With these time expressions we are thinking about a definite or finished time in the past, so we wound normally use a past tense. Compare the following: When did Brenda phone? ~ Not long ago.

They proposed that tense expression deficiencies ... the challenges in describing time were selective. Some individuals had difficulty recalling the past, while others struggled with the future.

For example, the tense may change between the methods section and the discussion section. The abstract is usually in the past tense due to it showing what has already been studied. Example: “This ...