Grammar Practice Worksheets ✎

Simple Past

Verb “To Be” Past Tense – Affirmative and Negative

A. Put the correct form of the verb “to be” (was/were) in the past tense in the following sentences.

1. Judy __________________ sick yesterday.

2. We __________________ in the same class last year.
3. I __________________ tired after a long day at work.
4. The weather __________________ beautiful yesterday.
5. Last semester my teachers __________________ very good.
6. The children __________________ hungry after so much exercise.
7. The wind __________________ very strong last night.
8. She __________________ very happy last week.
9. They __________________ nervous on the first day of school.
10. Luckily, the windows __________________ closed during the rain storm.
11. We __________________ very happy to get your letter last week.
12. The boys __________________ tired after the ball game.

B. Put the correct negative form of the verb “to be” (wasn’t/ weren’t) in the following sentences.

1. They __________________ at school yesterday because it was Saturday.

2. He __________________ hungry at supper time because he ate a big lunch.
3. Carol __________________ happy to see her boyfriend with another girl.
4. Bonnie __________________ at home last night when I called her.
5. The teacher __________________ satisfied with the student’s work.

C. Complete the following sentences with wasn’t or weren’t.

Ex. I am at work today, but I wasn’t here yesterday.

1. It is cold outside today, but _______________________________________________________.

2. She is sick today, but _______________________________________________________.
3. They are at school today, but _______________________________________________________.
4. The TV show is good today, but _______________________________________________________.
5. The apples are sweet today, but _______________________________________________________.
6. The class is interesting today, but _______________________________________________________.
7. The boss is angry today, but _______________________________________________________.
8. The door is locked today, but _______________________________________________________.
9. The exercises are easy today, but _______________________________________________________.

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 Grammar Practice Worksheets ✎
Simple Past

Past Tense of the Verb “To Be” – Yes/No Questions

Practice making questions and giving short answers with the verb “to be” in the past tense.

Ex. Were you tired last night?

Yes, I was. (I was tired last night.)

1. _________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________ (It wasn’t cold outside yesterday.)

2. _________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________ (They weren’t sick last week.)

3. _________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________ (Don was at the office last Saturday.)

4. _________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________ (The car was expensive.)

5. _________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________ (The children weren’t excited.)

6. _________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________ (The store wasn’t open.)

7. _________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________ (The movie was interesting.)

8. _________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________ (The food wasn’t good.)

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 Grammar Practice Worksheets ✎
Simple Past

Simple Past Tense – Regular Verbs

Choose the correct verb from the list below to complete the following sentences. Put the verb in the past
tense.

play / listen / paint / water / visit / mail / help / arrive / learn / watch / change / wait

1. I ________________________________ my friend in the hospital last night.

2. The boys ________________________________ baseball in the field behind the school.
3. Robert ________________________________ his wife wash the dishes.
4. We ________________________________ our living room a soft blue color.
5. Susan ________________________________ TV for two hours last night.
6. We ________________________________ planes on the way to New York.
7. I ________________________________ the letter on the way to work.
8. She ________________________________ for him for 20 minutes at the coffee shop.
9. They ________________________________ how to swim many years ago.
10. She ________________________________ the flowers in the garden yesterday.
11. The students ________________________________ late for class.
12. We ________________________________ to the radio until midnight.

Simple Past Tense – Negative

Change the following sentences to a negative and then write another sentence of your own in the
affirmative.
Ex. Mary baked a cake. Mary didn’t bake a cake.
She baked cookies.

1. The boys played soccer. ______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________
2. Carol called her mother. ______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
3. Donald fixed his TV. ______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
4. Peter danced with Betty. ______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
5. Ann studied history. ______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
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 Grammar Practice Worksheets ✎
Simple Past

Past Tense - Irregular Verbs – Negative & Affirmative

Complete the sentences below using the example given.

Ex. Bill usually eats cereal for breakfast.

He didn’t eat cereal yesterday. He ate toast.

1. Ben usually gets up at 7:00.

He ___________________ at 7:00 yesterday. He _______________________ at 8:00.

2. Ben usually takes a shower.

He ___________________a shower yesterday. He _______________________ a bath.

3. Ben usually reads the Times newspaper.

He ________________ the Times yesterday. He ______________________ the Post.

4. Ben usually leaves the house at 8:00.

He _____________________ the house at 8:00. He ______________________ at 9:00.

5. Ben usually takes a bus to work.

He ________________________ a bus yesterday. He _______________________ a taxi.

