open

We form
—+ the
opened
Past Simple
ask of asked
regular verbs by 3 We form the negative with didn't and
the
We form questions with did and the
There are some exceptions:
adding -ed to the verb: infinitive (e.g. watch):
do, take, understand):
1 >walk
verbs
—Yending
walkedwith -e:
watch watch ed IDid
didn't
youunderstand.
watch the film?
(NOT did-Wt
+ -d: live —Y lived like liked 4
We use the Past Simple to talk about an
> verbs ending with a consonant and -y: action or situation in the past which is
-y -ied: apply applied finished. We often say when it
happened (e.g. yesterday, last night):
try —+ tried Chris phoned me yesterday. He wanted to
> most verbs ending with one vowel and ask me something.
one consonant: Did you enjoy the concert last night?
-p -pped: stop stopped 5 We can use the Past Simple with for to talk
plan planned about something that continued for a
period
(For more details on the form of the Past of time, and ended in the past:
Simple, see Appendix 2 on page 243.) I lived in Rome for two years. Then I
went to work in Japan.
2 Many verbs have an irregular Past Simple

Past Simple
form:
do did have had take took buy bought come -+ came stand stood find —+ found ring rang
say aid
(For more details, see Appendix 3, page 244.)

Put a tick (V) next to the correct forms of the Past Simple, and cross out those
which are incorrect. You can look at Appendix 3, page 244, before you do the
exercise.
walked Drinked x went x played ✓ writed x swam ✓
ta ked X Wrote x Cooked x Gived x Spent ✓ Finde x
d
Drank ✓ Asked x Flew x Made x Sended x Buye
d
Gave ✓ Meted x Took x Left x Found x winn
ed
Met Passed x Stoped X Followed ✓ Sent x eated
Won ✓ Cryed X Comed ✓ Drove ✓ Bought x broug
ht
Leaved X Swimmed Cried x Stopped x Ate ✓ cross
ed
x
B Complete the sentences using the Past Simple form and the words in brackets ( ).

PAGE 22 • TENSES: PAST

 We __Went__(go) on holiday to Scotland last year.
I __Tolk__ (take) a taxi from the airport to the citake centre.
We __Walqued__ (walk) to the park and then we _played_ (play) tennis.
3 The man in the shop __Saiyd__ (say) something to the woman, but she _ did not
Heard _(not/hear) him.
4 I__Rangg__ (ring) the doorbell and a woman __Opened__(open) the door.
5 I__Wroote__(write) a letter to a friend, and then. I_ Posted__(post) it.
6 You Understood__(you/understand) the film?
B: No. I__Tried__(try) to understand it, but the actors __Spoke__ (speak) very quickly.
7 A: You _Bought__(you/buy) some clothes at the market?
B: Yes, I __Boutght__ (buy) a pair of trousers and a shirt.
8 A: You _Enjoyed__(you/enjoy) the festival?
B: Yes. It did not_Raiened_ (not/rain) and we__Listened__ (listen) to some good music.
c Make sentences using the correct form of the Past Simple.
(When/you/leave/the party?) __When did you leave the party?__
1 (When/you/finish/your exams?)
__When did yyou finish your exams?__
2 (I/wait/for an hour, but he/not/phone.)
__I waited for an hour, but he did not ponhe_
3 (you/watch/the news on TV last night?)
__Did you watch the new son tv last nitgth?__
4 (Mark/stop/smoking last month, and he/start/playing tennis again last week.)
__He mark stowpped smoking las month, and he start playing tennis again last week_
5 (He/ask me a question, but l/not/know/the answer.)
__He ask me a quesetion, but I did not know the answer__
6 (l/live/there for a few years, but l/not/like/the place.)
__ I live there for a few years, but I did not like the place__

D It's the beginning of a new term at university. Two students, Nick and Eric, are
talking about the summer holidays. Complete their conversation using the correct
Past Simple form of the words in brackets ( ).
Nick: What did you do (you/do) in the summer?
Eric: I __ tok__(take) a trip around Europe by train.
Nick:Did you _Weent__(you/go) on your own, or with some friends?
Eric: A couple of friends (3) _kame_ (come) with me.
Nick: How many countries (4) .did you visited__ (you/visit)?
Eric: I__Went__ (go) to six or seven countries. I (6) _Had__(have) a great time, and I
really (7) _Loved_ (Love) all of them.
Nick: Which one (8)_did you_Liked_ .(you/like) most?
Eric: Sweden, I think. I(9)__Enjoyed__(enjoy) exploring the marvellous countryside and I
(10)__took__(take) lots of photographs.

