So, what’s the difference between the past tense and the past participle?

Basically, the past tense is a tense while the past participle is a specific verb form used in the past and present perfect tenses.

The past participle is not a tense. It’s a form of a verb and can’t be used on its own. You need an auxiliary verb, such as “have” or “had.” Because of this, the past participle is commonly used as a compound verb.

Let’s take a look at two words in the past tense and then the past participle.

Past tense:

I lived in the United States for seven years.
I listened to this song five times.
We talked about this book.
I ate breakfast at 10 o’clock yesterday.
Past participle:

I had lived in the United States for seven years.
I have listened to this song five times.
The book has been talked about.
I had eaten breakfast by 10 o’clock yesterday.