Simple past

Simple past tense is a kind of tense which is used to describe an event or action that happened already in a certain time in the past.The pattern:
- Using be
(+) S+ was/were + complement
(-) S + was/were not + complement
(?) was/were + S + complement?

- Using verbs
(+) S + verb II +complement
(-) S + did not +verb I + complement
(?) did + S + verb I?

Examples:
- Using be
(+) I was a student.
(-) I was not a student.
(?) Was I a student?

- Using verbs
(+) I went to Toba Lake yesterday.
(-) I did not go to Toba Lake yesterday.
(?) Did I go yesterday?

Adverbs used:
- Yesterday
- Last night
- Last week
- Two days ago
- A few minutes ago
- Last weekend
- Last month
- Last year
- Etc
The functions of the simple past:
1. To express that an action started and finished at a specific time in the past.
2. To describe a habit which stopped in the past. 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 a younger, etc.
3. To describe past facts or generalizations which are no longer true.