Adverbs of Simple Past Indefinite Tense

Following are the adverbs that can be used with Past Indefinite Tense, because they denoted the actions of the past, that happened just now, or habitual past actions.

• Yesterday
• Ago
• Last Night/Last Week/Last Month/Last Year
• Never/None
• Always
• Seldom
• Often
• Frequently
• Occasionally
• Once/Twice/Thrice

“Yesterday” as an Adverb in Past Indefinite Tense:

“Yesterday” is used as an adverb in Past Indefinite Tense to describe the actions that happened just a day ago. For example:

• His father came to my house yesterday.
• It did not rain heavily yesterday afternoon.
• Did he message me early yesterday morning?
• Yesterday’s game was canceled because of the thunder.
• Did your father come to your house yesterday?

“Ago” as an Adverb in Past Indefinite Tense:

“Ago” is used as an adverb in Past Indefinite Tense when the purpose is to highlight such action of the past that is completed up to a specific period and goes from a point in the past up to now. For example:

• He received her letter a week ago.
• His daughter died two years ago.
• He took his medicines a few minutes ago.
• Did she write a letter to her mother a few days ago?
• How long ago did your sell your old car?

“Last Night/Last Week/Last Month/Last Year” as an Adverb in Past Indefinite Tense:

“Last” is used as an adverb in Past Indefinite Tense to describe an action that happened just before some period, i.e; night, day, noon, year, century, month, etc. For example:

• They went on the Murree trip last year.
• We met her in this market last month.
• David did not go to church last week.
• How did you sleep last night?
• Last year the company paid a tax of $300 million.

“Never/None” as an Adverb in Past Indefinite Tense:

“Never” and “None” are also used in Negative Sentences of Past Indefinite Tense when the purpose is to tell that “not at all”. The Negative Sentences that have “Never” or “None” have the following subject, verb, and object agreement.

Subject+ never/none+ 2nd form of Verb+ Object+ Remaining

• They never invited us to dinner.
• None tried to rescue the drowning man.
• She never told a lie.
• We pushed them none too gently back against the wall.
• I called all of my friends, but none came.

“Always” as an Adverb in Past Indefinite Tense:

“Always” is used as an adverb in Past Indefinite Tense to indicate habitual actions of the past period with the meaning of “constantly”. For example:

• You were always welcome to stay with us. (Passive Voice)
• I always tried my best to help my friends.
• They always did have a high opinion of themselves.
• He always favored David.
• We always preferred coffee to tea.

“Seldom” as an Adverb in Past Indefinite Tense:

“Seldom” is used as an adverb in Past Indefinite Tense with the m meaning of “rarely”. It means that when the purpose is to represent an action that is practiced in a past period infrequently. For example:

• He seldom stepped out of her home.
• They seldom participated in stage dramas.
• He seldom shouted on the mishave of others.
• Seldom, do he and his brother come to late-night parties?
• They seldom watched telefilms those days.

“Often” as an Adverb in Past Indefinite Tense:

“Often” is used in Past Indefinite Tense for such actions that had been practiced many times on different occasions in the past period. For example:

• They often made wrong assumptions.
• I often read mysterious stories.
• Did tom often like to swim in that pond?
• We did not often like his boring stories.
• She often bought jewelry for herself from that shop.

“Frequently” as an Adverb in Past Indefinite Tense:

“Frequently” is used as an adverb in Past Indefinite Tense with the meaning of “often, many times”. It means “often” in Past Indefinite Tense Sentences for such actions that had been practiced in frequency during the last time. For example:

• I frequently changed my jobs.
• He frequently used emotional gestures to express his emotions.
• He frequently visited her Aunt’s house to inquire about her health.
• They frequently performed in groups.
• We frequently arranged concerts to help needy people.

“Occasionally” as an Adverb in Past Indefinite Tense:

The actions of the Past Indefinite tense that had been practiced sometimes in the Past period, use “Occasionally” as an adverb. For example:

• We occasionally met him in his Uncle’s house.
• They occasionally skipped school.
• Occasionally, she climbed and shook the trees.
• I glanced at them occasionally with a slight smile.
• Occasionally this idea crossed her mind and she started to work hard for it.

“Once/Twice/Thrice” as an Adverb in Past Indefinite Tense:

The actions of the Past Indefinite Tense that have their repetition up to thrice can be expressed with “once/twice/thrice”, according to their frequency during the past period. For example:

• They met me once.
• We thought about this idea twice, before acting on it.
• They did not practice this rule more than twice.
• Did we see this movie, once?
• He warned him, thrice.