Simple Past Tense

When to Use The Simple Past Tense

Referring to your own research or someone else’s

  • Olden (2017) recruited 17 participants for the study.
  • We transcribed and coded the interviews before analyzing the results.

Reporting the results of your research

  • All of the focus group participants agreed that the new version was an improvement.
  • We found a positive correlation between the variables, but it was not as strong as we hypothesized.

Describing historical events

  • James Joyce pioneered the modernist use of stream of consciousness.
  • Donald Trump’s election in 2016 contradicted the predictions of commentators.

Summarizing previous work

  • Many researchers have investigated the effects of poverty on health.
  • Studies have shown a link between cancer and red meat consumption.