Simple Past

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 played soccer last Saturday.
• I didn’t meet my friends last weekend.
• Last year, I didn’t visit my relatives in Australia.
• Did you have dinner last night?
• I cleaned my room yesterday.

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, and so on.

Examples:

• I left work, met my friends, and ate at a nice restaurant.
• He arrived from the airport at 9:00, checked into the hotel at 10:00, and met the others at 11:00.
• Did you add flour, pour in the milk, and then add the eggs?

USE 3: Duration in Past

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 Australia for two years.
• Sandra studied Japanese for three years.
• They did not dance at the party all night.
• We talked on the phone for thirty minutes.
• A: How long did you wait for her?
  B: I waited for thirty minutes.

USE 4: Habits 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 add expressions such as: always, often, usually, never, when I was a child, when I was younger, etc.

Examples:

• I learned the piano when I was a child.
• He didn’t play soccer.
• Did you play a musical instrument when you were a kid?
• She worked at a restaurant after school.
• They never went to parties, they always stayed home.

USE 5: Past Facts or Generalizations

The Simple Past can also be used to describe past facts or generalizations which are no longer true. As in USE 4 above, this use of the Simple Past is quite similar to the expression “used to.”

Examples:

• I didn’t like vegetables before.
• She was shy as a child, but now she is very outgoing.
• Did you live in Madrid when you were a child?
• People paid much more to use the Internet in the past.