We use the past tense to talk about:- Something that happened once in the past
- Something that happened several times in the past
- Something that was true for some time in the past
- we often use expressions with ago with the past
Examples:
I met my wife in 1983. (it happened once)
We swam a lot while we were on holiday. (it happened several times)
I lived abroad for ten years. (it was true for some time in the past)
I met my wife a long time ago. (expression with ago)