The past simple is used to talk about actions and states which we see as completed in the past.
We use it to talk about a specific point in time.
I saw her in the street yesterday - He came back last Thursday. - We didn't agree to the deal.
We can also use it to talk about a period of time.
We lived in Japan for five years. - She was in London from Monday to Thursday last week. - When he was living in New York, he went to all the bars and clubs he could.
You will often find the past simple used with time expressions such as these:
Yesterday - three weeks ago - last year - in 2002 - from March to June - for a long time - for 6 weeks - in the 1980s - in the last century - in the past
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*ALSO,READ AND SEE IF YOU UNDERSTAND THIS JOKE:
The lawyer joke.
Note: Lawyers are very unpopular in the USA and there are many jokes about them.
A teacher, a politician , and a lawyer all died and went to heaven. St. Peter was in a bad mood because there were too many people in heaven and he wanted to make it more difficult to enter. When they got to the gate, St. Peter told them that they had to pass a test before they could to get into Heaven: they all had to answer one question. St Peter turned to the teacher and said, "What was the name of the ship that hit the iceberg and sank with all its passengers?" The teacher thought for a moment and then replied:" I think it was the Titanic".St. Peter let him through the gate. He didn't like politicians so he decided to ask a more difficult question,St. Peter turned to the politician, and asked"How many people died on the ship?" The politician was very lucky because he had read a book about the Titanic.He said "1228" This is correct so St. Peter let him through the gate. St. Peter turned to the Lawyer and asked "What were their names?"
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ADAPTED FROM : http://esl.about.com/od/beginningenglish/ig/Basic-English/Past-Simple.htm
All subjects take the same conjugation of the verb.
-Regular verbs end in '-ed'. visit - visited / enjoy - enjoyed
-Irregular verbs have various forms and each verb needs to be learned. see - saw / think - thought
The past simple is used to express a finished past action which occurs at a specific moment in the past.
Examples
-She visited Iran last month.
-They didn't go to Tom's party last weekend.
-Where did you go on vacation last summer?
Positive Form
Subject + past form of verb + object(s) + time
Examples
They flew to Chicago last month.
Peter completed his course three weeks ago.
Negative Form
Subject + did + not + INFINITIVE+ object(s) + (time)
Examples
They didn't expect to see you at Christmas.
She didn't understand the question.
Question Form
(Wh?) + did + subject + INFINITIVE+ (object(s))+ (time)?
Examples
Where did you study French?
When did you arrive last week?
Test your understanding with this short quiz.http://esl.about.com/library/beginner/bl_bgspast.htm
