Learn Past Simple easily with simple examples

The simple past, past simple or past indefinite, also it's called the preterite, is the basic form of the past tense in Modern English. It is used principally to describe events in the past, that is also to say it can be used to talk about actions and states which we see as completed in the past.

Past simple examples tp understand easily:

• We can use it to talk about a specific point in time.
• She came back last Friday.
• I saw her in the street.
• They didn't agree to the deal.

It can also be used to talk about a period of time.

• 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.

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