THE PAST TENSE

Use the Simple Past to express the idea that an action started and finished at a specific time in the past.

Examples:

·      I saw a movie a few days ago.

·      I didn't see a play yesterday.

·      Last year, I travelled to Japan.

·      Did you have dinner last night?

 We use the Simple Past to list a series of completed actions in the past. These actions happen 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and so on.

Examples:

·      I finished work, walked to the beach, and found a nice place to swim.

·      He arrived from  the airport at 8:00, checked into the hotel at 9:00, and met the others at 10:00.

The Simple Past can be used with a duration which starts and stops in the past. A duration is a longer action often indicated by expressions such as: for two years, for five minutes, all day, all year, etc.

Examples:

·      I lived in Brazil for two years.

·      They sat at the beach all day.

·       How long did you wait for them?  We waited for one hour.

The Simple Past can also be used to describe a habit which stopped in the past. It can have the same meaning as "used to." To make it clear that we are talking about a habit, we often add expressions such as often, sometimes, never, when I was a child, when I was younger, etc.

Examples:

·      I studied French when I was a child.

·      She was shy as a child.

·      He used to play the violin.

·      Did you use to play a musical instrument when you were a kid?

·      She often worked at the movie theatre after school.

·      They never went to school, they always skipped class.

The Simple Past can be used together with the past continuous, the past tense interrupted an action which was in progress in the past.

Examples:

·         They were playing cards when the phone rang.

·         While Sheila was reading outside, it started to rain.