Unit 3. Past Simple

William Shakespeare was an English poet, playwright and an actor. He was born and grew up in Stratford-upon-Avon. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children. Between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor and a writer. Shakespeare produced most of his known work between 1589 and 1613. He died in 1616.

Was / grew up / married / had / began / produced are all past simple.

(+) I/ we/ you / they / he / she/ it drove/went / worked (?) Did I/ we/ you / they / he / she / it drive/go / work? (-) I/ we/ you / they / He / she / it didn’t drive/go / work

We use Past Simple

1 to express the idea that an action started and finished at a specific time in the past. Sometimes, the speaker may not actually mention the specific time, but they do have one specific time in mind.

Examples:

· I saw a movie yesterday.

· I didn't see a play yesterday.

· Last year, I traveled to Japan.

2 to list a series of completed actions in the past. These actions happen 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and so on.

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.

· Did you add flour, pour in the milk, and then add the eggs?

3 to describe a duration which starts and stops in the past. A duration is a longer action often indicated by expressions such as: for two years, for five minutes, all day, all year, etc.

Examples:

· I lived in Brazil for two years.

· Shauna studied Japanese for five years.

· They sat at the beach all day.

4 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 add expressions such as: always, often, usually, never, when I was a child, when I was younger, etc.

Examples:

· I studied French when I was a child.

· He played the violin.

· He didn't play the piano.

· Did you play a musical instrument when you were a kid?

· She worked at the movie theater after school.

• I used to go to the beach every day.
• I would go to the beach every day.
• I am used to going to the beach every day.

used to do = would (past habit)

Be used to doing (present habit)