Definition: The Past Tense is used to describe action or events that have already taken place; it uses the past participle form of a verb, such as "ran," "jumped," "swam," etc. Definition: The use of the present tense creates new meaning and context for words that were previously used in the past. When a word is used with the present tense, it indicates its current usage rather than its former usage. It emphasizes the time that has passed since an event took place, so it can be used to express actions that are ongoing or have been completed. For example, when someone says "He runs," "ran" is the past tense of the verb "run."