We use the past simple to talk about actions and states which we see as completed in the past.
We can use it to talk about a specific point in time.
· She came back last Friday.
· I saw her in the street.
· They didn't agree to the deal.
It can also be used to talk about a period of time.
· She lived in Tokyo for seven years.
· They were in London from Monday to Thursday of last week.
· When I was living in New York, I went to all the art exhibitions I could.
You will often find the past simple used with time expressions such as these:
· Yesterday
· three weeks ago
· last year
· in 2002
· from March to June
· for a long time
· for 6 weeks
· in the 1980s
· in the last century
· in the past
