Beginners’ English: Past tense exercises

7th July 2020

Grammar: verbs

Good list of 100 verbs in 3 forms at: https://www.linguasorb.com/english/verbs/most-common-verbs/

Grammar – verb practice

Let’s start to use more verbs. Here’s the 15 most common:

infinite / present / past / past participle (verb 3)

1 to be am / was / been

are / were / been

2 to have have / had / had

3 to do do did done

4 to say say / said / said

5 to go go / went / gone

6 to get get / got / gotten

7 to make make / made / made

8 to know know /knew / known

9 to think think / thought / thought

10 to take take / took / taken

11 to see see / saw / seen

12 to come come / came / come

13 to want want / wanted / wanted

14 to use use / used / used

15 to find find / found / found

Past Tense Exercise

1. He (walk) to school yesterday. He WALKED  to school yesterday. 2. They (do) their homework last night. They ——-  their homework last night. 3. You (are) lazy last week. You ——- lazy last week. 4. That woman (buy) a new book this morning. That woman  ——– a new book this morning. 5. The janitor (clean) the blackboard yesterday. The janitor  ——–  the blackboard yesterday. 6. My mother (cook) food yesterday. My mother  ——– food yesterday. 7. This morning my teacher (teach) English. This morning my teacher  ———-  English. 8. I (am) hungry yesterday. I  ——- hungry yesterday. 9. The gardener (cut) the trees last month. The gardener ———— the trees last month. 10. She (drink) milk this morning. She  ——— milk this morning. 11. Last month the man (ride) a horse. Last month the man ——–  a horse. 12. Sam (go) to Hong Kong last year. Sam  ——- to Hong Kong last year. 13. The birds (fly) in the sky this morning. The birds  ——— in the sky this morning. 14. I (know) Tom’s sister last year. I  ——– Tom’s sister last year. 15. The joiner (make) tables and chairs yesterday. The joiner  —— tables and chairs yesterday. 16. The farmer (grow) rice last year. The farmer ——–  rice last year. 17. Two weeks ago the boy (has) a new bicycle. Two weeks ago the boy  ——- a new bicycle. 18. He (feel) happy yesterday. He  ——- happy yesterday. 19. We (work) hard last week. We  ——– hard last week. 20. The students (meet) in the hall last week. The students  ——– in the hall last week.

NOW make short sentences or stories from these exercises.

A. Complete the sentences, put the verb into the correct form, positive or negative. (simple past tense) 

1. It was warm, so I  off my coat. (take)

2. The film wasn’t very good. I  it very much. (enjoy)

3. I knew Sarah was very busy, so I  her. (disturb)

4. I was very tired, so I  to bed early. (go)

5. The bed was very uncomfortable. I  very well. (sleep)

6. Sue wasn’t hungry, so she  anything. (eat)

7. We went to Kate’s house but she  at home. (be)

8. It was a funny situation but nobody  (laugh)

9. The window was open and a bird  into the room. (fly)

10. The hotel wasn’t very expensive. It  very much. (cost)

11. I was in a hurry, so I  time to phone you. (have)

12. It was hard work carrying the bags. They  very heavy. (be)

B. Complete the exercise with the verbs inside the box. (simple past tense)

buy	catch	cost	drink
fall	hurt	sell	spend
teach	throw	win	write

1. Mozart  more than 600 pieces of music. Mozart WROTE more than 600 pieces of music

2. ‘How did you learn to drive?’ ‘My father ——- me.’ 
   
   3. We couldn’t afford to keep our car, so we  ——– it. 
   
   4. I was very thirsty. I  the ——– water very quickly.
   
   5. Paul and I played tennis yesterday. He’s much better than me, so he ——–
   
    easily. 
   
   6. Don ——– down the stairs this morning and  his leg.
   
   7. Jim  ——– the ball to Sue, who ——–  it.
   
   8. Ann ——–  a lot of money yesterday. She  ——– a dress. It   ——– 100.

Past Tense

What did you do last night ?

Last night, I listened to music and played computer games.

Regular verbs add -ed:

Verb+ed For example: want+ed→ wanted work+ed→ worked	Verb, ending in –e+d For example: dance+d→ danced live+d→ lived
Verbs, ending in –y: y → i + ed (* There are exceptions (for example played) ) For example: cry→ cried try→ tried	One vowel verb: double the consonant For example: stop → stopped blog → blogged

Good verb list here: https://www.linguasorb.com/english/verbs/most-common-verbs/

irregular verbs – no rules.

Present – Past / Present – Past / Present – Past

I am – I was / begin – began / have – had

eat – ate / go – went / drive – drove

tell – told / hear – heard / catch – caught

buy – bought / write- wrote / see – saw

Listening: How many past tense verbs ?

Yesterday, I went to visit my friend. We played badminton then walked in the park.

After, we ate lunch and drank beer. Later, I bought coffee and wrote some emails.

Corrections: Write in the past tense

I (am) born in London and (arrive) in Viet Nam in 2015. I (work) as teacher in District 1 and 3 but I (want) to work near my home. Last week, my friend (have) a party. She (dance) all night and I (hear) her singing. In the morning, she (catch) a plane and (go) to Thailand.