Unit

5 Past simple (I did)

A Study this example:

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was an Austrian

musician and composer. He lived from 1756 to
1791. He started composing at the age of five
and wrote more than 600 pieces of music.
He was only 35 years old when he died.
lived/started/wrote/was/died are all past simple

B Very often the past simple ends in -ed (regular verbs):

I work in a travel agency now. Before that I worked in a department store.
They invited us to their party, but we decided not to go.
The police stopped me on my way home last night.
Laura passed her exam because she studied very hard.
For spelling (stopped, studied etc.), see Appendix 6.
But many verbs are irregular. The past simple does not end in -ed. For example:
write → wrote Mozart wrote more than 600 pieces of music.
see → saw We saw Alice in town a few days ago.
go → went I went to the cinema three times last week.
shut → shut It was cold, so I shut the window.
For a list of irregular verbs, see Appendix 1.

C In questions and negative sentences we use did/didn’t + infinitive (enjoy/see/go etc.):

I enjoyed you enjoy? I enjoy
she saw did she see? she didn’t see
they went they go? they go

I enjoyed the party a lot. Did you enjoy it?

How many people did they invite to the wedding?
I didn’t buy anything because I didn’t have any money.
‘Did you go out?’ ‘No, I didn’t.’
Sometimes do is the main verb in the sentence (did you do?, I didn’t do):
What did you do at the weekend? (not What did you at the weekend?)
I didn’t do anything. (not I didn’t anything)

D The past of be (am/is/are) is was/were:

I/he/she/it was/wasn’t was I/he/she/it?
we/you/they were/weren’t were we/you/they?

I was annoyed because they were late.

Was the weather good when you were on holiday?
They weren’t able to come because they were so busy.
I wasn’t hungry, so I didn’t eat anything.
Did you go out last night or were you too tired?

10 Past simple and past continuous ➜ Unit 6 Past simple and present perfect ➜ Units 12–14
 Unit
Exercises 5
5.1 Read what Laura says about a typical working day:
I usually get up at 7 o’clock and have a big breakfast. I walk to work, which
takes me about half an hour. I start work at 8.45. I never have lunch. I finish
work at 5 o’clock. I’m always tired when I get home. I usually cook a meal
in the evening. I don’t usually go out. I go to bed at about 11 o’clock, and I
always sleep well.

LAURA

Yesterday was a typical working day for Laura. Write what she did or didn’t do yesterday.
1 She got up at 7 o’clock.  7 She finished work at 5 o’clock.
2 She had a big breakfast.  8 She was . tired when she got home.
3 She walked to work She cooked / She made a meal yesterday evening.
.  9
4 It took her (about) half an hour to get to work. 10 She didn’t go out yesterday evening.
5 started work at 8.45. 11 She went to bed at 11 o’clock.
6 She didn’t have (any) lunch. / … eat lunch. 12 She slept well last night.
(any) lunch.
5.2 Complete the sentences using the following verbs in the correct form:
buy catch cost fall hurt sell spend teach throw write
1 Mozart wrote more than 600 pieces of music.
2 ‘How did you learn to drive?’ ‘My father taught me.’
3 We couldn’t afford to keep our car, so we sold it.
4 Dave fell down the stairs this morning and hurt his leg.
5 Joe threw the ball to Sue, who caught it.
6 Kate spent a lot of money yesterday. She bought a dress which
cost £100.

5.3 You ask James about his holiday in the US. Write your questions.
1 YOU: Where did you go ?
JaMES: To the US. We went on a trip from San Francisco to Denver.
2 YOU: How did you travel / did you go ? By car?
JaMES: Yes, we hired a car in San Francisco.
3 YOU: It’s a long way to drive. How long
did it take (you) / was your trip /? were
you there
JaMES: Two weeks. We stopped at a lot of places along the way.
4 YOU: Where did you stay ? In hotels?
JaMES: Yes, small hotels or motels.
5 YOU: Was the weather good?
JaMES: Yes, but it was very hot – sometimes too hot.
6 YOU: Did you go to / Did you see / the Grand Canyon?
Did you visit
JaMES: Of course. It was wonderful.

5.4 Complete the sentences. Put the verb into the correct form, positive or negative.
1 It was warm, so I took off my coat. (take)
2 The film wasn’t very good. I didn’t enjoy it much. (enjoy)
3 I knew Sarah was busy, so I didn’t disturb her. (disturb)
4 We were very tired, so we left the party early. (leave)
5 It was hard carrying the bags. They were really heavy. (be)
6 The bed was very uncomfortable. I didn’t sleep well. (sleep)
7 This watch wasn’t expensive. It didn’t cost much. (cost)
8 The window was open and a bird flew into the room. (fly)
9 I was in a hurry, so I didn’t have time to call you. (have)
10 I didn’t like the hotel. The room wasn’t very clean. (be)

11
Unit
6 Past continuous (I was doing)
A Study this example situation:

Yesterday Karen and Joe played tennis. They started at

10 o’clock and finished at 11.30.
So, at 10.30 they were playing tennis.
they were playing =
they were in the middle of playing, they had not finished
was/were + -ing is the past continuous:
he/she/it was playing
doing
we/you/they were working etc.

