Simple Past Tense (SPT)

The simple past tense is sometimes called the preterite tense. 

We can use several tenses to talk about the past, but the simple past tense is the 

one we use most often.

How do we use the Simple Past Tense?

We use the simple past tense to talk about an action or a situation - an event - in the past. The event can be short or long.

Here are some short events with the simple past tense:

The car exploded at 9.30am yesterday. She went to the door. We did not hear the telephone. Did you see that car?
past	present	future
The action is in the past.

Here are some long events with the simple past tense:

I lived in Bangkok for 10 years. The Jurassic period lasted about 62 million years. We did not sing at the concert. Did you watch TV last night?
past	present	future
The action is in the past.

Notice that it does not matter how long ago the event is: it can be a few minutes or seconds in the past, or millions of years in the past. Also it does not matter how long the event is. It can be a few milliseconds (car explosion) or millions of years (Jurassic period). We use the simple past tense when:

• the event is in the past
• the event is completely finished
• we say (or understand) the time and/or place of the event

"The wind was howling around the hotel and the rain was pouring down. It was cold. The door opened and James Bond entered. He took off his coat, which was very wet, andordered a drink at the bar. He sat down in the corner of the lounge and quietly drank his..."

credit to : http://www.englishclub.com

______notes.

Did not (no past tense)

e.g did not come. 

It can’t be did not came.

only was or were we use past tense (came)

I, he/she/it : was

You, we, they : were