PAST TENSE SIMPLE

I. Supply the correct form of the past tense of TO BE.

1. Teresa ______ absent from work yesterday.
2. He _____ in the same office as Wendy last year.
3. They ______ good friends for many years.
4. The office door _____ open.
5. But both windows _____ closed.
6. Ned ______ not at work yesterday.
7. The exercises in the last lesson _____ easy.
8. You ______ busy all day yesterday.
9. We ______ tired after our long walk.
10. I _____hungry after so much exercise.

II. Past Tense – Regular Verbs

1. We (work) ............. in our garden all day yesterday.
2. I (listen) ...... to the stereo until 12 o’clock last night.
3. Meg and I (talk) ............. on the phone yesterday.
4. He always (want) ............. to learn English.
5. They (live) ............. in France for many years.
6. We (expect) ............. to go to Europe in June.
7. The meeting (last) ............. about two hours.
8. We (change) ............. planes at Heathrow.
9. We both (like) ........... the movies last night very much.
10. I (wait) ............. for Jane almost two hours.

III. Past Tense – Irregular Verbs

1. Mr. And Mrs. Rockwell (come) ........................ to visit us last night.
2. They (tell) .......................... us about their plans for their new home.
3. The weather was warm, so we (sit) ...................... on our front porch.
4. I (put) .......................... your coat in the closet.
5. The meeting last night (begin) ....................... at 8 and ended at 10.
6. I stayed home last night and (write) .................... several letters.
7. I (see) ......................... you on the street yesterday.
8. I (eat) ……………............ my lunch in the cafeteria yesterday.
9. The man (drink) ........................ a little wine at the party last night.
10. I (hear) ........................... the President speak on TV last night.
11. Kim (feel) ........................... well yesterday, but today she feels sick again.
12. We (go) ……….... to the park yesterday and I (get) …..... wet when it rained.
13. You (have) ............................ a cold last week.
14. Senator Jordan (speak) ...................... to our club last month.

IV. Past Tense – Negative Form

1. They ate chicken for dinner.
2. He put the books on the table.
3. You told me about it.
4. They started in Mexico City.
5. Judy and I saw Eliot yesterday.
6. He planned his work well.
7. The meeting lasted a long time.
8. The book cost $3.95.
9. The woman and her husband worked together.
10. I knew him very well.
V. Past Tense – Interrogative form
1. She lived in Peru for two years.
2. They stayed in Europe all summer.
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 3. He gave her a lot of presents.
4. She told the all about her trip.
5. You moved here in February.
6. They flew to Minneapolis.
7. We went home after you did last night.
8. They cat to the party together.
9. Carla and Dave knew each other as children.
10. He worked in that firm for many years.

VI. Past Tense – Questions

1. Marianne arrived at ten o’clock. (What time)
2. They sold their home last week. (When)
3. The meeting began at 8:30. (What time)
4. The tickets cost three dollars. (How much)
5. He paid for the car by check. (How)
6. She invested ten thousand dollars in the stock market. (How much)
7. They sat in the first row. (In which row)
8. He spoke to them in French. (In what language)
9. The meeting lasted two hours. (How long)
10. It began at eight o’clock. (What time)

VII. Ask questions about the underlined parts of the following sentences:
1. The Prime Minister entered the room at 9 o’clock.
2. I found these cheap shoes in a little shop in Chelsea.
3. They chose 25 girls for the beauty contest.
4. She didn’t come to the party because she was ill.
5. She taught English to African students.
6. This T-shirt cost 4$.
7. Sam bought these trousers on the market.
8. My brother showed me this trick.
9. I first met my wife ten years ago.
10. I liked his second novel best.

VIII. Fill in each blank with a suitable verb in the Simple Past. Here are the words to choose from
(not all of them will be necessary; some may appear more than once):
take; be; slow; roll; sing; keep; feel; put; get; want; shout; think; look; hear; faint; listen;
skid; drive; crash; cause

The road was wet and it was dangerous to overtake, so Patrick _________________ 1. down and
____________________ 2. a safe distance between himself and the car in front. Suddenly he
_____________________ 3. a loud bang and the car in front __________________ 4. off the road
and ______________________ 5. into a tree. Patrick ____________________ 6. to stop and help
the other driver so he _____________________ 7. his foot on the brake. But this sudden move
________________________ 8. his car to side-slip and turn around on the slippery surface. The car
_____________________ 9. out of control and Patrick ____________________ 10. quite helpless
as it __________________________ 11. backwards straight into the other car! There
___________________ 12. a short silence and then an angry voice ____________________ 13.,
/What do you think you're doing?". Patrick __________________ 14. up from behind the wheel and
almost ___________________ 15. It was his mother-in-law!