STUDY: PAST SIMPLE
We use the Past Simple for actions which happened at a definite time in the past.
PAST TENSE VERB: “TO BE”
Affirmative (+)
I /He / She /It was in the park.
You / We / They were at the café.
Negative (-)
LONG FORM SHORT FORM
I /He / She /It was not wasn’t in the park.
You / We / They were not weren’t at the café.
Questions (?)
Was I / he / she /it in the park?
at the café?
Were you / we / they near the lake?
REMEMBER: To make questions in the past simple tense of ‘to be’ we put was or were in front of
the subject.
Example:
They were at the café.
Were they at the café?
Where were they?
1) Complete the sentences using was or were.
1. Today I am happy but yesterday I …………….. sad.
2. Today it’s sunny but yesterday it …………….. raining.
3. Today Mrs Smith was ill but yesterday she …………….. at work.
4. Today I feel fine but yesterday I …………….. in bed all day.
5. This summer we are staying at home but last summer we …………….. in Brazil.
6. Today Tina and Jack are tired because yesterday they …………….. at the gym.
7. “…………….. you with Helen on Saturday?" "No, I ……………… . She …………….. on holiday.
8. It ……………… a national holiday yesterday so everything ……………… closed.
PAST TENSE: REGULAR AND IRREGULAR VERBS
REGULAR VERBS
AFFIRMATIVE NEGATIVE INTERROGATIVE
Long form Short form
I worked. I did not work. I didn’t work. Did I work?
You worked. You did not work. You didn’t work. Did you work?
He – she – it worked. He – she – it did not work. He – she – it didn’t work. Did he – she – it work?
We worked. We did not work. We didn’t work. Did we work?
You worked. You did not work. You didn’t work. Did you work?
They worked. They did not work. They didn’t work. Did they work?
We add –ed to regular verbs:
play → played dance → danced start → started
watch → watched want → wanted work → worked
WATCH OUT!
stop → stopped study → studied like → liked
IRREGULAR VERBS
AFFIRMATIVE NEGATIVE INTERROGATIVE
Long form Short form
I went. I did not go. I didn’t go. Did I go?
You went. You did not go. You didn’t go. Did you go?
He – she – it went. He – she – it did not go. He – she – it didn’t go. Did he – she – it go?
We went. We did not go. We didn’t go. Did we go?
You went. You did not go. You didn’t go. Did you go?
They went. They did not go. They didn’t go. Did they go?
Some irregular verbs:
become → became eat → ate have → had run → ran wake up → woke
buy → bought fall → fell hear → heard see → saw up
come → came forget →forgot know → knew sell → sold wear → wore
do → did get → got meet → met swim → swam win →won
drink → drank go → went ride → rode take→ took write → wrote
1. Write a tick (√) in the appropriate answer:
REGULAR VERB IRREGULAR VERB
watched a movie last Saturday. √
I
studied English yesterday.
You
He saw a new musical.
She
played tennis this morning.
It
We read an interesting book last month.
They
took a lot of photos in Italy.
2. Sam always does the same thing every day. Read the text then write what he did yesterday.
He gets up at half past seven and he has a shower. Then he has breakfast. He
walks to school at twenty past eight. He arrives at school at a quarter to nine.
He meets his friends after school. They play football. Then he goes home and
watches TV. Then he does his homework. Then he reads a book and listens to
music. Then he goes to bed.
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3. Complete the story with the Past Simple of the verbs in brackets.
Last night Mr West …………………. (have) a big dinner and …………………. (drink) a lot of orange juice. He
…………………. (watch) TV and then …………………. (go) to bed. At midnight he …………………. (hear) a noise at
the door. He …………………. (open) the door and …………………. (see) a monster. The monster ………………….
(be) hungry. It …………………. (not want) meat or fish. It …………………. (start) eating chairs, tables and clothes. Mr
West …………………. (get) scared. He …………………. (run) away and …………………. (fall). Suddenly, he
…………………. (wake) up. He …………………. (not be) on his bed. He …………………. (be) on the floor. The
monster …………………. (not be) there. It …………………. (be) only a bad dream.
4. Write the interrogative and negative form of the following sentences.
1. Tony called his girlfriend yesterday.
___Did Tony call his girlfriend yesterday ?______________________________________________
___Tony didn’t call his girlfriend yesterday._______________________________________________
2. My parents went to Rome last summer.
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3. Peter played football last week.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
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4. My little sister watched the movie in silence.
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TENSES: PRESENT SIMPLE, PRESENT CONTINUOUS AND PAST SIMPLE
Write the verbs in the correct tense
I ………………… (work) in a company near my house. I ………………… (start) working at 9 a.m.
and I ………………… (finish) at 5 p.m. I ………………… (have) lunch in a restaurant near my
office.
Now I ………………… (be) at the club with some friends. We ………………… (swim) and we
………………… (sunbathe). We ………………… (have) a nice time.
Last weekend I ………………… (go) with my friends to a party. We ………………… (dance) a lot.
We ………………… (not drink) orange juice. We ………………… (drink) coke. We
………………… (eat) sushi. It ………………… (be) delicious. Later one of my friends
………………… (take) me home in her car.
