SIMPLE PAST TENSE

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.

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.

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.

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.


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”.

Pattern:

Verbal

S + V2 (+)
S + did not + V1 (-)
Did + S + V2? (?)

Example
I ate a banana
I did not eat a banana
Did I eat a banana?

Nominal
S + was/were + adj/n/adv (+)
S + was/were + not + adj/n/adv (-)
Was/were + S + adj/n/adv? (?)

Example
He was late
He was not late
Was he late?

We were here
We were not here
Were we here?