Grammar Exercises - Simple Past Tense.

Do the exercises below on the simple past tense and click on the button to check your answers.

(Before doing the exercises you may want to read the lesson on the simple past tense)

Put the verbs into the simple past:

1. Last year I (go) went  to England on holiday.

2. It (be) was  fantastic.

3. I (visit) visited  lots of interesting places. I (be) was  with two friends of mine .

4. In the mornings we (walk) walked  in the streets of London.

5. In the evenings we (go) went  to pubs.

6. The weather (be) was  strangely fine.

7. It (not / rain) did not rain  a lot.

8. But we (see) saw  some beautiful rainbows.

9. Where (spend / you) did you spend  your last holiday?

Write the past forms of the irregular verbs.

InfinitiveSimple Past

1. meet met

2. drive drove

3.spea

kspoke

4. put put

5. write wrote

6. sing sang

7. do did

8. sit sat

9. stand stood

10. run ran

Complete the table in simple past.

Affirmative Negative Interrogative

He wrote a book. He did not write a

book.  

Did he write a book?

 

He sang.   He did not sing Did he sing?  

She was pretty.

 She was not pretty.   Was she pretty?

Put the sentences into simple past.

1. We move to a new house. → We moved to a new house.

2. They bring a sandwich. → They brought a sanwich.

3. He doesn't do the homework. → He did not do the homework.

4. They sell cars. → They sold cars.

5. Does he visit his friends? → Did he visit his friends?

Write sentences in simple past.

1. Janet / the bus / miss → Janet missed the bus.

2. she / her room / tidy → She tidied her room.

3. Nancy / watch / not / television → Nancy did not watch television  (Check punctuation )

4. she / read / book → She read a book.

Choose "Was“ or "Were“:

1. The teacher was  nice.

2. The students were  very clever.

3. But one student was  in trouble.

4. We were  sorry for him.

5. He was  nice though.

Your score is: 80 %

Good! but you need to pay a little more attention !

Grammar Exercises - Past Continuous / Progressive

Do the exercises below on the past continuous and click on the button to check your answers.

(Before doing the exercises you may want to read the lesson on the past continuous)

Put the verbs into the correct form (past progressive).

1. When I phoned my friends, they (play) were playing  monopoly.

2. Yesterday at six I (prepare) was preparing  dinner.

3. The kids (play) were playing  in the garden when it suddenly began to rain.

4. I (practise) was practicing  the guitar when he came home.

5. We (not / cycle) were not cycling / weren't cycling  all day.

6. While Alan (work) was working  in his room, his friends (swim) were

swimming  in the pool.7. I tried to tell them the truth but they ( not/listen) were not listening /

weren't listening .

8. What (you / do) were you doing  yesterday?

9. Most of the time we (sit) were sitting  in the park.

10.I (listen) was listening  to the radio while my sister (watch)was

watching  TV.

Try Again

11.When I arrived, They (play) were playing  cards.

12.We (study) were studying  English yesterday at 4:00 pm.

Write correct sentences:

Yesterday at 6 pm your family were doing different things. Write positive sentences in past progressive.

1. My mother / read / a novel. My mother was reading a novel

2. My father / watch / a movie. My father was watching a movie .3. My elder sister / writing / in her diary. My elder sister was writing in

her diary .4. My two brothers / listen / to the radio. My two brothers were

listening to the radio .5. My little sister and I / not / watch / a movie. My little sister and I were

not / weren't watching a movie .

6. We / talk / about school. We were talking about school .

1) Write past simple or past continuous in the gaps:

1) When the post man    (arrive), my father   (have a shower)

2) While my brother   (study), my grandma   (make) some muffins

arrived was having a shower

was studying was making

3) I   (go) to the doctor 2 days ago because I   (have) a terrible headache  

4) When I   (be) 10, I   (eat) a sandwich every evening 

5) He   (miss) the train because he   (talk) with some 

friends 

6) The thieves   (come)  into the house while the man   

(sleep) 

7) I   (drink) a glass of water at eleven. I'm not thirsty now 

8)   you   (write) the composition last week? 

went had

was ate

missed was talking

came was sleping

drank

did write

9) My mother   (not/be) at home when she   (fall) down the stairs 

10) The children    (plant) a tree when their mummy   (call)  them

2) Write the most suitable words in each gap (ago, yesterday, last, while, when, as, on, in, at)

1) Tommy's father worked in that office 2 years 

2) The plane was flying   8 p.m.   

