Past Tense Simple


FORM Simple Past[VERB+ed]EXAMPLES:I visited my friends.I often visited my friends.NOTE: When you are using a verb tense with only one part such as Simple Past (visited), adverbs usually come before the verb (often visited). Please remember this is different from verbs with more than one part such as Present Continuous.


USE 1 Completed Action in the Past    
Use the Simple Past to express the idea that an action started and finished at a specific time in the past. Sometimes the speaker may not actually mention the specific time, but they do have one specific time in mind.EXAMPLES:I saw a movie yesterday.I didn't see a movie yesterday.Last year, I traveled to Japan.Last year, I didn't travel to Japan.She washed her car.She didn't wash her car.


USE 2 A Series of Completed Actions    
We use the Simple Past to list a series of completed actions in the past. These actions happen 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th...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.


USE 3 Single Duration    
The Simple Past can be used with a duration which starts and stops in the past. A duration is a long action often used with expressions like "for two years," "for five minutes," "all day" or "all year."EXAMPLES:I lived in Brazil for two years.Shauna studied Japanese for five years.They sat at the beach all day.We talked on the phone for thirty minutes.How long did you wait for them?We waited for one hour.


USE 4 Habit in the Past    
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 use expressions such as "always," "often," "usually," "never," "...when I was a child" or "...when I was younger" in the sentence.EXAMPLES:I studied French when I was a child.He p