Learners are more likely to mark past tense on some verbs (action verbs) than on others (state verbs). For example, learners seem to mark past tense more easily in the sentences “I broke the vase” and “He fixed the car.” than in the sentences “She seemed happy last week” or “My father belonged to a club”.
Learners seem to find it easier to mark past tense when referring to completed events than when referring to states and activities which may last for extended periods without a clear end-point. e.g. He stays there for a week. I want to know how he learns English.