EMPOWER A2

UNIT 6A-6B-7A
WEEKEND HOMEWORK

UNIT 6A

A. Complete the sentences with was/were/ wasn’t or weren’t.

Ex. Jan and I were in Paris at the weekend. It was expensive, but interesting.
1. Simon and his wife __________ (not) at the theatre yesterday. They ________ at the cinema.
2. I __________ late, but the teacher ______________ (not) angry.
3. Louise __________ sad that you _______________ (not) at her party.
4. We ____________ in New York last summer and the people__________ very friendly.
5. The film _____________ (not) funny, but the popcorn ________ really good!
6. We ______________ in the museum yesterday. The paintings __________ amazing!
7. I ____________ in the UK last year. The weather ____________ terrible.
8. Her aunt _____________(not) happy because she ___________ alone at home.
9. We _____________ busy at work on Friday, so we ____________(not) at the meeting.
10. The apartment _____________ dirty, so we _____________ angry!

B. Write questions and short answers using the information below.

Ex. Paul Newman - actor?  Canadian? 

a) Was Paul Newman an actor? Yes, he was.

b) Was he Canadian? No, he wasn't.

1. Beatrix Potter - writer?  English? 
a) ______________________________ _________________
b) ______________________________ _________________

2. Beethoven and Wagner - dancers?  German? 

a) ______________________________ _________________
b) ______________________________ _________________

3. Confucius - doctor?  Chinese? 

a) ______________________________ _________________
b) ______________________________ _________________

4. Che Guevara and Eva Peron - singers?  Argentinian? 

a) ______________________________ _________________
b) ______________________________ _________________

Adapted from Speakout /New English File/Oxford Practice Grammar

 C. Write the questions for the underlined answers using the past form of be.
Ex. Alexa was in the museum last week.
Who was in the museum last week?
1. Her grandparents were at the cinema last Sunday.
____________________________________________________________________?
2. She was at home with her friends yesterday.
____________________________________________________________________?
3. My grandfather wasn’t happy because he was ill.
____________________________________________________________________?
4. There were two computers in the classroom last year.
____________________________________________________________________?
5. There was a gun in his bag.
____________________________________________________________________?
6. It was a terrible movie!
____________________________________________________________________?
7. There were six eggs in the fridge.
____________________________________________________________________?
8. The reservation was at 9 o’clock yesterday.
____________________________________________________________________?
UNIT 6B

D. Write the correct (regular or irregular) past simple forms of the verbs below.

Adapted from Speakout /New English File/Oxford Practice Grammar

arrive __arrived____ show ____________ tell ____________
go ____________ finish ____________ fly ____________
watch ____________ break ____________ forget ____________
enjoy ____________ build ____________ help ____________
have ____________ work ____________ become ____________
save ____________ win ____________ like ____________
play ____________ write ____________ come ____________
cook ____________ buy ____________ get ____________
spend ____________ cook ____________ grow ____________
cry ____________ try ____________ hear ____________
plan ____________ drive ____________ make ____________
die ____________ find ____________ meet ____________
live ____________ eat ____________ read ____________
wake ____________ see ____________ sit ____________

E. Write the sentences below using the past simple tense.

Ex. for ten hours/ my daughter/ last night/ sleep
My daughter slept for ten hours last night.
1. the bus/ their uncle/ miss/ yesterday morning.
______________________________________________________________.
2. my cousin / her room/ tidy / last night.
________________________________________________________________.
3. the school/ have /four years ago/ two canteens and a garden.
________________________________________________________________.
4. she/ naughty/ be / young/ when /be /she
_______________________________________________________________.
5. last year/ pass / the university entrance exams/ his grandchildren.
_______________________________________________________________.

