simple present

A: A lot of people (learn) English as a foreign language.
B: Yes, English (understand) all over the world.
A: In Switzerland four languages (speak) officially, but not English.

simple past or past perfect

A: My CD player (repair) yesterday. The man in the shop (repair) it while I waited.
B: They had some DVD players on special offer last week. I wanted to buy one yesterday, but they (already - sell) . Pity, the shop (reduce) the price by 30%.