SIMPLE PAST

Verb TO BE (ser / estar)

Affirmative
I WAS
He
She WAS
It
We
You WERE
They
I was at the mall. / You were very beautiful last night.

Negative
I was not / wasn’t
He
She was not / wasn’t
It
We
You were not / weren’t
They
They were not in the airport. / She was not sick, she was tired.

Yes / No questions
Was I
Were You
He
Was She COMPLEMENT?
It
We
Were You
They
ANSWERS:
Was your grandmother a teacher?  Yes, she was. / No, she wasn’t.
Were they at the cinema last night?  Yes, they were. / No, they weren’t

Information questions
(Wh- word) was I
were You
He
When / Where / Why was She COMPLEMENT?
It
We
were You
They

ANSWERS:
Where were they last summer?  They were in Australia.
Why was he bored?  He was bored because he doesn’t like stories.

Complete the sentences with was or were.

1. I________ happy.
2. You________ angry.
3. She_________ in London last week.
4. He________ on holiday.
5. It________ cold.
6. We________ at school.
7. You________ at the cinema.
8. They_______ at home.
9. The cat_______ on the roof.
10. The children________ in the garden.

Put in was not or were not into the gaps.

1) They _______________ill.
2) You ____________tired.
3) The children _____________ quiet.
4) Max ____________in Helsinki last week.
5) She______________ home for dinner.
6) The water ____________cold.
7) There____________ a good film on TV yesterday.
8) We ___________in Brazil last winter.
9) Betty and Florence _____________at school this morning.
10) I_____________ happy when I heard about the accident.

Uses of Simple Past:

 action in the past taking place once, never or several times
Example: He visited his parents every weekend.
 actions in the past taking place one after the other
Example: He came in, took off his coat and sat down.

REGULAR VERBS:
Addition of –ed at the end of the verb.
IRREGULAR VERBS:
2nd column of the chart.

Exceptions in Spelling when Adding ‘ed’

Exceptions in spelling when adding ed Example

love – loved
after a final e only add d
bake – baked
admit – admitted
final consonant after a short, stressed vowel
travel – travelled
or L as final consonant after a vowel is doubled
shop – shopped
 final y after a consonant becomes i hurry – hurried

Affirmative Regular Irregular

I
You
He Worked Spoke (speak)
She Shopped Bought (buy)
It Carried Saw (see)
We
You
They

I worked in a hospital last year / I bought a Rolex

She loved her boyfriend. / She broke up with him last week.

Negative
I
You
He
She Did not / didn’t Work / Buy
It (base form)
We
You
They

He didn’t tell the truth.

We didn’t have time.

Yes / No questions
I
You
He Work?
Did She Swim?
It (base form)
We
You
They

Did she drive to L.A.?  Yes, she did. / No, she didn´t.
Did you shave?  Yes, I did. / No, I didn’t.

Information questions
(Wh- word) I
You
 He
When / Where / Why did She work?
It (base form)
We
You
They

What did he tell you?  He told me something very important.

When did she arrive?  She arrived last Monday.

Always remember that you DO NOT use "did" with the verb "be" in the Simple Past.

Put the verbs into the simple past:

1) Jane a film. (to watch)

2) He a box. (to carry)
3) They their father. (to help)
4) I to Andrew. (to talk)
5) Susan with Peter. (to dance)
6) The boys basketball. (to try)
7) We a trip. (to plan)
8) She her hair. (to wash)
9) The car at the traffic lights. (to stop)

Complete the following sentences

1. Last year I (go) to England on holiday.

2. It (be) fantastic.

3. I (visit) lots of interesting places. I ( be) with two friends of mine .

4. In the mornings we (walk) in the streets of London.

5. In the evenings we (go) to pubs.

6. The weather (be) strangely fine.

7. It (not / rain) a lot.

8. But we (see) some beautiful rainbows.

9. Where (spend / you) your last holiday?

10. They something to drink. (to order)

11. Last summer I to Stuttgart. (to go)

12. She her homework in the afternoon. (to do)

13. He to 10. (to count)

14. Our cat a big mouse. (to catch)

15. In 2001 our class a trip to Norwich. (to make)

16. The weather really nice. (to be)

17. The secretary the file yesterday. (to delete)

18. Paul nothing to me. (to say)

19. The people something to each other. (to whisper)

Negate the first sentence of each exercise.

1) He played handball. - He handball.

2) Susan waited in the kitchen. - Susan in the kitchen.
3) I made the beds. - I the beds.
4) They cleaned the classroom. - They the classroom.
5) She asked a lot of questions. - She a lot of questions.
6) The friends got new computers. - The friends new computers.
7) I was in Sofia last weekend. - I in Sofia last weekend.
8) You built a house. - You a house.
9) Christian bought a new guitar. - Christian a new guitar.
10) We went shopping. - We shopping.

Put in the correct verb forms and the nouns into the gaps.

1) after the cat? (the dog/to run)

2) photos when you were on holiday? (you/to take)
3) to music yesterday evening? (Steven/to listen)
4) a cup of tea in the café? (the ladies/to have)
5) text messages during the lesson? (Nancy/to send)
6) pullovers last Friday? (Melissa and Ruth/to wear)
7) hello to people in the street? (your brother/to say)
8) the windows in your classroom? (the teacher/to open)
9) chess two weeks ago? (the girls in your class/to play)
10) breakfast last morning? (your mother/to make)

Complete the following sentences. WATCH OUT! There are questions and negative sentences.

1) I my Maths homework yesterday. (to do)

2) Susan to England by plane? (to go)
3) They a farm two weeks ago. (to visit)
4) Jenny and Peggy their brother. (not/to help)
5) The children at home last weekend. (not/to be)
6) When you this wonderful skirt? (to design)
7) My mother into the van. (not/to crash)
8) The boys the mudguards of their bicycles. (to take off)
9) you your aunt last week? (to phone)
10) He milk at school. (not/to drink)