Elementary exercises
Forming the past tense of to be.
Affirmative and negative sentence
I was
He was not
She wasn’t at home
It in hospital yesterday.
You were on holiday last week.
We were not in London
They weren’t
Task 1 - Complete the sentences
with the Past Tense of “to be”.
1) We ______ in Australia.
2) She ______ in the classroom.
3) It ______ my birthday last
week.
4) The man ______ in the train.
5) It ____ an apple.
6) You _______ in a bookshop.
7) It _______ a doll.
8) I _______ a good pupil.
9) What _______ this?
10) It ______ a French lesson.
11) It _______ a beautiful city.
12) He _______ my brother.
13) I _______ in London today.
14) We _______ on holiday.
15) The doctor _______ here.
Task 2 – Write some true sentences
with was, were, wasn’t, weren’t.
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Interrogative sentence
I
Was he
she at home
it in hospital yesterday?
you on holiday last week?
Were we in London
they
Task 3 - Rewrite the sentences into the Simple Past
Tense. Then write a negative sentence. Look at the
example below.
I am at home.  I was at home. I wasn’t at home.
1) He is my friend.
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2) I am a man.
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3) It is an umbrella.
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4) That is a bird.
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5) These are your pens and pencils.
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6) They are happy people.
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7) This is a kitchen.
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8) Those are two bags, a ruler and a rubber.
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9) We are in.
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10) You are my brother.
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Task 4 - Rewrite the sentences into the Task 5 - Change the following
Simple Past. Then write an interrogative sentences into interrogative then give
sentence. Look at the example below. short answers according to the sign.
Mr Smith is at home.  Mr Smith was at
Look at the examples.
home. Was Mr Smith at home?
1) I am a good teacher.
Mr Smith was at home.   Was Mr
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Smith at home? Yes, he was.
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2) Mickey is strong and brave.
Tim and Peter were in the library. 
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 Were Tim and Peter in the library?
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No, they weren’t.
3) My name is Susan.
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1) I was in the garden. 
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4) Peter is a boy.
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2) Mum was ill last week. 
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5) She is a young woman.
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3) They were on holiday in May. 
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6) These are my comics.
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4) You were tired yesterday. 
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7) This is a family. _______________________________
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5) We were in the park at 5 o’clock
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8) This pen is blue. yesterday. 
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9) We are from Australia. 6) Jack was too fat two years ago. 
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10) You are a stupid girl. 7) The Lees were in the zoo the day
______________________________ before yesterday. 
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8) I was always hungry. 
Task 6 – Underline the adverbs of
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time in Task 5. Then write them on
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the lines.
9) Kim and Greg were married. 
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10) Frank Sinatra was a famous actor. 
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