Some adverbs and time expressions that can be used to indicate the past time frame with the Past Simple (Simple Past) tense are: yesterday, last night, last week, last month, last year, in 2005, two days ago, a week ago, an hour ago, previously, before, then.

These adverbs and time expressions are often used with the Past Simple tense to indicate that the action or event took place in the past and is now completed.

Examples:

I went to the movies yesterday.

She visited Paris last year.

We had dinner together an hour ago.

He worked at that company previously.

Negative Form:

Subject + Did not (didn’t) + Base Verb (infinitive without to)

Example: I didn’t study French.

She didn’t eat salad.

He didn’t walk to work.

Question Form:

Did + Subject + Base Verb (infinitive without to)?

Example: Did you study Spanish?

Did she eat breakfast?

Did he finish his project on time?

The Past Simple tense: affirmative, negative, and question forms (table 1)

	Affirmative Form	Negative Form	Question Form
I	Studied	didn’t study	Did I study?
You	Studied	didn’t study	Did you study?
He/She/It	Studied	didn’t study	Did he/she/it study?
We	Studied	didn’t study	Did we study?
They	Studied	didn’t study	Did they study?

The Past Indefinite (Simple Past) is used to describe a completed action that occurred at a specific time in the past.

Here are some common situations in which it is used:

To describe an action that started and ended in the past:

I finished my work yesterday.

He left for vacation last month.

They watched a movie last night.

To describe a series of completed actions in the past:

I woke up, brushed my teeth, and took a shower.

She cooked dinner, set the table, and called her friends.

He went to the gym, worked out, and showered.

To describe a past habitual or repeated action:

I used to eat breakfast at 7:00 a.m. every day.

She always watched the news in the morning.

He often visited his grandmother on weekends.

To describe a past state of being or condition:

I was happy yesterday.

She felt sick last week.

He was tired after work.

To narrate a story or describe a past event:

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess.

Last night, I saw a shooting star.

When I was young, I had a pet dog.

These are just a few examples of how the Past Indefinite (Simple Past) can be used.

It’s worth noting that there are other tenses, such as the Past Continuous and the Past Perfect, which can also be used to describe past actions and events in different ways.

The Past Simple with Adverbial Clauses:

Adverbial clauses of time are often used to indicate when an action or event happened in the past, and they can be used with the Past Simple (Simple Past) tense.

Adverbial clauses of time typically begin with a subordinating conjunction that indicates time, such as: when, after, before, as soon as, while, until

Some examples of adverbial clauses of time used with the Past Simple tense are:

I went to bed when the movie ended.

She left after she finished her work.

He arrived before the meeting started.

We left as soon as the rain stopped.

I stayed in that city until I finished my project.

The Past Simple for describing a sequence of events:

The Past Simple tense can be used to describe a sequence of actions or events that happened in the past.

When describing a sequence of events, it is common to use time expressions such as first, then, after that, finally, etc.

For example:

I woke up early in the morning. First, I took a shower and got dressed. Then, I had breakfast and read the newspaper. After that, I went to work and had a busy day. Finally, I came home and watched TV before going to bed.

In this example, the Past Simple tense is used to describe a series of events that happened in the past, and time expressions such as first, then, and finally are used to indicate the order in which they occurred.

The Past Simple tense forms in various situations (table 2).

Situation	Example
Completed actions in the past	I went to the store yesterday.
Past habits or routines	I always rode my bike to school when I was younger.
A series of completed actions in the past	She woke up, took a shower, got dressed, and left for work.
Past events or situations	The concert ended late last night.
Interruptions in the past	I was studying when my friend called.
Polite requests or suggestions in the past	Could you please help me with my bags?
Reported speech or indirect speech	She told me that she had already eaten dinner.