Simple Past

We  use  the Simple Past tense to  talk  about  actions  and  states  that

are completed and occurred in  a specific time in the past.

  

    We can use it to talk about a specific point in time in the past:

                She came back last Friday.

                 I saw her in the street yesterday.

   It can also be used to talk about a period of time in the past:

                 She lived in Tokyo for seven years.

                They were in London from Monday to Thursday of last week.

                When I was living in New York, I went to all the art exhibitions I could. 

Time expressions for Simple Past:      

  •  Yesterday

  • Three weeks ago

  • Last year, last Christmas

  •  In 2002, in 1979

  •  From March to June

  •  For a long time

  •  For 6 weeks

  •  In the 1980s

  •  In the last century

  •  In the past

We have to take into account two types of verbs: REGULAR and IRREGULAR.

 REGULAR - Rule                                                       IRREGULAR – List of verbs

You studied English                     AFFIRMATIVE          You went to the cinema.

You didn’t study English                NEGATIVE               You didn’t go to the cinema.

Did You study English?            INTERROGATIVE       Did You go to the cinema?

Yes, I did. / No, I didn’t.          SHORT ANSWERS        Yes, I did. / No, I didn’t.