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The simple past tense
| Affirmative | Negative | Question |
|---|---|---|
| I wrote. She wrote. You wrote. |
I did not write. She did not write. You did not write. | Did I write? Did she write? Did you write? |
Uses of the simple past tense
We use the simple past tense to talk about many kinds of past events: short, quickly finished actions, longer situations, and repeated events.
- I spent all my childhood in Canada.
- I visited my grandfather yesterday.
- John left 10 minutes ago.
The simple past is common in story-telling.
- Once upon a time there lived a rich man. One day, he met a beautiful princess and …
The simple past is often used with references to finished periods and time expressions.
- He died last year.
- I met her yesterday morning.
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