MODULE C

UNIT C4
 Self-study Preview

Past Tense - Verb “to be”:

http://www.ompersonal.com.ar/ELEMENTARY/unit17/page3.htm
(Sections: Grammar and Exercises x3).

http://www.ompersonal.com.ar/ELEMENTARY/unit17/page4.htm
(Sections: Grammar x3).

http://www.ompersonal.com.ar/ELEMENTARY/unit17/page5.htm
(Sections: Grammar and Exercises).
Past Tense:

http://www.ompersonal.com.ar/ELEMENTARY/unit16/page2.htm
(Sections: Grammar and List of common verbs).

http://www.ompersonal.com.ar/ELEMENTARY/unit16/page3.htm
(Sections: Grammar and Exercises).
Past of To Be:
 Affirmative Sentences
Subject To Be Examples

I was I was tired this morning.

You were You were very good.

He was He was the best in his class.

She was She was late for work.

It was It was a sunny day.

We were We were at home.

You were You were on holiday.

They were They were happy with their test results.

UTN FRVM Lic. Evangelina Cecchel - Lic. Bibiana Fernandez

 Negative Sentences
I was not tired this morning. OR I wasn't tired this morning.

You were not crazy. OR You weren't crazy.

He was not married. OR He wasn't married.

She was not famous. OR She wasn't famous.

It was not hot yesterday. OR It wasn't hot yesterday.

We were not invited. OR We weren't invited.

You were not at the party. OR You weren't at the party.

They were not friends. OR They weren't friends.

 Questions / Short answers
Question Short Answers Short Answers

Was I late? Yes, you were. No, you weren't.

Were you sick? Yes, I was. No, I wasn't.

Was he surprised? Yes, he was. No, he wasn't.

Was she from Italy? Yes, she was. No, she wasn't.

Was it a big house? Yes, it was. No, it wasn't.

Were we ready? Yes, we were. No, we weren't.

Were you early? Yes, we were. No, we weren't.

Were they busy? Yes, they were. No, they weren't.

 Was – Were – Wasn’t – Weren’t

1. They _______  champions last year.

2. Where _______ Vince? He _______ in his office.  
3. Mom and Dad _______   on vacation last week.
4. The weather  _______  rainy this morning.
5. There  _______  a lot of people at the meeting yesterday.
6. There  _______  a small park here many years ago.
7. He _______   sick yesterday.
8. Don’t blame him. It _______   his mistake.
9. Where   _______ your sister yesterday?
10. We  _______  very hungry.
Simple Past
The Simple Past is used for actions that took place at a specific time in the past.

Examples:
They saw a movie yesterday.
I didn't see a play yesterday.
Last year, I traveled to Japan.
Last year, I didn't travel to New York.
Did you have dinner last night with your family?
She washed her car.
He didn't study  for his exam.
Before you continue the lesson read the following passage and try to
see how the verbs are formed and used.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was an Austrian musician
and composer. He lived from 1756 to 1791.
He started composing at the age of five years old
and wrote more than 600 pieces of music. He was only
35 years old when he died.

The verbs "was, lived, started, wrote, died"

are in the simple past tense.

Notice that “lived, started and died” are

regular past forms. And “was, wrote” are
irregular past forms.
Regular verbs:
The verbs "lived, started, died" are regular past forms. The rules are:
verb + -ed / verbs ending in –e +-d / verbs ending in –y preceded
by a consonant + -ied.
Infinitive Simple Past
Examples: live lived
start started

die died
visit visited
play played
watch watched
phone phoned
marry married
Irregular verbs:
The verbs "was, wrote" are irregular past forms.
"Was" is the simple past of "to be"; "wrote" is the
simple past of "write". There is no rule for these
verbs. You should learn them by heart.
Infinitive Simple Past
be was/were
write wrote
come came
do did
meet met
speak spoke

You can find a list of irregular verbs with Spanish translations here:
http://englishtsuid1101.pbworks.com/f/irregular+verbs+in+English.pdf
Signal words for the Simple Past:

•An hour ago.
•A week / a month / a year ago.
•In 2011 / the XIX century.
•Last week / weekend / month / year.
•Last summer / autumn / winter / spring.
•Yesterday
•At 3 o'clock.
•This morning, etc.
1. Fill in the correct form of the Simple Past.

Yesterday it  (to be) ______ my friend´s birthday. He (to invite)

______ a lot of friends from school. It  (to be) ______ very hot
so we  (to decide) ______ to go to the swimming pool. The
swimming pool  (not to be) ______ full so 
we  (to swim) ______ a lot. Suddenly Joe  (to fall) ______
and (to hurt) ______ himself. We  (to call) ______ an
ambulance. He _______  (not to stay) in hospital but he (to
have) ______ a broken arm.
2. Write the sentences in affirmative, negative or
interrogative form. Examples:
she / study / English ✓ She studied English.
they / study / French ✗ They didn’t study French.
we / eat / salad (?) Did we eat salad?

1. they / play / football ✓ ____________________

2. he / learn / English ✗ ____________________
3. you / drink / water (?) ____________________
4. she / watch / TV ✓ ____________________
5. it / rain / yesterday ✗ ____________________
6. they / travel / USA (?) ____________________
7. Sally / live / Lisbon last year ✗ ____________________
8. they / cook / dinner (?) ____________________
Past Tense - Verb “to be”:

https://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/tenses/was_were.htm
(Section: Exercises).
https://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/tenses/was_not_were_not.htm
(Section: Exercises).
https://
first-english.org/english_learning/english_tenses/simple_past/2/43_simple
_past_to_be.htm
(Section: Exercises).
https://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=12543
(Section: Exercises).
Past Tense:

http://www.ompersonal.com.ar/ELEMENTARY/unit16/page5.htm
(Section: Exercises – 2nd part).
http://www.ompersonal.com.ar/ELEMENTARY/unit17/page6.htm
(Sections: Dialogues and Exercises).
https://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/tenses/simple_past_mix.htm
(Section: Exercises).
https://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/irregular-verbs-exercise-2.html
(Section: Exercises).
https://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/irregular-verbs-exercise-1.html
(Section: Exercises).
https://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/past-simple-exercise-8.html
(Section: Exercises).