Simple Past

Regular Verbs
verb + ed
With most verbs, the simple past is created simply by adding -ED. However, with some verbs, you
need to add -D or change the ending a little. Here are the rules:

Verb ending in... How to make the simple past Examples

live lived
e Add -D
date dated
try tried
Consonant +y Change y to i, then add -ED
cry cried
One vowel + one consonant tap tapped
Double the consonant, then add -ED
(but NOT w or y) commit committed
boil boiled
fill filled
anything else including w Add -ED
hand handed
show showed

Irregular verbs

2nd form of the irregular verb

1st form 2nd form 1st form 2nd form

am, is was see saw

are were do did

get got take took

go went have had

Exercises:

I. Write positive sentences in simple past.

1. he / the question / answer ____________________________________

2. you / a question / ask ____________________________________
3. the dog / bark ____________________________________
4. they / us / call ____________________________________
5. we / a mountain / climb ____________________________________
6. John / stamps / collect ____________________________________
7. we / in London / live ____________________________________
8. I / hungry / be ____________________________________
9. they / a hamster / have ____________________________________
10. he / to school / go ____________________________________
II. Complete these sentences. Use the verbs below.

clean . . . die . . . enjoy . . . end . . . happen . . . live . . . open . . . play . . . rain . . . repair . . . start . . .
stay . . . want . . . watch

1. Yesterday evening I ________________TV.

2. I only ________________ my teeth four times last week.
3. Bruce ________________his mountain bike yesterday evening.
4. The concert last night ________________at 7.30 and ________________at 10 o’clock.
5. The accident ________________ last Sunday afternoon.
6. When I was a child I ________________ to be a doctor.
7. Mozart ________________ from 1756 to 1791.
8. We ________________ our holiday last week.
9. Today the weather is nice, but yesterday it ________________.
10. It was hot in the room, so I ________________ the window.
11. The weather was good yesterday afternoon, so we ________________ tennis.
12. William Shakespeare ________________ in 1616.

III. Fill in with the past tense

1. He always goes to work by car. Yesterday he ________________ to work by bus.

2. They always get up early. This morning they ________________ up late.
3. Bill often loses his key. He ________________ one last Saturday.
4. I write a letter to Jane every week. Last week I ________________ two letters.
5. She meets her friends every evening. She ________________ them yesterday evening, too.
6. I usually read two newspapers every day. I only ________________ a newspaper yesterday.
7. They come to my house every Friday. Last Friday they ________________, too.
8. We usually go to the cinema on Sunday. We ________________ to the cinema last Sunday, too.
9. Tom always has a shower in the morning. Tom ________________ a shower this morning, too.
10. They buy a new car every year. Last year they ________________ a new car, too.
11. I eat an orange every day. Yesterday I ________________ two oranges.
12. We usually do our shopping on Monday. We ________________ our shopping last Monday,
too.
13. Ann often takes photos. Last weekend she ________________ some photos.
14. We leave at 8.30 every morning. But yesterday we ________________ at 8.00.
IV. Tell the story – fill in the past simple tense

On Friday, the children _____________ (talk) about a day out together in the country. The next
morning, they _____________ (go) to the country with their two dogs and _____________ (play)
together. Ben and Dave _____________ (have) some kites. Some time later the dogs
_____________ (be) not there. So they _____________ (call) them and _____________ (look) for
them in the forest. After half an hour the children _____________ (find) them and _____________
(take) them back. Charlie _____________ (be) very happy to see them again. At lunch time Nick
_____________ (go) to the bikes and _____________ (fetch) the basket with some meat
sandwiches. Then they _____________ (play) football. Nick and Dave _____________ (win). In
the evening they _____________ (ride) home.

V. Put the sentences into past tense.

1. She wins the money. She _____________ the money.

2. They can eat. They _____________ eat.
3. She must go. She _____________go.
4. We go shopping. We _____________shopping.
5. She runs to school. She _____________to school.
6. I can walk. I _____________ walk.
7. We buy a new car. We _____________ a new car.
8. They leave the party. They _____________ the party.
9. We collect coins. We _____________ coins.
10. You are allowed to eat. You _____________ allowed to eat.
11. Peter eats a hamburger. Peter _____________a hamburger.
12. She has to wash it. She _____________ to wash it.
13. They want to go home. They _____________ to go home.
14. I close the windows. I _____________ the windows.
15. She studies for a test. She _____________for a test.
16. They can drive. They _____________drive.
17. Sam likes to laugh. Sam _____________ to laugh.
18. Mary goes home. Mary _____________ home.
19. We write a letter. We _____________ a letter.
20. She opens the window. She _____________ the window.
Negatives and Questions
1. Forming a negative

Negatives in the simple past are formed by adding didn't (informal) or did not (formal) before
the simple form of the verb.

Simple past statement Informal negative Formal negative

I had a car. I didn't have a car. I did not have a car.
You ate my toast. You didn't eat my toast. You did not eat my toast.
He was here yesterday. He wasn't here yesterday. He was not here yesterday.
They were in the park. They weren't in the park. They were not in the park.

VI. Fill in the negation.

1. They invited Linda to their party but they _____________ Carol.

2. We met Sally but we _____________Frank.
3. They did their English homework but they _____________ their Maths homework.
4. The girls visited the Tower but they _____________ Westminster Abbey.
5. He bought jeans but he _____________ any T-shirts.
6. We watched the news but we _____________ the weather report.
7. We read chapter 1 to 4 but we _____________ the last chapter.
8. She talked to us but she _____________to Mr Brown.
9. They played tennis but they _____________ football.
10. She made breakfast but she _____________ lunch.
11. They were in Boston but they _____________ in New York.
12. She liked Chris but she _____________Robert.
13. He was happy but she _____________happy.
14. Paula sang well but Christina _____________ well.
15. She got up early but he _____________ early.

