PAST SIMPLE

Past Simple is a verb tense (the second principal part of a verb) indicating action that occured in the past and which does not extend into the present.

Subject + Verb2 + Object

1. Action in the Past

    Example :

    a. I saw a movie yesterday.

    b. Last year, I travelled to Korea.

    c. I visited Berlin last week.

    d. Andrew watched TV yesterday.

    e. My friends went to Paris a week ago.

2. Stories, list of events
    Example :

    a. He went to a cafe, sat down and ate a cake.

    b. Yesterday I went to the library, met a friend for lunch, and played tennis.

    c. The postman came in, gave me the documents and left.

    d. First I got up, then I had breakfast.

    e. He entered a room, ate a cake and smiled at the guest.

3. Duration in the past

    Example :

    a.  I live in Brazil for two years.

    b. She came to Germany two years ago.

    c. It rained every day for a week on my vacation.

    d. They didn't stay at the party the entire time.

    e. We talked on the phone for thirty minutes.

4. Habits in the past

    Example :

    a.  I studied French whenI was a child.

    b. He played the violin when I was a child.

    c. Did you play a musical instrument when you were a kid?

    d. She worked at the movie theater after school.

    e. She never went to school, they always skipped class.

5. Facts or Generatizations in the Past

    Example :

    a.  He didn't like tomatoes before.

    b. She was shy a child, but now she is very outgoing.

    c. People paid much more to make cell phone calls in the past.

    d. I've been on holiday. I went to Spain and Portugal.

    e. We moved to a new house.

6. Part of the conditional II

    Example :

    a. If I won the lottery, I would buy a new house.

    b. I would help you if I had time!

    c. If I were the teacher I would give lots of homework everyday!

    d. What would you buy if you won a lot of money?

    e. If I found her address, I would send her an invitation.

7. When? Clauses

    Example :

    a. When I paid her one dollar, she answered my question.

    b. He was working for an internet start-up when I was still attending classes in college.

    c. Kate was skating when she fell and broke her leg.

    d. We were picking up mushrooms when a fox ran in front of us.

    e. The fans were getting impatient when their favorite star came on stay.

Source : Aplication 12 Tenses, English Grammar