English Grammar - Verbs - Simple Past

FORM Simple Past[VERB+ed]Examples:I visited my friends.I often visited my friends.
USE 1 Completed Action or Completed Condition in the Past
Use the Simple Past to express the idea that an action started and finished at a specific time in the past. Examples:The weather was rainy last week.Last year, I traveled to Japan.He didn't like the movie. We visted the museum yesterday.
USE 2 A Series of Completed Actions
We use the Simple Past to list a series of completed actions in the past. These actions happen 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th...Examples:I finished work, walked to the beach, and found a nice place to swim.He arrived from the airport at 8:00, checked into the hotel at 9:00, and met the others at 10:00.
USE 3 Single Duration
The Simple Past can be used with a duration which starts and stops in the past. A duration is a long action often used with expressions like "for two years," "for five minutes," "all day" or "all year."Examples:I lived in Brazil for two years.Shauna studied Japanese for five years.They sat at the beach all day.We talked on the phone for thirty minutes.How long did you wait for them?We waited for one hour.
USE 4 Habit in the Past
The Simple Past can also be used to describe a habit which stopped in the past. It can have the same meaning as "used to". To make it clear that we are talking about a habit we often use expressions such as "always," "often," "usually," "never," "...when I was a child" or "...when I was younger" in the sentence.Examples:I studied French when I was a child.He played the violin.She worked at the movie theater after school.They never went to school, they always skipped.