Here are some key indicators that you should use the past tense:
1. Time expressions:
* Specific time: "Yesterday," "last week," "in 2023," "five minutes ago"
* Past time periods: "During the summer," "when I was a child," "in the 1980s"
2. Verbs that indicate past action:
* Regular verbs: "walked," "played," "cooked," "studied"
* Irregular verbs: "went," "saw," "ate," "did"
3. Context clues:
* Storytelling: If a story describes events that happened in the past, you use past tense.
* Historical accounts: Descriptions of historical events are always in the past tense.
* Personal experiences: When you are talking about something that happened to you, you usually use the past tense.
Examples:
* Present: "I go to the store every day."
* Past: "Yesterday, I went to the store."
* Present: "She likes to read."
* Past: "She liked to read when she was younger."
Important note: The past tense is not always about a specific point in time. Sometimes it is used to talk about something that is no longer true, or something that happened but is now finished.
Example:
* Present: "He lives in London."
* Past: "He lived in London, but he moved to Paris last year."
Let me know if you have any other questions!