Editing Simple past (section)

==Usage==
The simple past is used for a single event (or sequence of such events) in the past, and also for past habitual actions:<ref name=":0" />
::He '''took''' the money and '''ran'''.
::I '''visited''' them every day for a year.

It can also refer to a past state:
::I '''knew''' how to fight even as a child.
For actions that were ongoing at the time referred to, the [[past progressive]] is generally used instead (e.g. ''I was cooking'').<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |title=Longman grammar of spoken and written English |date=2012 |publisher=Longman |isbn=978-0-582-23725-4 |editor-last=Biber |editor-first=Douglas |edition=10. impression |location=Harlow |chapter=Chapter 6: Variations in the verb phrase: tense aspect, voice, and modal use. |editor-last2=Quirk |editor-first2=Randolph}}</ref> The same can apply to states, if temporary (e.g. ''the ball was lying on the sidewalk''), but some stative verbs do not generally use the progressive aspect at all, typically verbs of mental states (know, believe, need), of emotional states (love, dislike, prefer), of possession (have, own), of senses (hear) and some others (consist, exist, promise) – see {{slink|Uses of English verb forms|Progressive}} – and in these cases the simple past is used even for a temporary state:
::The dog '''was''' in its kennel.
::I '''felt''' cold.
However, with verbs of sensing, it is common in such circumstances to use ''could see'' in place of ''saw'', ''could hear'' in place of ''heard'', etc. For more on this, see ''[[can see]]''.<ref name=":4" />

If one action interrupts another, then it is usual for the interrupted (ongoing) action to be expressed with the past progressive, and the action that interrupted it to be in the simple past:<ref name=":4" />
::Your mother '''called''' while you ''were cooking''.

The simple past is often close in meaning to the [[present perfect]]. The simple past is used when the event happened at a particular time in the past, or during a period which ended in the past (i.e. a period that does not last up until the present time). This time frame may be explicitly stated, or implicit in the context (for example the past tense is often used when describing a sequence of past events).<ref name=":4" />
::I '''was''' born in 1980.
::We '''turned''' the oven off two minutes ago.
::I '''came''' home at 6 o'clock.
::When '''did''' they '''get''' married?
::We '''wrote''' two letters this morning.
::She '''placed''' the letter on the table, '''sighed''', and '''left''' the house.

These examples can be contrasted with those given at {{slink|Uses of English verb forms|Present perfect}}. Also, for past actions that occurred ''before'' the relevant past time frame, the [[past perfect]] is used.

Various compound constructions exist for denoting past [[habitual aspect|habitual]] action. The sentence ''When I was young, I played football every Saturday'' might alternatively be phrased using ''[[used to]]'' (''... I used to play ...'') or using ''[[English modal verbs#will|would]]'' (''... I would play...'').

The simple past form also has some uses in which it does not refer to a past time. These are generally in [[condition clause]]s and some other [[dependent clause]]s referring to hypothetical circumstances, as well as certain expressions of wish:
:: If he '''walked''' faster, he would get home earlier. 
:: I wish I '''knew''' what his name '''was'''.
:: I would rather she '''wore''' a longer dress.
For more details see the sections on [[Uses of English verb forms#Conditional sentences|conditionals]], [[Uses of English verb forms#Dependent clauses|dependent clauses]] and [[Uses of English verb forms#Expressions of wish|expressions of wish]] in the article on uses of English verb forms.

For use of the simple past (and other past tense forms) in indirect speech, see {{slink|Uses of English verb forms|Indirect speech}}. An example:
::He '''said''' he '''wanted''' to go on the slide.