PAST SIMPLE

Choose was/were or am/is/are to complete the following sentences.

1My son was / were short in school, but now he am / are / is tall.

2'Was / Were you at the stadium yesterday?' 'Yes, I were / was / 's.'

3Yesterday Philip and Emma was / were in London. Today they am / is / are in Paris.

4Sara and I was / were at home that night, and you were / was with us.

5Yesterday we was / were late for the concert, and today I is / am / are late for class.

6Asim were / was / is born in Egypt, and I was / am / were born in Birmingham

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7'Were / Was you excited about the trip?' 'Yes, we was / were / 're very excited.'

8'Was / Were Kate angry yesterday after the meeting?' 'No, but I think she are / is / am angry now.'

9'Were / Was you at the beach last Sunday?' 'Yes, I was / were.

10The weather was / is / are nice today, but it were / was horrible last weekend.

Complete the following sentences with was/were or wasn’t/weren’t.

1Where ___________________ you last night? I called you, but you ___________________ at home.

2' ___________________ Sandra happy after the exam?' 'No, she ___________________.'

3I remember I ___________________ very worried, but you ___________________ calm.

4Betty and Paul ___________________ at home; they ___________________ at the cinema

5' you tired after the concert?' 'Yes, I ___________________.'

6I'm very sorry. You ___________________ right, and I ___________________ wrong.

7'Were your parents at the meeting?' 'My dad ___________________ there, but my
mum ___________________.'

8We ___________________ late! We ___________________ early. The concert was at 8 and we arrived at
7.

9Vivian ___________________ at the meeting, but I ___________________ there. I always go to the

meetings.

10' Tim with you?' 'No, only Sally and Peter ___________________ there with me.'

Write questions using was/were and the words below. Put the words in the correct order.

EXAMPLE: you / what time / at the station ⇒ What time were you at the station?

1the keys / where ⇒ __________________________________________?

2Robin / why / at the meeting ⇒ __________________________________________?

3born / she / when ⇒ __________________________________________?

4how expensive / the hotel ⇒ __________________________________________?

5why / you / angry ⇒ __________________________________________?

6unconscious / I / after the accident ⇒ __________________________________________?

7the questions / difficult ⇒ __________________________________________?

8the accident / what time ⇒ __________________________________________?

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9you / how often / in contact with them ⇒ __________________________________________?

10where / you and Tom / last night ⇒ __________________________________________?

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We can use the past simple to talk about past finished actions or states. We know and we often
mention when these actions happened with a past time expression: yesterday, yesterday morning,
last night, last week, two days ago, five years ago, etc.

Jessica called me last night. Rachel was a very good writer.

Completed actions in the past: We use the past simple to talk about actions or events that
happened in the past. We know, or we say, when the events happened.

I saw Jim yesterday. We didn’t go out last Saturday. We stayed at home. She moved to
Chester three years ago.

Past habits: We use the past simple to talk about past habits (things that we did more or less often).

She washed her hair every day. She worked as a nurse. I often played in the park when we
were children.

Situations that were true in the past: We also use the past simple to talk about things that were
true in the past.

My grandfather had two brothers. He lived with my grandparents as a child.

Events in chronological order: We use the past simple to describe the main events of a story in
chronological order.

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When I arrived home, I took off my shoes and then I relaxed on the sofa.

Write the past simple forms of the regular verbs in brackets to complete these sentences.

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1I ____________________________ (study) all night yesterday.

2We ____________________________ (play) poker after dinner.

3After escaping from prison, he ____________________________ (rob) a bank.

4He ____________________________ (start) playing chess at the age of 7.

5We ____________________________ (arrive) home very late.

6We ____________________________ (visit) the Louvre while we were in Paris.

7He ____________________________ (try) to escape.

8I ____________________________ (stop) smoking when I was 30.

9When I was a child, I ____________________________ (hate) fish.

10We really ____________________________ (enjoy) the concert.

Write the past simple forms of the irregular verbs in brackets to complete these sentences.

1I ____________________________ (find) my true love when I was 50.

2We ____________________________ (buy) this sofa in the shop at the end of the street.

3We never ____________________________ (wear) uniforms in school.

4I ____________________________ (forget) to tell you something important.

5I ____________________________ (see) Peter at the theater last week.

6After the meeting, I ____________________________ (speak) with my boss.

7Yesterday I ____________________________ (drive) to work.

8She ____________________________ (run) her first marathon when she was 18.

9I ____________________________ (make) a lot of mistakes during the match.

10Somebody ____________________________ (eat) my biscuits without telling me.

Complete the text with these verbs in past simple.

arrive – ask – fly – go – pay – say – stop – take – tell – think – want

Two summers ago, we 1____________________________ on a trip to New York.

We 2____________________________ from Manchester to John F. Kennedy International Airport. The
journey was long, but we were very excited; we are from a little village and we
really 3____________________________ to visit a megacity like New York. When
we 4____________________________ at our destination, we 5____________________________ a taxi to

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our hotel in Manhattan. The taxi driver was very nice and 6 us lots of things about New York and
Manhattan.

