English grammar

Past simple ________________________________

Contents:

Past simple exercises page

▪ Verb to be (was, were) 2

▪ Regular and irregular verbs 4
▪ Questions 7
▪ Negative forms 9
▪ Answer keys 11

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Past simple: was, were
Exercise 1. Complete the answers. ___________________________

A: Were you hungry?

B: Yes, I ........................ a little bit hungry.

A: Was your sister at school?

B: No, she ........................ at school.

A: Were your parents at work?

B: Yes, my mum ........................ at work. But my dad ........................ at work. He was ill.

A: Was Peter your friend? And Bill?

B: Peter and Bill ...................... my best friends.

A: I think the first story was quite interesting and the second story was great. 2
B: Really? No, the stories ....................... very interesting.

A: Was I often ill when I was a child?

B: Not really. You .................... much healthier than your brother.

A: Were Susan and Marion good at sport?

B: Well, Susan ............. quite good at athletics, but Marion ......................... good at any sport.

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Exercise 2. Complete the interview. __________________________

A: When .................... you eighteen years old?

B: I .................. eighteen years old in 2016.

A: And when ......................... you born?

B: I ...................... born on 30 June.

A: .................. your birthday party on the same day?

B: No, it ...................... . It ..................... a week later.

A: Why ..................... your birthday party on the same day?

B: I have a twin brother and he .................... at home. He ............... in France.

A: ............... you and your brother born at the same time?

B: No, we ....................... . I ...................... born one hour after him.

A: ................... your parents happy to have twins?

B: Yes, they ......................... . But our grandma ........................ She ................. shocked.
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Past simple: regular and irregular verbs
Exercise 3. Complete the email with the verbs in brackets. ______

Dear Jane,

How are you doing? I feel miserable, I must admit. And I'm going to tell you why.

Yesterday I ..................... (do) my homework, ..................... (tidy) my bedroom and .....................

(decide) to go out. The weather ..................... (be) perfect and so I ..................... (go) to the park. And

do you know who I ..................... (see) there? Jason, my boyfriend. I ..................... (want) to say hello

to him, but then I ..................... (stop), because I ..................... (can) see a girl coming to him. Guess

what ..................... (happen). They ..................... (meet) in the middle of the road and he .....................

(kiss) her. My Jason! Jason and I ..................... (be) in the park three times and he never .....................

(try) to kiss me!

I didn't know what to do. I just ..................... (run) away. When I ..................... (come) back home, I

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..................... (cry). Just a little bit, you know. Then I ..................... (say) to myself: Forget about

Jason. There are plenty more fish in the sea!

What do you think of him? Is he worth it? Please, write back soon.

Love,
Bea

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Exercise 4. Choose a verb to complete the sentences. ___________

become, bind, bide, bite

Sam .................. a doctor when he was 26.

My kids .................. their nails as children.

breed, bring, burn, burst

We .................. some sweets to the party.

When she saw it, she .................. into tears.

cast, catch, cost, cut

The goalkeeper .................. the ball.

Our holiday in the Caribbean .................. a fortune.

deal, dig, do, drink

Who .................. your homework, Jill?

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The wolf .................. thirstily from the river.

fall, fit, feel, fight

Little Jim .................. over when he started to run.

Maria .................. hard for her place in the team.

fly, forget, get, give

I'm sorry, I .................. to tell you about it.

He .................. a lot of presents for his birthday.

grind, grow, hang, hear

My sister and I .................. up in a village.

When the fox .................. the noise, it disappeared.

hit, hold, hurt, kneel

He .................. the man until police arrived.

I .................. by the bed and prayed.

lead, lean, leap, lend

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The captain .................. his soldiers into battle.

I .................. him some money but he never gave it back.

let, light, make, mean

The full moon .................. the beach brightly.

It's OK.The incident .................. nothing to me.

pay, put, rend, ride

They .................. the bill and left the restaurant.

I never .................. a motorbike when I was young.

rise, run, sell, set

The robber .................. away from the bank.

I .................. everything I had except my mobile.

shake, shine, sing, sink

They said hello and .................. their hands.

Titanic .................. in April 1912.

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slay, slide, sling, stand

Tears .................. down her cheeks.