B I was doing something = I was in the middle of doing it at a certain time. The action or situation started
before this time, but had not finished:
I started doing I was doing I finished doing

past past now

This time last year I was living in Hong Kong.
What were you doing at 10 o’clock last night?
I waved to Helen, but she wasn’t looking.

C Compare I was doing (past continuous) and I did (past simple):

I was doing (= in the middle of an action)
We were walking home when I met
Dan. (in the middle of walking home)
Kate was watching TV when we
arrived.
I did (= complete action)
We walked home after the party last
night. (= all the way, completely)
Kate watched TV a lot when she was ill
last year.

D You can say that something happened (past simple) in the middle of something else (past continuous):
Matt phoned while we were having dinner.
It was raining when I got up.
I saw you in the park yesterday. You were sitting on the grass and reading a book.
I hurt my back while I was working in the garden.
But we use the past simple to say that one thing happened after another:
I was walking along the road when I saw Dan. So I stopped, and we talked for a while.
Compare:

When Karen arrived, we were having When Karen arrived, we had dinner.
dinner. (= we had already started before (= Karen arrived, and then we had
she arrived) dinner)

E Some verbs (for example, know and want) are not normally used in continuous forms (is + -ing,
was + -ing etc.). See Unit 4A for a list of these verbs.
We were good friends. We knew each other well. (not we were knowing)
I was enjoying the party, but Chris wanted to go home. (not was wanting)

12 Past simple (I did) ➜ Unit 5

 Unit
Exercises 6
6.1 Complete the sentences. Choose from:
was looking was wearing wasn’t listening weren’t looking
was snowing was working were sitting were you going

1 Today Helen is wearing a skirt. Yesterday she was wearing trousers.

2 ‘What did he say?’ ‘I don’t know. I wasn’t listening .’
3 We were sitting at the back of the theatre. We couldn’t hear very well.
4 This time last year Steve was working on a farm.
5 They didn’t see me. Theyweren’t looking in my direction.
6 The weather was bad. It was very cold and it was snowing .
7 I saw you in your car. Where were you going ?
8 I saw Kate a few minutes ago. She was looking for you.
6.2 Which goes with which?

1 When I got to the cafe a when she was living in Rome. 1 f

2 We fell asleep b she was working in a clothes shop. 2 e
3 Amy learnt Italian c when I was driving home. 3 a
4 Tom didn’t come out with us d but nobody was watching it. 4 g
5 The car began to make a strange noise e while we were watching a film. 5 c
6 The TV was on f my friends were waiting for me. 6 d
7 When I first met Jessica g because he wasn’t feeling well. 7 b
6.3 Put the verb into the correct form, past continuous or past simple.
1 2

SUE

I saw (see) Sue in town yesterday, but I was cycling (cycle) home yesterday
she  didn’t see (not/see) me. when a man stepped (step) out into the
She was looking (look) the other way. road in front of me.
I was going (go) quite fast, but luckily
I managed (manage) to stop in time,
and I didn’t hit (not/hit) him.

6.4 Put the verb into the correct form, past continuous or past simple.
1 Jenny was waiting (wait) for me when I arrived (arrive).
2 ‘What were you doing (you / do) at this time yesterday?’ ‘I was asleep.’
3 ‘ Did you go (you / go) out last night?’ ‘No, I was too tired.’
4 How fast were you driving (you / drive) when the accident happened (happen)?
5 Sam took (take) a picture of me while I wasn’t looking (not / look).
6 We were in a very difficult position. We didn’t know (not / know) what to do, so we
did (do) nothing.
7 I haven’t seen Alan for ages. When I last saw (see) him, he
was trying (try) to find a job.
8 I was walking (walk) along the street when suddenly I heard (hear)
something behind me. Somebody was following (follow) me. I was scared and I
started (start) to run.
9 When I was young, I wanted (want) to be a pilot. Later I changed
(change) my mind.
10 Last night I dropped (drop) a plate when I was doing (do) the washing up.
Fortunately it didn’t break (not / break).
➜ Additional exercise 1 (page 302) 13
Unit
15 Past perfect (I had done)
A Study this example situation:

Bye! Sarah and Paul went to the same party last week, but they
10.30 didn’t see each other. Paul left the party at 10.30 and Sarah
arrived at 11 o’clock.
So when Sarah arrived at the party, Paul wasn’t there.
PAUL
He had gone home.
had gone is the past perfect:
11.00 Hi!
gone
I/we/they/you (= I’d etc.)
had seen
he/she/it (= he’d etc.)
finished etc.
SARAH

The past perfect (simple) is had + past participle (gone/seen/finished etc.).

