I think that what is behind this discussion is the difference between the imperfect tense of verbs and the perfect or some other preterite tense.

Most of the Indo-European languages I am familiar with have subtle differences in the various tenses which are used for an action which took place in some past time, whether a thousand years ago or five minutes ago. This is not well understood by English speakers who know no foreign languages, since English does not have, or use, as many past tenses.

The imperfect tense indicates a repeated or habitual action. Andava ogni settimana al ginnasio. He went [used to go] to the gym every week.
The perfect tense indicates an action which is completed, over and done with. Ich habe es ganz gegessen. I ate [have eaten] the whole thing.
There is also the pluperfect, which expresses a time prior to a past tense. I had not foreseen that result.
Different Indo-European languages have various tenses for use as a narrative past tense, or a distant past tense. These are not generally used in the spoken language.
The champion is classical Greek, which has not only the usual complement of past tenses, but also a special set called the aorist tenses, all past tenses, the subtle significance of which escapes me.