The audience .................. up and applauded.

shrink, swim, take, tear

I .................. 800 metres to the pier.

The director .................. the contract apart.

throw, thrust, wake, wear

I .................. the kite in the air but it didn't fly.

He .................. a Scottish scarf in the winter.

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Past simple questions
Exercise 5. Make past simple questions. ______________________

Example:
you | clean | room | the
Did you clean the room?

Bill | arrive | on time

.................................................................................................................................................... ?
not | know | you | it

.................................................................................................................................................... ?
at | be | Marion | the | party

.................................................................................................................................................... ?
you | why | leave | early | so

.................................................................................................................................................... ?
they | in | be | office | their
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.................................................................................................................................................... ?
think | what | he | our | of | house

.................................................................................................................................................... ?
trip | like | the | Mr. and Mrs. Gregson

.................................................................................................................................................... ?
you | how | do | that

.................................................................................................................................................... ?
they | not | address | their | tell | you

.................................................................................................................................................... ?
there | how | Joe | get

.................................................................................................................................................... ?

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Exercise 6. Choose the correct question. ______________________

□ Did your students their homework?

□ Did your students do their homework?
Yes, they did. They always do.

□ Who went with you?

□ Who did go with you?
Nobody. I went there alone.

□ Did you worked all day yesterday?

□ Did you work all day yesterday?
Of course, I did. I was so tired!

□ Which jeans liked you best?

□ Which jeans did you like best?
I don't know. They were awful.

□ Why was Tim and Greg so unhappy?

□ Why were Tim and Greg so unhappy?
Because they had an argument.

□ Why didn't you answer the phone?

□ Why did not you answer the phone?
The phone? I did not hear it.

□ Were they not at the hospital on Sunday?

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□ Didn't they be at the hospital on Sunday?
Not on Sunday. They went there on Saturday.

□ Had you a shower this morning?

□ Did you have a shower this morning?
Sorry? I have a shower every morning.

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Past simple negative
Exercise 7. Correct the information. _________________________

Example:
Columbus discovered America in 1592.
Columbus didn't discover America in 1592.
He landed on an island in the Caribbean in 1492.

Princess Victoria became Qeen of the United Kingdom in 1901.

Victoria ................................................ queen in 1901. She ................ (rule) Britain from 1837
to 1901.

Shakespeare was the author of the tragedy called "As You Like It".

"As You like It" .................................. a tragedy. Shakespeare ............................. (write) it as

a comedy.

Julius Caesar died in a war in 44 BC.

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Caesar ............................ in a war. The Roman senators ..................... (kill) him in the Senate.

Sandro Botticelli created the portrait known as Mona Lisa.

Botticelli ........................................ Mona Lisa. Leonardo da Vinci ............................ (paint) it.

Shah Jahan, the Mughal emperor in India, built Taj Mahal for his oldest daughter.

Shah Jahan .................................. Taj Mahal for his daughter. It ................ (be) the tomb of his
third wife.

Exercise 8. Complete the story. _____________________________

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Blue Monday

I .................................. (not have) a good day yesterday. I ......................... (cannot) stay in bed

late, because it was Monday and I had to go to school. Unfortunately, I ....................................

(not get) up on time and I ................................ (not catch) the bus. I wanted to take a taxi, but

I ........................ (not be) lucky. There ........................... (not be) any taxis in our street.

I ....................................... (not want) to ask my dad to take me by car, because I thought

it ........................... (not be) a very good idea.

I went to school on foot and as I ....................... (not be) used to long walks, I was pretty tired.

I .......................................... (not listen) to our English teacher and when we wrote a revision

test I ..................................... (not pass) it.

Believe me, my parents ......................... (not be) very happy about it.

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Answer keys

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Exercise 1
Yes, I was a little bit hungry.
No, she was not (wasn't) at school.
Yes, my mum was at work. But my dad was not (wasn't) at work.
Peter and Bill were my best friends.
No, the stories were not (weren't) very interesting.
Not really. You were much healthier than your brother.
Well, Susan was quite good at athletics, but Marion was not (wasn't) good at any sport.

Exercise 2
A: When were you eighteen years old?
B: I was eighteen years old in 2016.