6. Ben usually meets his boss in the morning.

He ________________ his boss in the morning yesterday. He _______________ him in the afternoon.

7. Ben usually writes 10 letters every morning.

He __________________ write 10 letters yesterday. He __________________ 5 letters.

8. Ben usually eats lunch in the office.

He ______________________ lunch in the office yesterday. He ________________ lunch in a restaurant.

9. Ben usually has a lot of appointments every day.

He _________________ a lot of appointments yesterday. He only _________________ a few.

10. Ben usually goes home at 6:00.

He _____________________ home at 6:00 yesterday. He __________________ home at 7:00.

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 Grammar Practice Worksheets ✎
Simple Past

Past Tense Irregular Verbs – Question Formation

Write the questions. Follow the example given below.

Ex. Did you wake up early? No I didn’t. I woke up late.

1. __________________________________________________ at 7:00? No, we didn’t. We met at 8:00.

2. ____________________________________________ at the pool? No, he didn’t. He swam in the lake.

3. _______________________________________________ apples? No, she didn’t. She bought oranges.

4. ______________________________________________ French? No, they didn’t. They spoke Spanish.

5. _______________________________________________ to school? No, I didn’t. I drove to the office.

6. _____________________________________________________ on time? No, he didn’t. He came late.

7. _____________________________________________ to Paris? No, she didn’t. She flew to Rome.

8. __________________________________________________ your purse? No, I didn’t. I lost my wallet.

9. ____________________________________________ a big fish? No, he didn’t. He caught a small one.

10. ___________________________________________________ a cake? No, she didn’t. She made a pie.

11. ______________________________________________________ 8 hours? No, I didn’t. I slept 9 hours.

12. ________________________________________________ their mother? No, they didn’t. They told me.

13. _______________________________________________ on the sofa? No, we didn’t. We sat on chairs.

14. __________________________________________________ a skirt? No, she didn’t. She wore a dress.

15. _________________________________________________ the windows? No, I didn’t. I shut the door.

16. ______________________________________ at the front of the room? No, she didn’t. She stood at the
back of the room.

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 Grammar Practice Worksheets ✎
Simple Past

Past Tense – Irregular Verbs – Information Questions

Use the correct question word (who, what, where, when, why, how much) to make questions in the simple
past tense. The underlined words are the answers to the questions.

Ex. She bought the toy at Wal-Mart.

Where did she buy the toy?

1. __________________________________________________________________________
They left the office at 6:00.

2. __________________________________________________________________________
She didn’t go to work because she was sick.

3. __________________________________________________________________________
I spent $80.00 on groceries.

4. __________________________________________________________________________ *
Rosa spoke to the boss.

5. __________________________________________________________________________ *
Rosa spoke to the boss.

(Note the difference between #4 and #5. Can you explain the grammar rule?)

6. __________________________________________________________________________
She said “hello” to me.

7. __________________________________________________________________________
I felt sick yesterday.

8. __________________________________________________________________________
The sun rose at 6:45 A.M. yesterday.

9. __________________________________________________________________________
She wore a beautiful dress to the party.

10.__________________________________________________________________________
The meeting took place in Room 29.

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 Grammar Practice Worksheets ✎
Simple Past

Review - Past Tense –Irregular Verbs

Choose the correct verb from the list below to complete the following sentences. Put the verb into the
correct past tense form.

buy / ring / lie / break / teach / fly / set / send / wake / swim / be / pay / meet /
have / write / drink / give / get / take / catch / lose

1. She ______________________ a plate when she was washing the dishes.

2. They ______________________ to Paris in a jumbo jet last week.

3. I _________ the alarm clock for 7:00 yesterday morning, but I _____________ up a half-hour before the
alarm clock ________________.

4. I ______________________________ a letter to my friends back home.

5. He __________________________ flowers to his girlfriend for her birthday.

6. His mother ______________________ care of him when he ______________________ sick.

7. The teacher ________________________ the mathematics class and then ______________ the students
three exercises to do for homework.

8. Angie ___________________ a bad cold last week. She ______________________ in bed for three days.

9. Matthew __________________ his wallet on the way to work yesterday. He _______________ very upset.

10. The children __________________________ in the lake behind their house.

11. We __________________________ a wonderful time at your party last night.

12. I ___________________________ groceries on my way home yesterday and I ________________ in cash.

13. I _________________ three friends at the café and we _______________ several cups of coffee together.

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