How do we use the Past Simple Tense?

We use the past simple tense to talk about an action or a situation - an event - in the past. The event can be short or long.

Here are some short events with the past simple tense:

Here are some long events with the past simple tense:

Notice that it does not matter how long ago the event is: it can be a few minutes or seconds in the past, or millions of years in the past. Also it does not matter how long the event is. It can be a few milliseconds (car explosion) or millions of years (Jurassic period). We use the past simple tense when:

• the event is in the past
• the event is completely finished
• we say (or understand) the time and/or place of the event

Here are some more examples:

• I lived in that house when I was young.
• He didn't like the movie.
• What did you eat for dinner?
• John drove to London on Monday.
• Mary did not go to work yesterday.
• Did you play tennis last week?
• I was at work yesterday.
• We were not late (for the train).
• Were you angry?

Note that when we tell a story, we usually use the past simple tense. We may use the past continuous tense to "set the scene", but we almost always use the past simple tense for the action. Look at this example of the beginning of a story:

"The wind was howling around the hotel and the rain was pouring down. It was cold. The door opened and James Bond entered. He took off his coat, which was very wet, and ordered a drink at the bar. He sat down in the corner of the lounge and quietly drank his..."

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