Simple Past To Be
Read the telephone conversation below.
Positive
The past form of to be has two forms, was and
were. We use was with I, she, he and it. We
use were with you, we and they.
I was awake.
We were at your house.
The movie was great.
Yes / No Question
To ask yes / no questions we put was or were
before the subject. We use subject and was,
were, wasn’t or weren’t in the short answer.
A: Were you at home? B: No, I wasn’t.
A: Was Kathy awake? B: Yes, she was.
A. Complete the sentences with was, were, wasn’t, weren’t
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Negative
We use was not (wasn’t) or were not
(weren’t) to make negative sentences.
I wasn’t asleep.
You weren’t at home last night.
Kathy wasn’t with Olivia
Question with a Question word
To ask questions with a question word, we
put the question word first, then was or
were and the subject.
A: What movie was it?
B. It was Frankenstein’s Uncle.
B. Circle the correct word in the following sentences.

Past simple
Read the following text.
Last Summer I went to Nice. On the first day, we ate in a restaurant with a terrace. It had a
wonderful view of the sea. The dishes were absolutely delicious. On the second day, we visited
an art museum. There were many contemporary exhibits there, but I didn't like them at all. After
visiting the museum, we returned to our hotel room as we were really tired. We didn’t do
anything at night. We spent the next day at the great beaches of Nice. I swam and sunbathed
all day. It was a short but very entertaining holiday. I definitely want to go to Nice again.
The past simple shows us that an action was in the past, not in the present.

Positive Negative
Regular past simple verbs have -ed at the end We make the negative with didn't and
(e.g. called, played, visited). Irregular verbs have a the infinitive verb.
different form, usually with a different vowel sound
(e.g. go → went, have → had)
We visited an art museum.
Regular I sunbathed all day. I didn't like the exhibits.

We ate in a restaurant. We didn’t do anything at night.

Irregular It had a wonderful view.
Yes / No Question Question with a Question word
To ask yes / no questions we put did before the To ask questions with a question word,
subject and then we put the base form of the verb. we put the question word first, then did
We use subject and did or didn’t in the short and the subject and the base form of
answer. the verb.

A: Did the restaurant have a good view? A: Where did you spend the next
B: Yes, it did. day?
B: At the beach.
A: Did you like the exhibits?
B: No, I didn’t.

The spelling of the simple past form (-ed forms)

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 Here are the rules:
1. Regular verbs ending in a silent e take /-d/ in the simple past and past participle:
Example:
close=closed
2. Regular verbs ending in a vowel + y take /-ed/ in the simple past and past participle:
Example:
play=played
3. Regular verbs ending in a consonant + y take /-ied/ in the simple past and past participle
(the ' y' becomes an ' i' followed by /-ed/)
Example:
marry=married
4. All the other regular verbs take /-ed/ in the simple past and past participle.
Example:
visit=visited
Follow these rules when there is a consonant after a vowel (stop, ban, open, offer...)
 If there is a consonant after a stressed vowel at the end of the word, double the consonant
stop – stopped
ban - banned
swap - swapped
 If the vowel is not stressed, we do not double it:
open - opened (Here the stress is on'o', not the 'e'.)
offer - offered ( Here the stress is on 'o', not the 'e'.)

Exercises:
A. Fill in the table with the correct verb form.

B. Fill in the blanks below to complete the sentences. Study the boxes above.
1. I (eat)___________ dinner at six o’clock yesterday.
2. A: ___________ Helen (drive)___________ to work? B: Yes, she ___________.
3. My neighbor (buy)___________ a new car last week.
4. They (go)___________ to Italy on their last summer holiday.
5. A: ___________ they (swim)___________ at the beach? B: No, they __________.
6. My family and I (not see) ___________ a comedy movie last night. It was a thriller.
7. First, we (do)___________ exercise, and then we (drink)___________ some water.
8. What time (do)___________ you (get up) ___________ this morning?
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Order of events in the past

On Saturday night, my friend and I got together to watch a movie after he finished work. He called
me when he left the office. I prepared some snacks before he arrived. We selected a movie when
he got here. We started the movie as soon as we got ready. When the movie ended, we went out.
We found our friends once we got to our favourite spot. I didn’t get back home until it was late at
night.

