Past Simple

FORM


Positive: Subject + verb 2 (past form of the verb)
Negative: Subject + did not + verb 1 (present form)
Question: Did + subject + verb 1 ?


USAGE


Past simple is used to show/talk about:

A) an action that happened at a specified time in the past; for examples,

 •  She went shopping yesterday.
 •  They finished high school last year.
 •  We founded the Association in 1999.

B) a completed action in the past, i.e. action that happened and finished in the past; for examples,


 •  Mark lived in London from 1990 to 1993.
 •  She worked for Cambrew for two years. (= completed in the past.)
 •  I studied there when I was in primary school.

C) a series of past actions, i.e. action happened and finished one after another in the past; for examples,


 •  He entered a room, lit a cigarette, and smiled at the guests.
 •  They went into the house and arrested the man.
 •  He went to the park, and then he met Seiha.


D) regular event or past habits; for examples,

 •  Everyday I went to the park.
 •  She got up at 5 everyday.


'Used to' and 'would' are also used to talk about regular or past habits. 

USED TO


'Used to' is used to talk about something we did in the past, but we no longer do it now; for examples,
 •  He used to smoke. (= Now he stops smoking.)
 •  They used to work for HSBC Bank.(= They no longer work there.)
 •  They didn’t use to work there.
 •  Did they use to work there?

WOULD
'Would' is used to talk about repeated actions in the past, usually with adverbs of​ frequency; for examples,
 •  Before I got this job, I would go out a lot.
 •  Every week he’d buy his mother a bunch of flowers.