A: And when were you born?

B: I was born on 30 June.

A: Was your birthday party on the same day?

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B: No, it wasn't . It was a week later.

A: Why wasn't your birthday party on the same day?

B: I have a twin brother and he wasn't at home. He was in France.

A: Were you and your brother born at the same time?

B: No, we weren't. I was born one hour after him.

A: Were your parents happy to have twins?

B: Yes, they were. But our grandma wasn't. She was shocked.

Exercise 3
Dear Jane,

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How are you doing? I feel miserable, I must admit. And I'm going to tell you why.
Yesterday I did my homework, tidied my bedroom and decided to go out. The weather was perfect and
so I went to the park. And do you know who I saw there? Jason, my boyfriend. I wanted to say hello
to him, but then I stopped, because I could see a girl coming to him. Guess what happened. They met
in the middle of the road and he kissed her. My Jason! Jason and I were in the park three times and he
never tried to kiss me!
I didn't know what to do. I just ran away. When I came back home, I cried. Just a little bit, you know.
Then I said to myself: Forget about Jason. There are plenty more fish in the sea!
What do you think of him? Is he worth it? Please, write back soon.
Love,
Bea

Exercise 4
Sam became a doctor when he was 26.
My kids bit their nails as children.

We brought some sweets to the party.

When she saw it, she burst into tears.

The goalkeeper caught the ball.

Our holiday in the Caribbean cost a fortune.

Who did your homework, Jill?

The wolf drank thirstily from the river.
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Little Jim fell over when he started to run.
Maria fought hard for her place in the team.

I'm sorry, I forgot to tell you about it.

He got a lot of presents for his birthday.

My sister and I grew up in a village.

When the fox heard the noise, it disappeared.

He held the man until police arrived.

I knelt/kneeled by the bed and prayed.

The captain lead his soldiers into battle.

I lent him some money but he never gave it back.

The full moon lit/lighted the beach brightly.

It's OK.The incident meant nothing to me.

They paid the bill and left the restaurant.

I never rode a motorbike when I was young.

The robber ran away from the bank.

I sold everything I had except my mobile.

They said hello and shook their hands.

Titanic sank in April 1912.

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Tears slid down her cheeks.
The audience stood up and applauded.

I swam 800 metres to the pier.

The director tore the contract apart.

I threw the kite in the air but it didn't fly.

He wore a Scottish scarf in the winter.

Exercise 5
Did Bill arrive on time?
Didn't you know it? Did you not know it?
Was Marion at the party?
Why did you leave so early?
Were they in their office?
What did he think of our house?
Did Mr. and Mrs. Gregson like the trip?
How did you do that?
Didn't they tell you their address? Did they not tell you their address?
How did Joe get there?

Exercise 6 13
Did your students do their homework?
Who went with you?
Did you work all day yesterday?
Which jeans did you like best?
Why were Tim and Greg so unhappy?
Why didn't you answer the phone?
Were they not at the hospital on Sunday?
Did you have a shower this morning?

Exercise 7

Victoria did not (didn't) become queen in 1901. She ruled Britain from 1837 to 1901.

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"As You like It" was not (wasn't) a tragedy. Shakespeare wrote it as a comedy.
Caesar did not (didn't) die in a war. The Roman senators killed him in the Senate.
Botticelli did not (didn't) create Mona Lisa. Leonardo da Vinci painted it.
Shah Jahan did not (didn't) buy Taj Mahal for his daughter. It was the tomb of his third wife.

Exercise 8

Blue Monday

I did not (didn't) have a good day yesterday. I could not (couldn't) stay in bed late, because it
was Monday and I had to go to school. Unfortunately, I did not (didn't) get up on time and I
did not (didn't) catch the bus. I wanted to take a taxi, but I was not (wasn't) lucky. There
were not (weren't) any taxis in our street. I did not (didn't) want to ask my dad to take me by
car, because I thought it was not (wasn't) a very good idea.
I went to school on foot and as I was not (wasn't) used to long walks, I was pretty tired.
I did not (didn't) listen to our English teacher and when we wrote a revision test I did not
(didn't) pass it.
Believe me, my parents were not (weren't) very happy about it.

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