F. Complete the life story of Anita Roddick. Use the past simple form of the verbs in the box.
(You can find a list of the irregular verbs in your Empower book page 176.)

grow up leave open (x2) die meet travel sell

come have go work get study

Anita Roddick started The Body Shop, the first 'green'

cosmetics company. She was born Anita Perelli in the UK
in 1942 and grew up in Littlehampton in the south of
England. Her parents _______________ from Italy and

Adapted from Speakout /New English File/Oxford Practice Grammar

 she _______________ three brothers and sisters. After she ______ school, Anita
_______________ to Bath College and ____________ to become a teacher. After college, she
______________ all around the world. Then she _____________ Gordon Roddick and they
__________ married in 1970. Anita and Gordon _________________ a restaurant and then a
hotel. At the same time Anita _______________ for the United Nations. She ________________
the first Body Shop in Brighton, England, in 1976. The shop ____________ only fifteen items with
only natural ingredients. It now sells over 300 items to 77 million customers and in 2004 it was the
twenty-eighth top name in the world of business. Anita Roddick ____________ in 2007. She left
behind a husband and two daughters.

G. Write (T) true or (F) false next to each statement about Anita Roddick. Correct the statement
with the information from the text above.

1. __ Anita lived in Italy. __________________________________________

2. __ She went to Bath College __________________________________________

3. __ She became a teacher. __________________________________________

4. __ After college she stayed at home. __________________________________________

5. __ She and her husband started a cafe. __________________________________________

6. __ She had a son. __________________________________________

H. Rewrite the sentences in the positive, negative or yes/no question forms of the past simple
tense.

Ex. My grandfather bought me a nice present for my birthday last year. (-)

My grandfather didn’t buy me a nice present for my birthday last year.

1. Her mother made dinner yesterday. (?)

___________________________________________________________?
2. She saw a man yesterday. (?)
___________________________________________________________?
3. They met their friends after work. (-)
___________________________________________________________.
4. The football players waited for the plane for two hours. (?)
____________________________________________________________?

Adapted from Speakout /New English File/Oxford Practice Grammar

 5. Her sister didn’t arrive at work on time last week. (+)
____________________________________________________________.
6. There were some good films in the cinema last weekend. (-)
____________________________________________________________.
7. I was a repairman ten years ago. (?)
____________________________________________________________?
8. Her brother didn’t break the vase yesterday. (+)
____________________________________________________________?

I. Write the questions for the words in bold.

Ex. A: Where did you go on holiday last summer?

B: We went to Japan.
1. A: ____________________________?
B: We went in August.
2. A: _____________________________ with?
B: I travelled with my friend Ramon.
3. A: ____________________________ ?
B: We saw Mount Fuji and Kyoto, the old capital.
4. A: ____________________________?
B: We ate a lot of interesting food.
5. A: __________________________?
B: We drank tea. A lot of tea!

J. Write the questions in the simple past.

Ex. it / be / your first time / Japan?

Was it your first time in Japan?
1. you / go / Hiroshima?
_______________________________________________________?
2. you / meet / local people?
_______________________________________________________?
3. you / speak / Japanese?
_______________________________________________________?
4. you / have / a good time?
_______________________________________________________?

Adapted from Speakout /New English File/Oxford Practice Grammar

 5. be / weather / good?
_______________________________________________________?

K. First, match answers a)-f) with questions 1-5. Then complete the short answers.

a) No, it wasn’t. I was there in 2004. ex

b) Yes, _________________. It was the best time of my life. ___
c) No, _______________. It's very difficult, and I didn't study it! ___
d) Yes, _______________. It was hot and sunny. ___
e) Yes, _______________. They were very friendly. ___
f) No, ________________. There wasn't time. ___

Vocabulary
What kind of words are these? (e.g. nouns, verbs, adjectives etc.)
adopt win become know
begin visitor bring gift
real call close secret
advertise come send catch
cry spend dream cut
story decide tell simple
find think lose chance
both cost

1. the price, how much money you need to pay __________________ (n/v)
2. special information, not many people know it __________________ (n)
3. the same as ‘say’ __________________ (v)
4. the opposite of ‘fake’ __________________ (adj)
5. easy to understand __________________ (adj)
6. ____________ money / time on something __________________ (v)
7. People give it to each other on special days __________________ (n)
8. The possibility that something will happen __________________ (n)
9. someone who visits a person or place __________________ (n)
10. tell people about a product/service to sell it __________________ (v)

Adapted from Speakout /New English File/Oxford Practice Grammar