Simple Past - English grammar exercises https://first-english.

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Simple Past verbs with -y, double consonants - worksheet

Regular verbs make their past tense by adding -d, -ed, or (if the verb ends in a consonant +
y), changing the y to i and adding -ed

hurry - hurried, cry - cried

Wovel and consonant at the end of a verb: Double consonant and add -ed.

stop - stopped, plan - planned

1. Fill in the Simple Past.

Example: John married Emily last year. (to marry)

1. She ___________ her suitcase to the bus. (to carry)

2. They ___________ in the park to play football. (to stop)

3. The children ___________ to the playground. (to hurry)

4. John ___________ to win a medal. (to try)

5. Peter ___________ his trip to France. (to plan)

6. The thieves ___________ the old lady. (to rob)

7. Grandma ___________ the cup. (to drop)

8. The family ___________ to Spain. (to travel)

9. The baby ___________ because he was hungry. (to cry)

10. She ___________ a bag. (to carry)

11. The pupil ___________ to find the answer. (to try)

12. Sarah ___________ enjoyed the new film. (to enjoy)

13. The team ___________ yesterday in London. (to play)

14. My uncle ___________ stayed in America. (to stay)

15. The car ___________ in front of the traffic lights. (to stop)

16. Ann ___________ her visit in Denmark. (to plan)

17. They ___________ to Paris. (to travel)

18. The boys ___________ to the city centre. (to hurry)

https://first-english.org simple past worksheets pdf, handouts, printable exercises. Lessons for elementary and
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Past Tense Irregular Verbs
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A) Change the verbs in brackets into the past tense. Some are regular and some are irregular.
Yesterday (to be) _______________ a busy day. I (wake) _______________ up at 6am, (have)
_______________ breakfast quickly and then I (go) _______________ to work. I (finish)
_______________ at noon and then (eat) _______________ some lunch. Afterwards I (drive)
_______________ to the shops, (buy) _______________ some paint and then (paint) _______________
my bedroom. My housemate (come) _______________ home from work so I (help) _______________
him paint his room, then we (repair) _______________ his chair as it (wobble) _______________ a lot. I
(wish) _______________ I hadn’t, as I hurt my hand! After that I (clean) _______________ my house. I
(vacuum) _______________ all the downstairs and then (tidy) _______________ up the living room
and the kitchen. I was pretty tired by then so I (eat) ate some dinner, (yawn) _______________, and
(go) _______________ to bed!

B) Change the verbs below into the past tense and put them into the correct place in the sentences
Pay :: Ring :: Think :: Drink :: See :: Eat :: Go :: Take :: Leave :: Say
1. I _________________ that he was fired.
2. My mum _________________ me last night but I wasn’t at home to take her answer.
3. I _________________ to the zoo with my son last weekend.
4. I _________________ four cakes for lunch. I feel sick!
5. He _________________ him to see the doctor because he had been ill for so long.
6. I _________________ that new movie last night. It was great!
7. He _________________ his son alone all day!
8. I _________________ two bottle of grape juice last night. I don’t feel too well today.
9. They _________________ it tasted horrible.
10. It was too expensive and we _________________ too much for it.

C) Complete the tables below:

Present Past Present Past
Hear Be
Left Put
Ring Think
Drank Drove
Go Break
Got Overslept
Take Sit
Came Woke
See Run
Shut Wrote
Lend Dig
Stole Brought
Swim Fly

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Name:_____________________
___________
_____ Date: ____________
_______________________

Read the clues and then complete the puzzle.

____________ ____________

____________

Across: Down:

3 the past tense of break _________ 1 the past tense of write _________
4 the past tense of have _________ 2 the past tense of begin _________
5 the past tense of jump _________ 6 last year he _________ football
8 the past tense of run _________ 7 the past tense of watch _________
9 yesterday I __________ to music 10 the past tense of rain _________
11 the past tense of dream _________ 12 the past tense of eat _________
14 the past tense of sleep _________ 13 the past tense of stand _________
15 this morning many birds __________ in the 14 the past tense of swim _________
sky 16 He used to love his girlfriend ___
_________
19 the past tense of drive _________ 17 the past tense of go _________
18 the team __________ a lot of trophies

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NAME: ________________________ DATE: ________________________
GRAMMAR WORKSHEET
PAST SIMPLE: Regular
I I
You You
He He
She played tennis. She didn’t play tennis.
It It
We We
They They
Yes, No,
I I I
you you you
he he he
Did she play tennis? she did. she didn’t.
it it it
we we we
they they they

 Fill in the blanks below to complete the sentences. Study the boxes above.

