Online English private lessons and group courses with native speakers.

Click now to take advantage of discounts up to 50%.

Past simple Exercises

( Free Online English Grammar Lessons )

Read time : 3 minutes

Past simple form : ( verb 2 )

In English we use the past simple tense to talk about finished actions in the past.

We use 'did' as an auxiliary verb in negatives and questions and we often use the past simple with past time phrases such as 5 minutes ago, yesterday, last week, in the 1980s, and when I was a child.

Notes for use of past simple  :

In English, to change verbs to the past tense, we add '-ed' to regular verbs. For example;

work --> worked

live --> lived

walk --> walked

If the verb ends in 'e', we drop the 'e' before adding '-ed'. For example;

dance --> danced

smile --> smiled

phone --> phoned

If the verb ends in a vowel + consonant, we double the last consonant. For example;

stop --> stopped

tag --> tagged

plan --> planned

If the verb has more than one syllable, we double the consonant at the end only if the last syllable is stressed. For example;

prefer --> preferred

permit --> permitted

regret --> regretted

If the last syllable of the verb is not stressed, we do not double the last consonant. For example;

visit --> visited

happen --> happened

develop --> developed

In British English, verbs ending in 'l' double the 'l' before '-ed' whether the last syllable is stressed or not. For example;

travel --> travelled

cancel --> cancelled

If the verb ends in a 'y' or a 'w', we do not double it when we add '-ed'. For example;

stay --> stayed

play --> played

sew --> sewed

In English we do not double the consonant if the verb has two vowels before the last consonant. For example;

boil --> boiled

explain --> explained

In English we also do not double the consonant if the verb ends in two consonants. For example;

help --> helped

start --> started

However, irregular verbs change to completely different words in the past tense. For example;

go --> went

take --> took

know --> knew

The table below shows the different forms of past simple :

Example Verb : live
I / You  / We / They / He / She / It
Positive... lived.
Negative... didn't live.

Questions

Did ... live?
Short answers

Yes, ... did. /

No, ... didn't.

For the verb 'to be' we use 'was' and 'were'' in the past simple. No auxiliary verbs are used in negative sentences and questions.

Verb : Be
I / He / She / It
You / We / They
Positive... was ...... were ...
Negative... wasn't ...... weren't ...
QuestionsWas ... ... ?Were ... ...?
Short answers

Yes, ... was. /

No, ... wasn't.

Yes, ... were. /

No, ... weren't.

Past Simple Example Sentences :

Positive Examples of Past Simple :

  • I went to Japan last year.
  • She worked as a consultant for 5 years.
  • We saw a film last night.
  • He was ill yesterday.
  • They were at the party last Saturday night.

Negative Examples of Past Simple :

  • You didn't go to the gym last night.
  • He didn't attend the meeting this morning.
  • We didn't have a dog when I was a child.
  • I wasn't at home last weekend.
  • They weren't happy with the service.

Question Examples of Past Simple :

  • Did you visit New York last summer?
  • Did you eat at the Japanese restaurant last night?
  • Who did you meet at the conference?
  • Was she angry?
  • Where were you yesterday afternoon?

Past simple example sentences
Why didn't you remind me while I was on the phone, then!那你为啥不在我打电话时告诉我呢!
Apparently you f*cked up, then what happened?显然你把事情搞砸了,然后发生了什么?
What was wrong with the last house?最后一个房子有什么问题?
I'm his friend from London, as he mentioned!我是他的一位来自伦敦的朋友,如他所说!
That's interesting, did you also teach them how to cook?很有趣,你还会教他们怎么烧菜吗?
But didn't we already buy the cheese grated?但是我们不是已经买了磨碎的奶酪了吗?
I took a picture and printed it out at school!我拍了一张照片,然后在学校里打印出来了!
Umm, since we met I can count the days I didn't hear you snoring.嗯,从我们见面后,你不打呼噜的天数屈指可数。
Do you need help, how did you search?你需要帮助吗,你是怎么搜索的?
I got you a cappuccino.我带的是卡布奇诺。
Today Rebecca called me about...今天,瑞贝卡打电话给我,是关于...
You killed my favourite movie with one punch, dear!你一拳杀死了我最爱的电影,亲爱的!
Look at that, it splashed water all over me!看看,水溅了我一身!
Diego was living in this house and there was a vacancy.迪亚哥当时就住在这里,而且还有一个空房间。
I'm very surprised you didn't check the wine list before you ordered.我非常惊讶,你在点单之前都没有看一下酒单。
I'm still shocked... I can't believe what I just heard!我还是有点震惊... 我不敢相信刚才听到的事!
What!? So you complained to Nick about our cat!什么!?所有是你向尼克抱怨我们的猫!
We are going to follow the original plan, how it was before.我们就根据之前的初始计划行动吧。
Yes, I moved from Brighton about a month ago.是的,我在大约1个月前从布莱顿搬了过来。
Did you sleep well last night?你昨晚睡得好吗?

\
500\
\
\

There are no comments yet. Be the first one...
Be going to
Be going to passive
Be used to / Get used to
Comparative
Defining relative clause
Echo tag
Expression
First conditional
Future
Future continuous
Future perfect continuous
Future perfect passive
Future perfect simple
Future simple passive
Greeting
Have/Get something done
Imperative
Implied conditional
Indirect question
Infinitive of purpose
Interjection
Mixed conditional
Modal
Modal passive
Non-defining relative clause
Other
Past continuous
Past continuous passive
Past perfect continuous
Past perfect passive
Past perfect simple
Past simple
Past simple passive
Polite request / offer / suggestion
Present continuous
Present continuous passive
Present perfect continuous
Present perfect passive
Present perfect simple
Present simple
Present simple passive
Question tag
Reduced relative clause
Reported speech imperative
Reported speech question
Reported speech request
Reported speech statement
Second conditional
Short answer
Superlative
Third conditional
Used to / would (past habit)
Was/were going to
Was/were supposed to
Wish
Would rather
Zero conditional