We use after, before, once, as soon as, until to show the order of events in the past.
After: I went out after I finished my homework. / After I finished my homework, I went out.
Before: Before I went out, I finished my homework. / I finished my homework before I went out.
When: I went out when I finished my homework. / When I finished my homework, I went out.
As soon as: I went out as soon as I finished my homework. / As soon as I finished my
homework, I went out.
Once: I went out once I finished my homework. / Once I finished my homework, I went out.
Until: I didn’t go out until I finished my homework. / Until I finished my homework, I didn’t go
out.
Exercises
1. I saved enough money. I bought a new car.
When ………………………………………………………………………………………………
2. I got some information. I sent a fax to you.
………………………………………… as soon as …………………………………………….
3. She saw her lawyer. She didn’t sell the house.
………………………………………… before …………………………………………………….
4. We arrived at the airport. Our friends met us.
Once ………………………………………………………………………………………………
5. She met his family. She didn’t marry him.
……………………………………….. until ……………………………………………………..
6. Harry got out of prison. He robbed another bank.
……………………………………….. after ……………………………………………..
7. She went to the dance. She wore her new dress.
……………………………………….. when ……………………………………………………
8. They saw the sea. They took a photograph.
……………………………………….. as soon as ……………………………………………..

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Past continuous
Axel: Hey Laura! Did you look at my blog last night?
Laura: Unfortunately, no. I had lots of things to do. While I was doing my homework, my cousin
visited us. It was eight o’clock and after that I couldn’t even finish my homework.
Axel: Oh! Poor you! What did you do with her?
Laura: Well. We didn’t stay at home. We went to the park near our house. While we were going
to the park, we saw Michael on the way. He joined us and we chatted for an hour there.
Axel: Sounds nice. So are you ready for Mrs. Sabina’s class?
Laura: Not at all. What about you? I bet you finished yours last night.
Axel: Well, I didn’t study all night. I was watching TV at eight o’clock. Then I started writing my
new blog post.

The past continuous shows us that the action was already in progress at a certain time
in the past.

Positive
We use was or were and the -ing form of the
verb to make positive statements.
While I was doing my homework, my cousin
visited us.
I was watching TV at eight o’clock last night.
Negative
We use wasn’t or weren’t and the
-ing form of the verb to make negative
statements.
I tried to give him some advice, but he
wasn't listening.
When I called her, she wasn’t studying.

Yes / No Questions Question with a Question word

To ask yes / no questions we put was or were
before the subject and then we put the -ing
form of the verb. We use subject and was or
were in the short answer.
A: Were you sleeping when I called you?
B: Yes, I was. / No, I wasn’t.
A: Were they studying all day?
B: Yes, they were. / No, they weren’t.
To ask questions with a question word, we
put the question word first, then was or
were and the subject and the –ing form of
the verb.
A: What were you doing at 8 p.m. last
night?
B: I was studying.
A: What was she doing this time last
year?
B: She was studying French.

Exercises:
A. Complete the sentences with the past continuous form.
1 I _____________________ (run) when you saw me because I was late.
2 They _____________________ (wait) for a bus when the car crashed.
3 Gabi and Laura _____________________ (dance) at 8pm.
4 Tomek _____________________ (not / eat) a sandwich when Ben fell into the river.
5 What ____________________ Carol and Jack ___________________ (do) when Pedro phoned?
6 _____________________ Sally _____________________ (take) a photo when I phoned?
7 Pedro and Tomek _____________________ (not / laugh) when Ben fell in the river.
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8 We (not / cycle) _____________________ all day.
9 While Aaron (work) ___________________ in his room, his friends (swim) _________________
in the pool.
10. I tried to tell them the truth but they (listen / not) _____________________ What (you / do)
_____________________ yesterday?

Past continuous and past simple

When we use these two tenses together, it shows us that the past simple action happened in the
middle of the past continuous action, while it was in progress.

While I was studying, I suddenly felt sleepy.

We often use these tenses to show an action interrupting another action.
I broke my leg when I was skiing.
As I was going to work, I saw an old friend.
We were watching television when the power went off.
Can you see a difference in the meaning of these two sentences?
When the guests arrived, Jane was cooking dinner.
When the guests arrived, Jane cooked dinner.

In the first one, Jane started cooking dinner before the guests arrived. We know that because it
uses the past continuous. In the second sentence, the guests arrived first and then Jane started
cooking.

Verbs not normally used in the continuous form.

The continuous tenses – both present and past – are used for action verbs but not for verbs that
refer to states and feelings. These verbs are typically stative verbs and are used in the simple
present and simple past tenses.

Some of the stative verbs that cannot be used here are

believe, desire, doubt, feel, forget, hear, know, like, love, notice, remember, see, smell,
taste, understand, wish and want.

Examples:

o We understood the step-by-step instructions.

(Not: We were understanding the step-by-step instructions.)
o They didn’t believe in the news.
(Not: They weren’t believing the news)
o She wanted to go to the cinema.
(Not: She was wanting to go to the cinema.)

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Exercises:

A. Circle the correct answer.

B. Complete the sentences with the past simple or continuous form of the verbs.