TENSES: PAST • PAGE 23

 1
Nick: When_did you arrived__(you/arrive) back home? Eric: Last
week. I'm still rather tired.

Past Continuous
Ann
We form the Past Continuous like this: 3 Now look at this:
When I walked into the room, Ann was
writing postcards and Keith was
reading.

Kelth
We use the Past Simple (walked) for a completed action. We use the Past
Continuous (was writing) for an action in progress in the past.

4 We can use when or while before the Past Continuous:

I met her when/while we were working for the same company. (when = during the time)
We can only use when (NOT while) before the Past Simple:
When I met her, we were working for the same company. (when at th
POSITIVE
You/We/They were waiting.
NEGATIVE
FULL FORM SHORT FORM
I/He/She/lt was not wasn't
waiting.
You/We/They were weren't
not waiting.
QUESTIONS
Was I/he/she/it
waiting?
Were you/we/they
I/He/She/It was
(For rules on the spelling of -ing forms
(e.g. waiting), see Appendix 2 on page 243.)

2 Look at this example:

A: What were you doing at seven o'clock last night?
B: T was driving home from work.
6.30 7.00 7.15

PAGE 24 • TENSES: PAST

 I was living in Japan in 2001. (I lived there from 1999 to 2003.)
We use the Past Continuous for an action or situation that was in progress at a particular time in the
past (e.g. at seven p.m., in 2001).

Practice
Complete the sentences by putting the verbs in brackets ( ) into the Past
Continuous.
It __was snowing_ (snow) when I left home this morning.
1 I tried to explain my problem to her, but she _was not_Listening__ (not/listen).
2 He _Was Talking__(talk) on the phone when I arrived.
3 A lot of people_Were_Waiting__ (wait) for the 7.30 bus last night.
4 I _was_ __(live) in London when I met them.
5 I nearly had an accident this morning. A car _was_Coming__ (come) towards me, but I
moved quickly out of the way.
6 At the end of the first half of the game, they _were_Winning_ (win).
7 It was a sunny afternoon and people _Were_Sitting_ (sit) on the grass in the park. Then it
suddenly started to rain.
8 Which hotel _ you/stay) in when you lost your passport?
9 Fortunately, I _wasn´t driving (not/drive) too fast when the child walked into the road in
front of me.
10 I looked out of the window, and I saw that it_Wasn´t rang_(not/rain) any more.

11 What_Were you doing_ (you/do) at three oock yesterday afternoon?

B Describe what the people in the picture were doing when Rick came into the room. Use
the correct verb from the box in the Past Continuous.

qeorge—

George .Was reading a newspaper.

TENSES: PAST • PAGE 25

 1
1 Julie_was _ a sandwich. 5 Barbaraa_ writting_ letter.
2 Sue and Liz_Were playing_table tennis. 6 Rita_ Was __ her hair.
3 Frank_was atelevision. 7 Alison_Was listening_to some music.
4 Caroline_Was sitting_ on the floor 8 Ann_Was _ a picture

c Look at this information about Shirley and Kevin and complete the sentences about them,
using the Past Continuous (l was doing) or the Past Simple (l did).
SHIRLEY KEVIN
1980-86 lived in New York 1982—90 lived in Washington
1983-86 studied at university 1983—85 did a course in Computing
1986 left university 1985—1990 worked as a computer operator
1986-90 worked as a translator 1989 met Shirley
1989 met Kevin 1990—1995 ran his own Company

1992 married Kevin 1992 married Shirley

In 1982 Shirley in New York.

1 In 1984 Kevin__Was livi__ in Washington.
2 In 1984 Shirley__Was studyi__ at university.
3 In 1984 Kevin__Was doin__ a course in computing.

4 When Shirley__Left university in 1986, Kevin as a computer operator.

5 When Kevin__mett__ Shirley, she_was working__as a translator,
6 While Shirley _was work_ as a translator, she__met__ Kevin.

7 In 1992 Kevin__was running__ his own company.

8 While he__was running__ his own company, Kevin__married_ Shirley.

Past Simple or Past Continuous

Compare the Past Simple and the Past Continuous:

Last Saturday morning, Paul played

PAST SIMPLE football in the park.
He talked to her last week.
I didn't talk to her yesterday. Did
you talk sister?

