Past simple tense - exercises

I
my mistake. (admit)

We
a lot about it. (learn)
The wind
last night. (blow)

We
in Prague. (meet)
When she heard it she
. (cry)

I
the book on the desk. (put)
Sue
a cat with a pencil. (draw)

We
the postcard yesterday. (send)
Finally, we
the address. (find)

I
down on a chair and relaxed. (sit)
He
the ball and ran away. (hit)

I
you in time. (tell)
I
you were right. (know)

He
what I wanted. (understand)
The teacher
her temper. (lose)

We
to laugh. (begin)
They
the match on Friday. (play)

We
the tomatoes in the market. (buy)
Jim
he was ill. (say)

We
down the tree last week. (cut)
The shop
at 4 o'clock yesterday. (shut)

We
our dog this morning. (feed)
I
the early morning train. (take)

Sam
his leg during the basketball match. (hurt)
What would you do if you
a million? (win)
I
my husband help me with the dinner, but it was a disaster. (let)
The New York Rangers
the Islanders 5 : 1. (beat)

After five years in London we

to a small village in Devon. (move)
We
our house in 2018. (build)

The telephone
in the middle of the night. (ring)
I
the wrong career, but it was too late to make a better choice. (choose)

The sun
on the beach all afternoon. (shine)
We
five hundred miles to reach our holiday resort. (drive)
Someone
my wallet when I was in the supermarket. (steal)
Miss Jones, our English teacher,
us for being so rude. (forgive)

First we
by express trains, but later we could afford planes. (travel)
I
behind a tree, but they could see me. (hide)

Two men
the Commerce Bank in Queen Street. (rob)

Past simple - exercise 2 - complete sentences

become, bind, bide, bite

Sam
a doctor when he was 26.

My kids
their nails as children.
breed, bring, burn, burst

We
some sweets to the party.
When she saw it, she
into tears.
cast, catch, cost, cut

The goalkeeper
the ball.

Our holiday in the Caribbean

a fortune.
deal, dig, do, drink

Who
your homework, Jill?

The wolf
thirstily from the river.
fall, fit, feel, fight

Little Jim
over when he started to run.

Maria
hard for her place in the team.
fly, forget, get, give

I'm sorry, I
to tell you about it.
He
a lot of presents for his birthday.
grind, grow, hang, hear

My sister and I
up in a village.

When the fox

the noise, it disappeared.
hit, hold, hurt, kneel

He
the man until police arrived.

I
by the bed and prayed.
lead, lean, leap, lend

The captain
his soldiers into battle.

I
him some money but he never gave it back.
let, light, make, mean

The full moon

the beach brightly.
It's OK.The incident
nothing to me.
pay, put, rend, ride

They
the bill and left the restaurant.

I never
a motorbike when I was young.
rise, run, sell, set

The robber
away from the bank.

I
everything I had except my mobile.
shake, shine, sing, sink

They said hello and

their hands.

Titanic
in April 1912.
slay, slide, sling, stand

Tears
down her cheeks.
The audience
up and applauded.
shrink, swim, take, tear

I
800 metres to the pier.

The director
the contract apart.
throw, thrust, wake, wear

I
the kite in the air but it didn't fly.

He
a Scottish scarf in the winter.

Past simple - irregular verbs - exercise 3

Complete the sentences with past simple forms of irregular verbs.

The Lions
(beat) us 5 : 1 in the last match.

A boy
(freeze) to death after missing his bus.
Jim
(break) up with Berryl last week.

They
(have) a lof of arguments.
(can) you go out when you were ill?

The noise
(keep) me awake all night.
They
(dig) a big hole to plant a tree.

I
(leave) my purse in my office.
We
(eat) the pizza and paid the bill.

Mum
(make) this cake on Sunday.
It exploded and
(fly) in the air.

I
(read) the article at breakfast.
We
(go) to school tohether last Monday

He
(see) Sue in her car.
Teachers
(hit) pupils in the past.

When I was in Athens, I

(speak) Greek.
She
(lay) the table before dinner.

I
(think) you were sleeping.
We
(must) get up early yesterday.

He
(shoot) the ball and scored.
At last, the plane
(rise) from the ground.

When I
(wake) up I had a cup of coffee.
We
(sing) our favourite song.

And we
(feel) much better.
I
(stick) the pieces of wood together with glue.
When we were young we
(dream) of becoming film stars.
Little Sarah
(write) her first short story.

My brother
(come) back home late at night.
I
(sleep) for more than ten hours after the match.

Josh tried to grill the meat, but he

(burn) it.
My grandpa
(teach) me how to set a fire.

Betty
(bend) down and stroked the cat.