1. I (wait)___________ ten minutes for the bus.

2. He usually walks to work, but he (not / walk) ________ ________ to work yesterday.
3. I was really (surprise) ___________ when my friend (cook) ___________ dinner.
4. A: ___________ you (order)___________ your food? B: Yes, we ___________.
5. My friends (not / play)__________ __________ tennis last Tuesday.
6. Troy (want)___________ to (study)___________ for the final exam.
7. First, we (boil)___________ the water, and then we (pour) ___________ it into a cup.
8. A: ___________ they (laugh)___________ at your joke? B: No, they ___________.
9. What time (do)___________ you (arrive)___________ at school this morning?
10. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin (land)___________ on the moon in July, 1969.
11. What ___________ you (do) ___________ last Saturday?
12. I (work)___________ forty hours last week.
13. A: ___________ you (fix)___________ your bicycle? B: No, I ___________.
14. The bag was very heavy, so I didn’t (carry)___________ it to the truck.
15. How many times (do)___________ you (text)___________ your friend yesterday?
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NAME: ________________________ DATE: ________________________
GRAMMAR WORKSHEET
PAST SIMPLE: Irregular
I I
You You
He He
She ate dinner. She didn’t eat dinner.
It It
We We
They They
Yes, No,
I I I
you you you
he he he
Did she eat dinner? she did. she didn’t.
it it it
we we we
they they they

 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 (see)___________ a comedy movie last night.
7. First, we (do)___________ exercise, and then we (drink)___________ some water.
8. Suddenly, the animal jumped and (bite)___________ my hand.
9. What time (do)___________ you (get up)___________ this morning?
10. The Wright brothers (fly)___________ the first airplane in 1903.
11. I think I (hear)___________ a strange sound outside the door one minute ago.
12. When I was ten years old, I (break)___________ my arm. It really (hurt) __________.
13. The police (catch)___________ all three of the bank robbers last week.
14. How many times (do)___________ you (read)___________ that book?
15. Unfortunately, I (forget)___________ to (bring)___________ my money.

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NAME: ________________________ DATE: ________________________
GRAMMAR WORKSHEET
BE VERB: Past Simple
I was I wasn't
You were You weren't
He was He wasn't
She was busy. She wasn’t busy.
It was It wasn’t
We were We weren’t
They were They weren’t
Yes, No,
Was I I was. I wasn’t.
Were you you were. you weren't.
Was he he was. he wasn’t.
Was she busy? she was. she wasn’t.
Was it it was. it wasn’t.
Were we we were. we weren't
Were they they were. they weren't

 Fill in the blanks below to complete the sentences. Use the words in the above boxes.

1. A: ___________ you at home yesterday? B: Yes, I ___________.

2. They ___________ really happy after they won the football game.
3. My sister ___________ a college student last year.
4. Thomas ___________ on the train at three-thirty yesterday afternoon.
5. A: ___________ Jennifer tired after she finished work? B: No, she ___________.
6. My car broke down, so I ___________ late for my appointment.
7. A: ___________ Laura and Susan surprised? B: No, they ___________.
8. The cookies ___________ delicious, so I ate three of them.
9. A: ___________ you at the library yesterday? B: No, I ___________.
10. Many dinosaurs ___________ really huge.
11. I ___________ born in 1996. When ___________ you born?
12. The movie we saw last night ___________ very funny.
13. I ___________ a waiter last year, but I changed my job in September.
14. My favorite program ___________ on TV at eight o’clock last night.
15. My classmates ___________ in class. They were outside.