2 We use the Past Simple to talk about a complete Here are some more examples:
event in the past:

PAGE 26 • TENSES: PAST

 On Sunday T made a cake. Last Saturday, Paul was playing football in the
It rained a lot on Saturday morning. park when he saw Jane.

3 We often use the Past Simple to talk about one

event that followed another event: He saw Jane.
When Ann James left university, she went to
work for a bank. She left the bank after five Here are some more examples:
The phone rang while I was making a cake.
PAST CONTINUOUS It vvas raining when we left home.
He was talking to her when I saw him.
I wasn't talking to anyone, I was watching the TV. Were In a story we often use the Past Continuous to
you talking to saw? say what was in progress, when something
happened:
The sun was shining. People were sitting under
We use the Past Continuous to talk about an
action that was in progress, when something else
happened:
years, and wrote a book which the trees or walking around the park.
Suddenly a car drove into the park .

Practice
Use the Past Simple and the Past Continuous to make sentences from the words in
brackets (
(The police/arrive/while/l/have/breakfast)
The_police arrived_while breakfast..
1 (The storm/start/while/they/drive/home)
___ The storm started while they drive home___
2 (l/see/an accident/while/l/wait/for the bus)
__ I saw an accident while I waiting for the bus__
3 (Mary/go/to several concerts/while/she/stay/in London)
__Mary went to several concerts while, London

> (l/have/breakfast/when/the police/arrive)

I was. having breakfast when the police arrived.
4 (My father/cook/the dinner/when/he/burn/his fingers)
__My father was cooking the dinner when he burnt___
5 (The soldiers/prepare/to leave/when/the bomb/explode)
__The soldiers were preparing to leave when the bomb exploded__

B Complete these texts using the Past Simple or the Past Continuous of the verbs
in brackets ( ).

TENSES: PAST • PAGE 27

 1
> Beethoven_ Wrote__ (write) nine symphonies; he_ writing_ (write) another symphony when he
died.
1 Last Saturday Tom wanted to make two salads. He_made_ (make) the first one in
five minutes. He _was making_(make) the second one when his guests_arrived
_(arrive), and they__Helped__ (help) him to finish it.
2 The artist Gaudi__Designed__(design) several houses in Barcelona, Spain. Later
he__Started_ (start) work on a church. He__Was working__ (work) on the church
when he__Died__(Die)
3 Last month a bank robber__Escaped__ (escape) while the pólice_Were talking__
(take) him to prison. Later they __caught__ (catch) him again, and this time they __Were
taking__(lock) him up without any problem.
4 Philip's football team were lucky last Saturday. After twenty minutes they __Were losing__
(lose), but in the end they__Won__ (win) the game by four goals to two.
5 John Lennon __Sang__ (sing) and__Played__ (play) on many records with the Beatles.
After that he __Recorded__ (record) several songs without the Beatles. He
__Was preparing__ (prepare) a new record when Mark Chapman __Shot__ (shoot) him.
6 The evening was getting darker; the street lights__Came__ (come) on. People
__Hurried__ (hurry)
home after work. I_Was stand__ (stand) in a queue at the bus stop.
Suddenly somebody __Grabbed__ (grab) my bag.

c A policewoman is interviewing Mary Croft about last Friday evening.

Look at the pictures and complete the conversation. Use the Past Simple

Policewoma What time (you/get) home from work?

n:
Mary: At about six o'clock.
Policewoma And what (1)__Did you do__ (you/do) after you got home?
n:
Mary: I read the newspaper.
Policewoma Did anything happen while (2) __You were Reading__ (read) the
n: paper?
Mary: Yes, the phone (3) __ Rang__ (ring).
Policewoma What (4) __were you doing__ (you/do) when your husband came
n:

PAGE 28 • TENSES: PAST

 home?
Mary: I was watching TV, and I (5).__Was driking__ (drink) a cup of
coffee.
Policewoma Did you and your husband stay at home?
n:
Mary: No, I (6)__Drank__(drink) my coffee. Then I put on my raincoat,
and we (7) __went__(go) out at seven o'clock.
Policewoma Why (8) __Did you put__ (you/put) your raincoat on?
n:
Mary: Because it (9)__Was rainning__(rain), of course.

TENSES: PAST • PAGE 29