Slide past tense
Meaning of slide
to move smoothly along a surface while maintaining continuous contact with it.
Infinitive
- 1. Water slides effortlessly over the smooth surface.
- 2. He slides the key into the lock quietly.
- 3. The teacher slides the chalk across the board as she explains the lesson.
Past Simple
- 1. The kids slid down the slippery slope with joyous screams.
- 2. He slid the letter into the envelope carefully, sealing it with a deep breath.
- 3. We slid across the icy road, barely maintaining control of the car.
Past Participle
- 1. The presentation has been slid onto the screen by the technician quickly and efficiently.
- 2. Her notes had been slid under the door by morning, leaving no trace of who delivered them.
- 3. By the time we arrived, the messages were already slid into the mailbox.
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Bare infinitive
- Use case. General truths or factsExample. Water slides smoothly over polished glass.Example. She slides into her office unnoticed every morning.Example. The presentation slides appear on the screen at 10 AM sharp tomorrow.Example. He always slides into a comfortable mood listening to jazz.
- Use case. Habitual actions or routinesExample. Water slides smoothly over polished glass.Example. She slides into her office unnoticed every morning.Example. The presentation slides appear on the screen at 10 AM sharp tomorrow.Example. He always slides into a comfortable mood listening to jazz.
- Use case. Fixed arrangements, timetables, or programs (usually future)Example. Water slides smoothly over polished glass.Example. She slides into her office unnoticed every morning.Example. The presentation slides appear on the screen at 10 AM sharp tomorrow.Example. He always slides into a comfortable mood listening to jazz.
- Use case. Expressing feelings, senses, thoughts, possession, etc.Example. Water slides smoothly over polished glass.Example. She slides into her office unnoticed every morning.Example. The presentation slides appear on the screen at 10 AM sharp tomorrow.Example. He always slides into a comfortable mood listening to jazz.
Past Simple
- Use case. Completed actions in the pastExample. The child slid down the slide yesterday.Example. When we were young, we often slid across the frozen pond in winter.Example. Last year, they slid into financial difficulties.Example. He slid the door shut, locked it, and walked away.
- Use case. Past habits or routinesExample. The child slid down the slide yesterday.Example. When we were young, we often slid across the frozen pond in winter.Example. Last year, they slid into financial difficulties.Example. He slid the door shut, locked it, and walked away.
- Use case. Past statesExample. The child slid down the slide yesterday.Example. When we were young, we often slid across the frozen pond in winter.Example. Last year, they slid into financial difficulties.Example. He slid the door shut, locked it, and walked away.
- Use case. A series of completed actions in the pastExample. The child slid down the slide yesterday.Example. When we were young, we often slid across the frozen pond in winter.Example. Last year, they slid into financial difficulties.Example. He slid the door shut, locked it, and walked away.
Past Participle
- Use case. Perfect tenses (Present Perfect, Past Perfect, Future Perfect)Example. The documents were slid under the door while no one was watching.Example. Frightened and slid down, the child needed comforting.Example. If she had slid the message under the door, he would have found it.
- Example (Present Perfect). He has already slid the note under my door.Example. The documents were slid under the door while no one was watching.Example. Frightened and slid down, the child needed comforting.Example. If she had slid the message under the door, he would have found it.
- Example (Past Perfect). By the time they arrived, the thief had slid away unnoticed.Example. The documents were slid under the door while no one was watching.Example. Frightened and slid down, the child needed comforting.Example. If she had slid the message under the door, he would have found it.
- Example (Future Perfect). By next year, they will have slid into a more comfortable lifestyle.Example. The documents were slid under the door while no one was watching.Example. Frightened and slid down, the child needed comforting.Example. If she had slid the message under the door, he would have found it.
- Use case. Passive voice constructionsExample. The documents were slid under the door while no one was watching.Example. Frightened and slid down, the child needed comforting.Example. If she had slid the message under the door, he would have found it.
- Use case. Adjective forms or describing conditions/statesExample. The documents were slid under the door while no one was watching.Example. Frightened and slid down, the child needed comforting.Example. If she had slid the message under the door, he would have found it.
- Use case. Conditional structuresExample. The documents were slid under the door while no one was watching.Example. Frightened and slid down, the child needed comforting.Example. If she had slid the message under the door, he would have found it.
Common mistakes
— 01
Incorrect Verb Forms
One of the most common mistakes is using the wrong form of the verb for either the past simple or past participle. For many verbs, the past simple and past participle forms are different, and confusing them can lead to grammatical errors. For example, the verb 'write' has the past simple form 'wrote' and the past participle form 'written'. Mistaking these can result in incorrect sentences like 'I have wrote a letter' instead of 'I have written a letter'.
— 02
Regular Verbs Mistaken for Irregular
Another frequent mistake involves treating irregular verbs as if they were regular. Regular verbs form their past simple and past participle by adding -ed to the base form, but irregular verbs do not follow this pattern. For instance, some learners might incorrectly apply this rule to an irregular verb and say 'I teached' instead of 'I taught' for the past simple form of 'teach', or 'I have teached' instead of 'I have taught' for the past participle form.
— 03
Omitting Helping Verbs
When forming perfect tenses, the past participle must be used with a helping verb (have/has/had), but learners sometimes forget to include the helping verb. This leads to sentences like 'I finished my homework' when attempting to express a perfect tense, such as 'I have finished my homework'. The omission changes the tense and can alter the intended meaning of the sentence.
Past tense quiz
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