past tense

In GRAMMAR, a TENSE form which refers to a time of action prior to the moment of utterance. Languages make different distinctions within this period, such as whether the reference is recent or distant, or whether the action is completed or not. French, for example, recognizes IMPERFECT, PAST HISTORIC, PERFECT, pluperfect, and PAST ANTERIOR tenses, as well as FUTURE and CONDITIONAL perfect forms. A range of past tenses is also traditionally recognized in English grammar, following the influence of Latin descriptive MODELS, though only a single past-tense form is represented INFLECTIONALLY (I walked), often called the simple past or PRETERITE; other past time reference uses AUXILIARY verbs (I have walked) and past time ADVERBIALS (yesterday, last year).