Sometimes we talk about something that happened in the past:
Sarah arrived at the party.
This is the starting point of the story. Then, if we want to talk about things that happened before this time,
we use the past perfect (had …):
When Sarah arrived at the party, Paul had already gone home.
Some more examples:
When we got home last night, we found that somebody had broken into the flat.
Karen didn’t come to the cinema with us. She’d already seen the movie.
At first I thought I’d done the right thing, but I soon realised that I’d made a big mistake.
The people sitting next to me on the plane were nervous. They hadn’t flown before.
or They’d never flown before.

B Compare present perfect (have seen etc.) and past perfect (had seen etc.):

Present perfect Past perfect

have seen had seen

past now past now

Who is that woman? I’ve seen her before,
but I can’t remember where.
We aren’t hungry. We’ve just had lunch.
The house is dirty. They haven’t cleaned
it for weeks.
I wasn’t sure who she was. I’d seen her
before, but I couldn’t remember where.
We weren’t hungry. We’d just had lunch.
The house was dirty. They hadn’t
cleaned it for weeks.

C Compare past simple (left, was etc.) and past perfect (had left, had been etc.):

Past simple Past perfect

a: Was Tom there when you arrived? a: Was Tom there when you arrived?
b: Yes, but he left soon afterwards. b: No, he’d already left.
Kate wasn’t at home when I phoned. Kate had just got home when I phoned.
She was at her mother’s house. She’d been at her mother’s house.

30 Past perfect continuous ➜ Unit 16 Irregular verbs (gone/seen etc.) ➜ Appendix 1

 Unit
Exercises 15
15.1 Read the situations and write sentences using the words in brackets.
1 There was a picture lying on the floor.
(It / fall / off the wall) It had fallen off the wall.
2 The people sitting next to you on the plane were nervous. It was their first flight.
(They / not / fly / before) They hadn’t flown before.
3 You went back to your home town recently after many years. It wasn’t the same as before.
(It / change / a lot) It had changed a lot.
4 Somebody sang a song. You didn’t know it.
(I / not / hear / it / before) I I hadn’t heard it before.
5 I invited Rachel to the party, but she couldn’t come.
(She / arrange / to do something else) She’d arranged to do something else. / She had arranged …
6 You went to the cinema last night. You got to the cinema late.
(The film / already / start) The film had already started.
7 Last year we went to Mexico. It was our first time there.
(We / not / be / there / before) We We hadn’t been there before.
8 I met Daniel last week. It was good to see him again after such a long time.
(I / not / see / him for five years) I hadn’t seen him for five years.
9 I offered my friends something to eat, but they weren’t hungry.
(They / just / have / lunch) They’d just had lunch. / They had just had …
10 Sam played tennis yesterday. He wasn’t very good at it because it was his first game ever.
(He / never / play / before) He’d never played before. / He had never played …

15.2 Use the sentences on the left to complete the paragraphs on the right. These sentences are in the
order in which they happened – so (a) happened before (b), (b) before (c) etc. But your paragraph
begins with the underlined sentence, so sometimes you need the past perfect.
1 (a) Somebody broke into the office during ⎫ We arrived at work in the morning and found
the night. ⎪ that somebody had broken into the office
⎬ we called the police.
(b) We arrived at work in the morning. ⎪ during the night. So
(c) We called the police. ⎭
2 (a) Laura went out this morning. ⎫ I went to Laura’s house this morning and rang
her doorbell, but there was … no answer.
⎪
(b) I rang her doorbell. ⎬
(c) There was no answer. ⎪
⎭ She’d gone / She had gone out.
3 (a) Joe came back from holiday a few ⎫ He had
I met Joe a few days ago. just
days ago. ⎪ come back from holiday.
⎬
(b) I met him the same day. ⎪ He looked very well.
(c) He looked very well. ⎭
4 (a) James sent Amy lots of emails. ⎫ Yesterday James got a phone call
(b) She never replied to them. ⎪ from Amy. He was surprised.
⎬
(c) Yesterday he got a phone call from her. ⎪ He had sent her lots of emails,
(d) He was surprised. ⎭ but she had never replied (to them) .
15.3 Put the verb into the correct form, past perfect (I had done) or past simple (I did).
1 Paul wasn’t at the party when I arrived. He’d gone (He / go) home.
2 I felt very tired when I got home, so I went (I / go) straight to bed.
3 The house was very quiet when I got home. Everybody had gone (go) to bed.
4 Mark travels a lot. When I first met him, he had already travelled (he / already / travel)
round the world.
5 Sorry I’m late. The car broke (break) down on my way here.
6 We were driving along the road when we saw (we / see) a car which had broken
(break) down, so we stopped (we / stop) to help.

➜ Additional exercises 5–8 (pages 304–07) 31