The Past Simple Tense

Exercise№1. Read the sentences. Find the past-tense verb. Give the first form. Then change them in the negative sentences.

1. We took the bus.

2. We arrived at home.

3. She had dinner.

4. They invited us to their party.

5. I watched TV.

6. He played the piano.

7. We left after dinner.

8. He read a book.

9. We went to the park.

10. They prepared breakfast.

Exercise№2. Complete the sentences. Use last, ago or yesterday.

1. I listened to the radio a few minutes ___.

2. We visited San Francisco ___ year.

3. Carol stayed late at work ___ afternoon.

4. We didn’t call them ___ night.

5. He worked on my car ___ morning.

6. She studied in Paris two years ___.

7. ___ week we studied the Present tense.

Exercise№3. Read a sentence about the present and write a sentence about the past.

Example: Tom usually gets up at 7.30. – Yesterday he got up at 7.30.

1. Tom usually wakes up early. - Yesterday morning _____.

2. Tom usually walks to work. - Yesterday _____.

3. Tom is usually late for work. - Yesterday _____.

4. Tom usually has a sandwich for lunch. - Yesterday _____.

5. Tom usually goes out in the evening. – Yesterday evening _____.

6. Tom usually sleeps very well. – Last night _____.

Exercise№4. Use a proper verb in the Past Simple Tense to complete sentences.

1. I was hungry, so I ___ something to eat in the shop.

2. Tom’s father ___ him to drive when he was 17.

3. Don ___ down the stairs this morning and ___ his leg.

4. We needed some money so we ___ our car.

5. Ann ___ a lot of money yesterday. She ___ a dress which ___ £50.

6. Jim ___ the ball to Sue who ___ it.

7. Carol (not)___ turkey on Thanksgiving Day. They ___ fish.

8. Tom ___ Yoko’s friends from Russia for the first time last Wednesday.

9. Helen (not)___ her homework on Friday. She ___ it on Monday.

10. At the party John ___ very happy.

11. My parents (not) ___ to a concert. They ___ to the cinema.

12. They ___ sad after this accident.

Exercise№5. Complete the story. Open the brackets.

George Washington (be) the first president of the United States. He (live) in a beautiful home in Virginia. His mother (have) a special garden with a little cherry tree. Everyone (love) this cherry tree. One day George (get) a hatchet as a present. He (decide) to try the hatchet. He (go) to the cherry tree and (chop) it down. As soon as he (see) the tree on the ground, he (feel) terrible. He (walk) sadly to the house and (go) to his room. He (not/play) that afternoon. He (not/eat) this evening. That night George’s father said, “Someone (chop) down our cherry tree.” George (decide) to tell his father. He (walk) towards his father and (say), “I (do) it. I’m sorry”. “Thank you for telling the truth,” his father (say), “If you want people to believe you, tell them the truth whether it’s pleasant or not”.

Exercise№6. Write questions. A friend has just come back from holiday and you are asking him about it.

Examples: where / go? – Where did you go?

food / good? – Was the food good?

1. how long / stay there?

2. stay in a hotel?

3. go alone?

4. how/ travel?

5. the weather / fine?

6. what / do in the evenings?

7. meet any interesting people?

Exercise№7. Work in small groups. Write reasons why:

1. you had a terrible day.

2. you had a wonderful day.

I had a terrible day because… I had a wonderful day because…

I forgot my homework. I saw my cousin.

Someone stole my wallet. I went to the park.

Continue… Continue…

Exercise№8. Work in small groups. Choose the activities you did last weekend. Then tell your group more about them.

1. I watched TV.

2. I listened to music.

3. I visited friends or relatives.

4. I talked on the phone.

5. I played a sport.

6. I worked.

7. I studied.

Example: I watched the movie “Beauty” on TV last Friday evening. The movie starred Julia Roberts and Richard Gere. I enjoyed it very much.

What activities were very popular in your group?

Exercise№9. Are the underlined parts of these sentences right or wrong? Correct the ones that are wrong.

1. I’ve bought a new car. Do you want to see it?

2. I’ve bought a new car last week.

3. I’ve lost my key. I can’t find it anywhere.

4. Have you seen the news on television last night?

5. Where have you been yesterday evening?

6. The Chinese have invented printing.

7. I’m looking for Mike have you seen him?

8. I’m very hungry. I haven’t eaten anything today.

9. Diane hasn’t been at work yesterday.

10. Albert Einstein has been the scientist who has developed the theory of relativity.

Exercise№10. Make sentences from the words in brackets. Use the present perfect or past simple.

1. (it/ not/ rain/ this week)

2. (the weather/ be/ cold/ recently)

3. (it/ cold/ last week)

4. (I/ not/ read/ a newspaper/ yesterday)

5. (I/ not/ read/ a newspaper/ today)

6. (Sam/ earn/ a lot of money/ this year)

7. (he/ not/ earn/ so much/ last year)

8. (you/ have/ a holiday recently?)

Exercise№11.Read the notes about Paul Vern who is a famous runner. Make sentences using the prompts given as in the example.

e.g. Paul Vern was born in Sussex.

Ø be born/ in Sussex

Ø always want/ be a runner

Ø start running/ at the age of seven

Ø win/ the school championship/ when/ be/ 15years old

Ø join/ the national team/ four years ago

Ø win/ several medals/ so far

Ø recently receive/ the ‘Athlete of the Year’ award

Ø get married/ last month

Ø already take part/ in two international championships

Exercise№12.Correct the mistakes.

1. We have bought a new sofa last month.

2. Jim lives in Germany for three years.

3. My father has went fishing.

4. She is just moved house.

5. We have eaten lunch at one o’clock.

6. Sophie has do her homework.

7. Ann and Tim have got married ten years ago.

8. I am at school since nine o’clock.

Exercise№13. Put the verbs in brackets in the correct tense, Present or Past Simple, Present Perfect Simple or Continuous.

1. I (learn) Italian for the past three years. My teacher is very good, and I (like) her very much.

I (be) to Italy three times. I (go) there last year with my family, and we (stay) in Florence. I (enjoy) it a lot, but there (be) too many people.

2. My daughter (try) to find a job for months. She (leave) university in June, and since then she (have) one or two part-time jobs. She (work) in a café for the last two weeks.

She (want) to work in publishing. She (write) hundreds of letters of application, and she (have) a few interviews, but no job offers yet.

3. We (live) in our new house for several months. Since we (move) in, we (be) very busy. Everyone (help) to get the house ready. So far we (decorate) the living room and the kitchen. Soon after we arrived the central heating (break) down, so we (have) to spend a lot of money to repair it.

We (like) gardening very much, but we (not have) time to do anything to the garden yet. And it (rain) very heavily recently, so we’ll just wait till the weather gets better.

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