"How much is it?" I asked the taxi driver when he 7____________________________ his car in front of
the hotel. When he 8____________________________ that it was 95 dollars,
I 9________________________ that it wasn't possible, but it was! For the first –and I hope the last– time
in my life, I 10____________________________ 95 dollars for a taxi. I guess that's one of the problems
of big cities, they are really expensive.

Choose the correct past simple forms to complete the sentences below.

1We did go / went / goed to Vancouver on holiday.

2Did you went / Did you go / Went you by plane?

3Jack didn't come / didn't came / wasn't come with us.

4The car suddenly stopped / did stop / stopped.

5When she arrived he didn't was / weren't / wasn't at home.

6The police caught / was catch / catched the robber.

7I choosed / did choose / chose a black shirt for the gala.

8The meeting went not / didn't go / didn't went well.

9Manchester United did lose / losed / lost the final.

10How much did you pay / did you payed / payed you for the car?

Choose the correct past simple forms for the gaps below.

1He always _____ on the same chair.

A.sat B.sit C.sitted

2Where _____ the keys?

A.you found B.did you found C.did you find

3He _____ the cable with a cutting knife.

A.did cut B.cut C.cutted

4I _____ where to go.

A.knew not B.didn't knew C.didn't know

5They _____ very friendly to us.

A.weren't B.didn't be C.wasn't

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6She _____ her son upstairs to bed.

A.carryed B.carried C.was carry

7We _____ to New York last summer.

A.were fly B.flow C.flew

8_____ that noise?

A.Did you hear B.You heard C.Did you heard

9I _____ that glass. It _____ Daisy.

A.didn't break / was B.didn't break / were C.wasn't break / was

10He _____ me some chocolates, but I ______ them.

A.bringed / didn't accept B.brought / didn't accept C.brought / wasn't accept

Fill in the gaps with the correct past simple forms of the verbs in brackets.

Two summers ago we 1________________ (have) a holiday in Scotland. We 2________________ (drive)

there from London, but our car 3_________________ (break) down on the motorway and
we 4______________ (spend) the first night in Birmingham.

When we 5_______________ (get) to Edinburgh we 6________________ (not can) find a good hotel -
there 7______________ (not be) any available rooms. We 8_______________ (not know) what to do but
in the end we 9________________ (find) a bed and breakfast and we 10___________________ (stay)
there for the week.

We 11___________________ (see) the castle, 12__________________ (go) to the Arts Festival, and
we 13_________________ (buy) a lot of souvenirs. We 14________________ (want) to go to Loch Ness
but we 15___________________ (not have) much time and it 16__________________ (be) quite far
away. The weather 17____________________ (be) good, but it 18___________________ (start) raining
the day we 19________________ (leave). We 20_________________ (have) a great time.

Choose the correct past simple forms to complete the sentences below.

1Where did you go / did you went / went you on holiday last summer?

2They didn't arrived / weren't arrived / didn't arrive until 5 o'clock in the afternoon.

3They didn't were / weren't / didn't be sure of what to do.

4We didn't arrived / did arrive / arrived after midnight.

5Were you like / did you liked / Did you like the present?

6Sara weren't watch / didn't watch / didn't watched the film because she was asleep.

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7John and Felicity got / were get / did get married last year.

8She didn't was / wasn't / didn't be ready for the test.

9I didn't understood / didn't understand / wasn't understood the question. Can you repeat it?

10Did he smiled / Was he smile / Did he smile when he saw you?

Choose the correct past simple forms to complete these sentences.

1We _____ a bus to Chicago last week.

A.were took B.did took C.took

2_____ to the party last weekend?

A.Did you go B.Went you C.Did you went

3Yesterday I ____ the train, but I ____ late for work.

A.did miss / were not B.missed / didn't be C.missed / wasn't

4They _____ a swimming pool in their backyard last summer.

A.did put B.putted C.put

5Where _____ this afternoon?

A.were he go B.did he go C.did he went

6She _____ home early from the party yesterday.

A.came B.camed C.didn't came

7How much _____ for it?

A.did you paid B.did you pay C.paid you

8They _____ the play very much.

A.weren't enjoy B.didn't enjoyed C.didn't enjoy

9When _____ that crazy idea?

A.did you got B.did you get C.got you

10Where _____ last night?

A.were you B.did you be C.did you were

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Complete the conversation using the words in brackets to make past simple positive, negative,
and questions.

1Emma: Where __________________________________ (you/travel) this summer?

2Phil: We __________________________________ (go) to Playa del Carmen, in Mexico.

3Emma: Where __________________________________ (you/stay)?

4Phil: We __________________________________ (stay) in a nice beach resort.

5Emma: __________________________________ (your children/like) it?

6Phil: Of course! They __________________________________ (spend) all week on the beach.

7Emma: __________________________________ (be/you) there for one week?

8Phil: Yes. We __________________________________ (come) back last Sunday.

9Emma: __________________________________ (your wife/enjoy) the trip too?

10Phil: Yes, she __________________________________ , although she _____________________ (not like)

the food too much.

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