tense to past tense software suggests corrections so that you can change your text to the appropriate tense.

How Our Past Tense Corrector Fixes Tense-Related Mistakes

Our verb tense consistency checker uses AI and algorithms to detect past tense errors and makes recommendations on how they can be corrected. This free app for past tense verbs analyzes your entire text to detect mistakes and ensure tense consistency. Should it find inconsistent tense use, the make a paragraph past tense corrector issues a report informing you of the errors and how to fix them.  If you aren’t sure how to fix the present tense and past tense in a sentence our past tense converter software provides all the information you need to do so.

Advantages of Using Our Past Tense Analyzer

Using our online editor to change present tense to past tense is just one of the advantages to using this online writing tool. Other advantages and benefits include:

pros of using past tense checker
  • Detects and corrects any type of tense related problem. Our tool is a past, future and present tense checker and no type of verb tense error is overlooked.
  • Detects and fixes other types of grammatical errors. The past tense fixer detects and corrects many types of grammatical errors including punctuation mistakes, pronoun-related errors, run on sentences and sentence fragments. It also examines word usage and the tone used in your text as well as identifying whether you are using active or passive voice. It isn’t just a past tense editor; it is an editor for multiple types of grammar issues.
  • Can be used for any type of text. Our writing tool works equally well on academic papers, essays, emails, letters, blog posts, memos or any other type of  text you may have to edit
  • Saves time. The tense fixer will analyze your text and provide you with a report including suggested corrections in one minute or less depending on the length of your text.
  • Is budget-friendly. Our tense corrector is free so fits any budget

How to Use Our Past Tense Fixer

The procedure for a past tenses revision using our tool is quite simple. Follow these steps to complete a past tense analysis:

  • Enter your text. Copy and paste your text into the provided field. You may also type directly into the field
  • Start text analysis. Click the button to begin the analyzing process
  • Receive your analysis. You will be provided a report identifying past tense mistakes and other errors in your text. The report includes recommended corrections
  • Complete the suggested corrections and adjustments to your text.

Start using our past tense checker to examine all of your writing for past tense errors and other mistakes and see how much faster and more efficient the editing process is.

Disclaimer