1) Fill in the blanks with the past tense form of the verb TO BE.

a. Eva _______________ sick yesterday.

b. We _______________ in the same class last year.

c. I _______________ tired after a long day at work.

d. The weather _______________ beautiful yesterday.

e. My teachers _______________ really good last semester.

f. The children _______________ hungry after so much exercise.

g. The wind _______________ very strong last night.

h. She _______________ so happy last week.

i. They _______________ nervous on the first day of school.

j. Luckily, the windows _______________ closed during the rainstorm.

k. We _______________ very happy to get your invitation last week.

 2) Create questions using the prompt and the simple past tense.

Ex.: a. at home / last night: Were you at home last night?

b. at school / yesterday
___________________________________________________________________________

c. at the movies / last weekend

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d. at the gym / last week

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e. at the mall / last month

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f. in another country / last year

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g. tired / last night

___________________________________________________________________________

h. angry / last week

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i. sick / last month

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j. excited / about your last birthday

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k. happy / during your last vacation

___________________________________________________________________________
 3) Write the past forms of these verbs.

Ex be was / were

b begin

c bring

d catch

e hope

f talk

g choose

h do

i fall

j go

k have

l know

m make

n read

o listen

p like

q run

r study

s see

t sing

u sleep

v take

w teach

x think

y ask

z write
 4) Choose the correct verb from the box to complete the following sentences. Write
the verbs in the correct tense to make the sentences plausible.

a. I _______________ my friend in the hospital last night.

b. The boys _______________ baseball in the field behind the school.

c. Robert _______________ his wife wash the dishes.

d. We _______________ our living room a soft blue colour.

e. Susan _______________ TV for two hours last night.

f. We _______________ planes on the way to New York.

g. She _______________ for him for twenty minutes at the coffee shop.

h. He _______________ how to swim when he was a child.

i. They _______________ all around the country three years ago.

j. The students _______________ late for class.

k. We _______________ to the radio until midnight.

l. She _______________ a plate when she was washing the dishes.

m. They _______________ to Paris in a jumbo jet last week.

n. I _______________ the alarm clock for 7:00 yesterday morning, but I _______________
up an hour before the alarm clock _______________.
o. I _______________ an e-mail to my friend back home.

p. He _______________ a five-page essay last night.

q. His mother _______________ care of him when he _______________ sick.

r. The teacher _______________ the mathematics clas and then _______________ the
students three exercises for homework.

s. Matthew _______________ his wallet on the way to work yesterday. He

_______________ very upset.

t. Angie _______________ a bad cold last week. She _______________ in bed for three
days.

u. The children _______________ in the lake behind their house last summer.

v. We _______________ a wonderful time at your party last night.

w. I _______________ groceries on my way home yesterday and I _______________ cash.

x. I _______________ three friends at the cafe and we _______________ several cups of

coffee together.
5) Complete the following sentences using yesterday, last or ago.

a. We went skiing a lot _______________ winter.

b. She came to this country three years _______________.

c. The teacher cancelled the class _______________ Monday.

d. I spoke to him for ten minutes _______________.

e. We went dancing _______________ night.

f. The boss was away _______________ morning.

g. We began this class _______________ fall.

h. The children ran outside _______________ afternoon.

i. She got married five years _______________.

h. We went shopping _______________.

i. He left five minutes _______________.

6) Complete the sentences using the past tense. Make the first sentence negative and
the second one positive.

Ex.: Ben usually eats cereal for breakfast.

He didn´t eat cereal yesterday.
He ate toast.

a. Ben usually gets up at 7:00

He _______________ at 7:00 yesterday.

He _______________ at 8:00.

b. Ben usually takes a shower

He _______________ a shower yesterday.

He _______________ a bath.
c. Ben usually reads the Times newspaper.

He _______________ the Times yesterday.

He _______________ the Post.

d. Ben usually has a lot of appointments everyday.

He _______________ a lot of appointments yesterday.

He only _______________ a few.

e. Ben usually writes ten e-mails in the morning

He _______________ ten e-mails yesterday.

He _______________ five letters.

7) Fill in the past simple tense to tell the story.

a. On Friday, the children _______________ (talk) about a day out together in the country.
The next morning, they _______________ (go) to the country with their two dogs and
_______________ (play) together. Ben and Dave _______________ (have) some kites. Some
time later the dogs _______________ (be) not there. So, they _______________ (call) them
and _______________ (look) for them in the forest. After half and hour the children
_______________ (find) them and _______________ (take) them back. Charlie
_______________ (be) very happy to see them again. At lunch time Nick _______________
(go) to the bikes and _______________ (fetch) the basket with some meat sandwiches. Then
they _______________ (play) football. Nick and Dave _______________ (win). In the
evening they _______________ (ride) home.

b. The pupils of class 8B _______________ (do) a project last week. First the pupils
_______________ (choose) what they wanted to do. Then they _______________ (get)
information from books and brochures, and they _______________ (talk) to a lot of people.
They _______________ (find) some interesting photos in the library. Their teacher
_______________ (help) them when they _______________ (ask) her. Then they
_______________ (make) a poster and a video, and _______________ (tell) the other groups
about their project.

8) Write down the negative form of the sentences below.

a. She came to my party.

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b. The weather was nice.

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c. He wrote an email.
___________________________________________________________________________

d. They came home late.

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e. He ran fast.
___________________________________________________________________________

f. She bought a new car.

___________________________________________________________________________

g. They were angry.

___________________________________________________________________________

h. She found her ring.

___________________________________________________________________________

i. He was late.
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j. They sang beautifully.
___________________________________________________________________________

9) Write down the negative form and the interrogative form of the sentences below.

a. She met him at my party.

N: ________________________________________________________________________
Q: ________________________________________________________________________

b. It was sunny last week.