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NAME: ________________________ DATE: _______________________
GRAMMAR WORKSHEET
PAST TIME WORDS
AGO LAST YESTERDAY
I saw my friend … I saw my friend … I saw my friend …

 ten minutes ago  last night  yesterday

 an hour ago  last week  yesterday morning
 two days ago  last month  yesterday afternoon
 a week ago  last November (etc.)  yesterday evening
 a few months ago  last year
 a year ago  last Monday (etc.)
 last spring
 last summer
 last fall / autumn
 last winter

 Fill in the blanks below with the correct prepositions of time.

1. My brother found a new job three weeks _______________.

2. What time did you get up _______________ morning?
3. (A) When did you get back from Korea? (B) I got back two weeks _______________.
4. Jack went to bed very late _______________ night.
5. Our class had a very difficult math exam _______________ Friday.
6. We had a picnic at the park _______________ morning.
7. I began to study Spanish _______________ September.
8. Marie felt sick, so she stayed went home _______________ afternoon.
9. Dinosaurs lived on our planet millions of years _______________.
10. You friend just called you an hour _______________, but you were out.
11. Today is Tuesday. What day was it _______________?
12. Our family travelled to Brazil _______________ summer.
13. Did you really finish your science project two days _______________?
14. I moved to this city _______________ year.
15. Sarah and Mark got married _______________ month.
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NAME: ________________________ DATE: ________________________

GRAMMAR WORKSHEET (STORY ORDER)

PAST TENSE
 Complete the paragraph below by filling in the missing words – be sure to
change the verbs to Past Tense!

forget buy is drive

go say find put
look for isn’t turn on look at

Something terrible happened to me last week. On Monday, I (1)____________ a

lottery ticket at a shopping mall near my home. I (2)____________ the ticket in

the pocket of my jacket, and (3)____________ home. After I got home, I went to

bed and (4)____________ about the ticket. On Tuesday morning, I got into my

car and (5)____________ to work. On the way to work, I (6)____________ the

radio and a man on the radio said my lottery ticket number. After he

(7)____________ my number, I put my hand into my jacket pocket. Oh no! The

ticket (8)____________ in my pocket, so I drove back home and

(9)____________ the ticket. I (10)____________ the ticket. It was on a table.

Finally, I (11)____________ the ticket very carefully. Oh no! I couldn’t believe

my eyes because it (12)____________ the wrong number! Next time I will be

more careful, and maybe next time I won’t buy a lottery ticket.

(155 words)

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NAME: ________________________ DATE: ________________________

GRAMMAR IN WRITING: FINISH THE STORY…

PAST TENSE
 Complete the sentences below by writing the correct
past tense forms of the words in parentheses.

TITLE: _____________________

Last Saturday (1)______________ (is) a very strange day for me. First, I (2)______________ (get up)
at about seven o’clock in the morning, and after that I (3)______________ (go) downstairs to have
breakfast with my family. I was drinking a glass of orange juice when, suddenly, the phone
(4)______________ (ring). “Stewart, you have to come to my place,” my friend said. “Please be
here in thirty minutes. I need your help!” Then, he (5)______________ (hang up) the phone. ….

 Now, finish the story. Use the past tense … and your imagination!

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________
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NAME: ________________________ DATE: ________________________
GRAMMAR WORKSHEET
PAST SIMPLE
Positives, Negatives and Questions
 Write the sentences below in the past simple.

1. He goes to bed early. __________________________________________________

2. We don’t like onions. __________________________________________________

3. Stewart lives in Vancouver. _____________________________________________

4. Does she exercise? ___________________________________________________

5. I hate cooking. _______________________________________________________

6. They play video games. ________________________________________________

7. He knows the answer. _________________________________________________

8. I forget his name. _____________________________________________________

9. They don’t study history. _______________________________________________

10. Do they drive? _______________________________________________________

11. Jenny works at a hotel. _________________________________________________

12. Do you swim? ________________________________________________________

13. We don’t like the movie. ________________________________________________

14. Where do you live? ____________________________________________________

15. He doesn’t drink tea. __________________________________________________

16. They start class at 8:00. ________________________________________________

17. Does he eat breakfast? ________________________________________________

18. I don’t run fast. _______________________________________________________

19. He has a car. ________________________________________________________

20. Do you enjoy sports? __________________________________________________

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