The major way of specifying that an action in a sentence occurred in the past is by leaving the relevant verb in the infinitive form. You can also use The Past Perfect Tense if you want to emphasize the completion of the action.
Here are some example Pidgin sentences in the past tense:
- E go one wedding yesterday. (She went to a wedding yesterday)
- Adamu tell me say e wan buy horse. (Adamu told me he wants to buy a horse)
Negation of the past tense
To negate a sentence in the past tense, place the adverb “no” before the infinitive form of the verb. Here is the negation of the examples presented above:
- E no go any wedding yesterday. (She didn’t to a wedding yesterday)
- Adamu no tell me say e wan buy horse. (Adamu didn’t tell me he wants to buy a horse)