N: ________________________________________________________________________
Q: ________________________________________________________________________

c. He phoned me yesterday.

N: ________________________________________________________________________
Q: ________________________________________________________________________

d. They read a book.

N: ________________________________________________________________________
Q: ________________________________________________________________________

e. He did his homework.

N: ________________________________________________________________________
Q: ________________________________________________________________________

f. She helped me a lot.

N: ________________________________________________________________________
Q: ________________________________________________________________________

g. He was scared.

N: ________________________________________________________________________
Q: ________________________________________________________________________

h. They left in the afternoon.

N: ________________________________________________________________________
Q: ________________________________________________________________________

i. Bill was hungry.

N: ________________________________________________________________________
Q: ________________________________________________________________________
j. They ran to the church.

N: ________________________________________________________________________
Q: ________________________________________________________________________

j. He visited his uncle.

N: ________________________________________________________________________
Q: ________________________________________________________________________

j. Pam read a book.

N: ________________________________________________________________________
Q: ________________________________________________________________________
 10) Write the Past Simple of the verbs in the correct column.

-ed -d -ied Double consonant

+ -ed

11) Fill the blanks with the Past Continuous.

a. _______________ his time and strength to relieve suffering? (he / not / give)

b. A tall figure _______________ them along the deck. (approach)

c. He _______________ himself now. (not / exert)

d. _______________, all of them? (why / they / not / sleep)

e. She dreamed that the tree _______________. (fall)

f. One day, seeing that his wife _______________, he commanded Nicholas to lead her out.
(not / dance)

g. But since he _______________, she felt free to let her little fist seek her moth for comfort.
(not / look)

h. She realised they _______________ on her. (gain)

i. A car _______________ up at the entrance. (pull)

j. _______________? She wondered. (where / she / go)

12) Create sentences using the prompt and the Past Continuous tense.

a. they / take the exam / ?

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b. when / he / work there / ?

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c. you / make dinner / ?

___________________________________________________________________________

d. they / drink coffee / when you arrived / ?

___________________________________________________________________________

e. when / we / sleep / ?
___________________________________________________________________________

f. they / study / last night

___________________________________________________________________________

g. we / talk / when the accident happened

___________________________________________________________________________

h. he / not / exercise enough

___________________________________________________________________________

i. I / talk / too much / ?

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j. it / not / snow
___________________________________________________________________________

k. how / they / feel / ?

___________________________________________________________________________

l. they / not / talk

___________________________________________________________________________

l. where / I / stay / ?
___________________________________________________________________________

m. why / he / study / on a Saturday night / ?

___________________________________________________________________________

n. I / go to school / when you saw me

___________________________________________________________________________

o. you / sleep / at 6 a.m.

___________________________________________________________________________

p. she / work / when I called

___________________________________________________________________________

q. we / not / leave / when you called

___________________________________________________________________________

r. I / not / stay in a hotel

___________________________________________________________________________

s. we / make too much noise / ?

___________________________________________________________________________
 13) Complete the sentences with the Past Simple or the Past Continuous forms of
the verbs in brackets.

a. Were you _______________ (watch) the football match on TV when I _______________

(phone)?

b. The teachers _______________ (speak) when you _______________ (arrive) to school.

c. We _______________ (not like) the movie. It was boring.

d. I _________________ (not listen) to music last night. I ______________ (study)

Chemistry.

e. She _______________ (have) a shower when you ______________ (knock) at the door.

f. They _____________ (not go) to the theatre last month. The tickets were all sold.

g. While Chris and Jane ___________________ (travel) on Saturday, we

_________________ (prepare) the party for their arrival.

h. The children _______________ (sing) some songs last week, at the Christmas Festival.

i. Yesterday, I _______________ (hear) a strange noise while I _______________ (put on)

my pyjamas.

j. We _________________ (write) notes in class, when the Headmaster _____________

(come) in.

k. What __________ you __________ (do) last Tuesday at 11 p.m.?

 14) Underline the correct answer.

a. While my mother [cooked / was cooking], she [watched / was watching] TV.

b. We [slept / were sleeping] in our bedrooms at 6 o’clock.

c. The boys [played / were playing] baseball when it [started / was starting] to rain.

d. My cousin [had / was having] dinner when the telephone [rang / was ringing].

e. When I [got / was getting] up, my father [read / was reading] the newspaper.

f. Emilio [fell / was falling] when he [painted / was painting] the wall.

g. The doctor [examined / was examining] my eyesight yesterday.

15) Complete the following text with the Past Simple of the Past Continuous forms of
the verbs in brackets.

I was (be) with some friends and we _______________ (run) in a race. It was a marathon.
There _____________ (be) hundreds of runners around us, men and women, and it
_____________ (be) extremely hot. As we _____________ (cross) a bridge over a river, I
suddenly _____________ (notice) that everyone in the race _______________ (have) the
same face, even my friends! They were all the same person! I _____________ (want) to stop,
but there ______________ (be) so many people behind me that I _______________ (have to)
keep running. Then I _______ __________ (wake up) screaming.
 16) Complete the sentences with the past continuous form of the verbs in brackets.

a. I _______________ (make) my dinner at 8 o’clock last night.

b. Joe and Sam _______________ (use) the wrong program in IT yesterday

c. Who was that guy you _________________ (dance) with at the party?

d. Paula _________________ (come) home from school when she saw an accident.

e. In 1999 my father _____________ (live) in Dublin. That’s where he met my mother.

f. He __________________ (open) the box when he cut his finger.

g.This time last week, we __________________ (visit) my grandmother.

h. I __________________ (sit) at the back of the classroom so I couldn’t see the screen.

i. Andrew __________________ (insert) a photo into his document when the teacher stopped
the class.

j. I __________________ (start) to do my homework when my friend sent me a message.