preterite tense

English

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preterite tense

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See preterite.

noun preterite tenses

A verb tense indicating action in the past and marked by verb inflection; the preterite. The relation between tense and time in English, however, is by no means straightforward, as we saw in Ch. 1, §3, and it is important to be aware that preterite tense does not always signal past time.

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"preterite tense." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/preterite%20tense. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

preterite tense. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/preterite%20tense

Chicago

"preterite tense." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/preterite%20tense.

BibTeX

@misc{preterite_tense_2026,
  title = {preterite tense},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/preterite%20tense},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}