Make the past simple, positive, negative or question:

1. I _________________ (not / drink) any beer last night.
2. She _________________ (get on) the bus in the centre of the city.
3. What time _________________ (he / get up) yesterday?
4. Where _________________ (you / get off) the train?
5. I _________________ (not / change) trains at Victoria.
6. We _________________ (wake up) very late.
7. What _________________ (he / give) his mother for Christmas?
8. I _________________ (receive) £300 when my uncle _________________
(die).
9. We _________________ (not / use) the computer last night.
10. _________________ (she / make) good coffee?
11. They _________________ (live) in Paris.
12. She _________________ (read) the newspaper yesterday.
13. I _________________ (not / watch) TV.
14. He _________________ (not / study) for the exam.
15. _________________ (he / call) you?
16. _________________ (I / forget) something?
17. What time _________________ (the film / start)?
18. He _________________ (have) a shower.
19. Why _________________ (you / come)?
20. _________________ (he / go) to the party?

Fill in the blanks with an appropriate verb phrase.

1. He …………….. smoke but now he has stopped.
would
used to
smoked
2. She ……….. always bring us nice gifts.
used to
would
Either could be used here
3. I ………………… go skiing but now I don’t.
used to
would
was used to
4. You used to hate him, ……………….?
used you not
don't you
didn't you
5. ……………….. play basketball at college?
Used you to
Did you use to
Either could be used here
6. I ………………… like classical music, but now I do.
did not use to
used not to
used to not
All of the above
7. I …………………. have any interest in politics.
Please select 2 correct answers

did not use to

did not used to
used not to
8. I …………….. in Mumbai for 13 years.
lived
would live
used to live
9. I ………………… be afraid of dogs.
would
used to
was used to
10. I couldn’t understand them because I ………………… their accent.
didn't use to
wasn't used to
used wasn't to
11. It took me quite some time to get ………………… alone.
used to live
used to living
Either could be used here
12. I …………….. to London twice last month.
used to go
would go
went

Complete the sentences with the past continuous form of the verbs in brackets.
1 I (make) my dinner at 8 o’clock last night.
2 Joe and Sam (use) the wrong program in IT yesterday.
3 Who was that guy you (dance) with at the party?
4 Paula (come) home from school when she saw an accident.
5 In 1999 my father (live) in Dublin. That’s where he met my mother.
6 He (open) the box when he cut his finger.
7 This time last week, we (visit) my grandmother.
8 I (sit) at the back of the classroom so I couldn’t see the screen.
9 Andrew (insert) a photo into his document when the teacher stopped the class.
10 I (start) to do my homework when my friend sent me a message.
6 Choose the correct options.
1 I listened / was listening to the radio when I heard / was hearing this fantastic song.
2 When the teacher said / was saying ‘Stop!’, I still tried / was still trying to finish the last
question.
3 I feel really silly! While I danced / was dancing, I fell / was falling and broke / was
breaking my elbow.
4 Tim played / was playing a computer game when his mum called / was calling him for
lunch.
5 I looked / was looking for a file on my memory stick when I noticed / was noticing there
was a virus.
6 Ron found / was finding a really interesting website about dance music while he surfed /
was surfing the internet.
7 My mum had / was having breakfast near the computer when she spilled / was spilling
her cup of coffee on the keyboard.
8 When you saw / were seeing me yesterday, I didn’t go / wasn’t going to school, I went /
was going to the doctor’s – I felt terrible.
9 How many pictures did you take / were you taking while you travelled / were travelling
around Ireland?
10 Why did you chat / were you chatting to Philip while I tried / was trying to tell you
something really important?

Complete the sentences with the past simple or the past continuous form of the verbs in
brackets.
1 I (switch off ) the computer because it (make) a strange noise.
2 My dad (listen) to classical music when I (arrive) home from school.
3 We (play) video games when my mum ,(say) ‘Turn the volume down!’
4 My cousin (meet) his wife, Bianca, while he (live) in Italy.
5 My little sister (draw) a picture while I (study) for my French exam.
6 While they (try) to fix the computer, all the lights (go out).
7 When we (leave) school yesterday, it (pour) with rain.
8 When you (see) Paul, he (wear) a black jacket?
9 I (try) to log on when the WiFi (stop) working.
10 While Dad (print) an article, the printer (run out) of paper.
8 Complete the story with the correct past tense form of the verbs in brackets.
Sometimes I hate computers! Once, when I 1 (try) to do my English homework on my
laptop, the battery
2 (run out). I 3 (lie) on my bed and I was listening to music on Spotify. It helps me to
concentrate.
I 4 also (chat) to my friend Daniel on Facebook. OK, so I 5 (not concentrate) very hard on
my
homework and I 6 (forget) to plug in my laptop!I didn’t notice that the battery was getting
low. I was just finishing the
essay when the screen 7 (go) black. I 8 (lose) everything. I 9 (scream)
in frustration. My dad 10 (come) running into my bedroom. I 11 almost (cry) so he
12 (give) me his laptop. I 13 (try) to remember everything in my essay – it 14 (be) quite
difficult
especially because Daniel was sending me lots of funny videos. Anyway, while I was
watching one, the WiFi stopped working.
In the end it was probably better because I 15 (manage) to finish the essay