VII. Fill in the negation.

1. They went to work by train. They _____________to work by train.
2. We gave her an expensive necklace. We _____________ her an expensive necklace.
3. They did their homework carefully. They _____________ their homework carefully.
4. He drove very fast. He _____________very fast.
5. Daniel opened a new restaurant. Daniel _____________ a new restaurant.
6. We worked last Monday. We _____________last Monday.
7. We saw Bill yesterday evening. We _____________ Bill yesterday evening.
8. The boys liked their sports teacher. The boys _____________their sports teacher.
9. I ordered ham and eggs. I _____________ham and eggs.
10. Nicole found her ring. Nicole _____________her ring.
11. The twins were at the party. The twins _____________at the party.
12. They watched TV. They _____________ TV.
13. Nancy went to school. Nancy _____________ to school.
14. He was in town. He _____________ in town.
15. They lived in Glasgow. They _____________ in Glasgow.

VIII. Fill in the negation.

1. They were at the party yesterday. They _____________ at the party yesterday.
2. Paula wrote back. Paula _____________back.
3. We arrived late. We _____________late.
4. He played football. He _____________football.
5. I forgot her birthday. I _____________ her birthday.
6. He washed the car. He _____________ the car.
7. She hurt her leg. She _____________ her leg.
8. Sam was tired. Sam _____________tired.
9. I found the keys. I _____________ the keys.
10. Martin visited his grandparents. Martin _____________ his grandparents.
11. She tidied her room. She _____________her room.
12. He jumped high. He _____________ high.
13. Steve left the hotel three days ago. Steve _____________ the hotel.
14. She was in Italy last summer. She _____________ in Italy last summer.
15. Mr Brown read my essay. Mr Brown _____________ my essay.

2. Forming a yes/no question

Simple past statement Yes/no question

He brought his friend. Did he bring his friend?
They had a party. Did they have a party?
You were here. Were you here?
She was sick. Was she sick?

3. Forming a WH- question

WH- questions (using words such as "what", "when", and "where") are also created by putting the
auxiliary did before the subject

Statement Yes/no question WH- question

The building fell down. Did the building fall down? Why did the building fall down?
 Statement Yes/no question WH- question
They lived in Vancouver. Did they live in Vancouver? Where did they live?
The store was closed. Was the store closed? Why was the store closed?
They were wolves. Were they wolves? What were they?

IX. Complete the questions.

1. I met somebody. Who _______________________________?

2. Harry arrived. What time _______________________________ ?
3. I saw Bob yesterday. Who ______________________yesterday?
4. They wanted something. What _______________________________?
5. The meeting ended. What time _______________________________ ?
6. Pat went home early. Why ___________________________ home early?
7. We had fish for dinner. What ___________________________ for dinner?
8. It cost a lot of money. How much ___________________________?
9. He bought a T - shirt. What ___________________________ ?
10. We ate ham and eggs. What ___________________________?

X. Form the questions.

1. He brought his friend. ______________________________________?
2. She was sick. ___________________________ ?
3. He ate his toast. ___________________________ ?
4. They lived in Boston. ___________________________ ?
5. We were on the beach. ___________________________?
6. Peter stayed out late. ___________________________ ?
7. Susan bought a new car. ___________________________ ?
8. The ring was expensive. ___________________________ ?
9. We got up early. ___________________________ ?
10. He ate spaghetti. ___________________________ ?
11. I met Helen. ___________________________ ?
12. He slept well last night. ___________________________ ?
13. They drove to Denver. ___________________________ ?
14. They spoke to Alice. ___________________________?
15. She was at home. ___________________________ ?

XI. Form the questions.

1. He took a shower. ___________________________a shower?
2. She did the homework. ___________________________ the homework?
3. They visited their grandparents. ___________________________ their grandparents?
4. The girls jumped into the lake. ___________________________into the lake?
5. He looked after his younger sister. ___________________________his younger sister?
6. Sam bought new jeans. ___________________________ new jeans?
7. Susan finished the housework. ___________________________ the housework?
8. We listened to our favourite CD. ___________________________to your favourite CD?
9. They played tennis last Saturday. ___________________________ tennis last Saturday?
10. She made breakfast yesterday. ___________________________ breakfast yesterday?
11. They were at school. ___________________________at school?
12. She passed the exam. ___________________________ the exam?
13. He was happy. ___________________________ happy?
14. The boys worked hard. ___________________________ hard?
15. She got up early. ___________________________early?

XII. Form the questions.

1. Sam bought a CD. ___________________________ a CD?
2. We played chess last Saturday. ___________________________last Saturday?
3. She went to the market yesterday. ___________________________ to the market yesterday?
4. My friends watched this movie last week. _________________________ this movie last
week?
5. They collected postcards. ___________________________ postcards?
6. The teacher pointed to the board. ___________________________ to the board?
7. I was thirsty. ___________________________thirsty?
8. Frank married her a year ago. ___________________________ her a year ago?
9. My brother rang Susan yesterday. ___________________________Susan yesterday?
10. He had ham and eggs for breakfast. ___________________________ham and eggs for
breakfast?
11. The girls talked all night. ___________________________all night?
12. They lived in New York. ___________________________ in New York?
13. My sister bought a new laptop last year. ___________________________ a new laptop last
year?
14. The film started at 10.00 pm. ___________________________ at 10.00 pm?
15. Our parents got up before 8 o'clock. ___________________________ before 8 o'clock?