3) My best friend went to London   month

4)   I was having dinner, my sister was having a shower

5)   did the supermarket close?

6) Your aunt studied German   2001

7) Rose played in an orchestra   she was 12 years old

8) Jason was swimming   his girlfriend was drinking a coke

9) The TV broke   26th October

10)   did he deliver the shopping?

11) My father's friend had a baby 

12) The suspect can't have committed the crime. He was having dinner in the restaurant   that 

time 

13) My cousin bought the PSP   he was in London

3) Which sentence is the correct one?

was´nt was falling

was planting called

ago

at yesterday

last

As

Whe

in

when

while

on

when

yesterday

at

yesterday

when

 1)  a) The men were studying on the new proyect all day yesterday     

      b) The men was studying on the new proyect all day yesterday       

      c) The men studied on the new proyect all day yesterday   

2)   a) When were you finishing your project?       

      b) When did you finish your project?

      c) When were you finish your project?

3)   a) You didn't be in the party yesterday

      b) you didn't were in the party yesterday

      c) You weren't in the party yesterday 

4)   a) My sister watched TV while his husband was playing with the children

      b) My sister was watching TV while his husband was playing with the children        

      c) My sister was watching TV while his husband played with the children

5)   a) The students were talking when the teacher was arriving

      b) The students talked when the teacher was arriving

      c) The students were talking when the teacher arrived

4) Fill the gaps with past simple /continuous. Afterwards, write the main verb in the crossword and match the sentence with each picture

                                  

                                

                          

 

7

6

3

5

4

2

 

 

 

1) Mr. Stevenson   (drive) his car while he was listening to some music

2) Robert   (type) the letter last week because his computer was broken

3) Louis fell asleep while he   (study)

4) Lydia was drinking a glass of coke when Peter   (come) in

5) While Michael was jogging , the dog   (chase) him

2 6 4

7

R O D E

M A D E

A

C H A S I N G

T N

U I

T Y P E D N

Y N

I U

N R

was driving

typed

was studying

came

chasing

1 8

6) Mrs. Parker   (make) some muffins 2 days ago

7) Sam and Pam   (ride) their bikes when they were small

8) Joe   (run) as he was phoning his wife

4Put the verbs into the correct form (past perfect simple).

1. The storm destroyed the sandcastle that we had built  .

2. He had not been  to Cape Town before 1997.

3. When she went out to play, she had already done  her homework.

4. My brother ate all of the cake that our mum had made  .

5. The doctor took off the plaster that he had put on  six weeks before.

6. The waiter brought a drink that I had not ordered  .

7. I could not remember the poem we had learnt  the week before.

8. The children collected the chestnuts that had fallen  from the tree.

9. Had he phoned  Angie before he went to see her in London?

10. She had not ridden  a horse before that day.

7 out of 10 answers are correct.

5

D R I V I N G

made

rode

was running

A.- COMPLETE THESE SENTENCES WITH A SUITABLE RELATIVE PRONOUN OR ADVERB

1. That is the man   helped me when I fell down in the street.

2. Is that your car? No, mine is the one   is parked just opposite the bank.

3. That is the woman   complained about the room service.

4. This is the park   we first met. Do you remember?

5. So, James is the man   son came on the school trip with us? I din't know.

6. If you have any question, ask the girl   is standing at the desk. She'll help you.

7. They had to put away the dog   bit the boy. It was too dangerous.

8. I'm looking for a person   surname begins with a "k".

9. Do you still go to that pub   we used to go as students?

10. The heating is not working. Do you know anyone   can fix it?

B.- JOIN THESE SENTENCES USING RELATIVE PRONOUNS BEGINNING WITH THE WORDS GIVEN. OMIT THE PRONOUN IF POSSIBLE.

1. The girl is my sister. I'm talking to the girl. The girl    is my sister.

2. This is the chair. The carpenter repaired it last week. This is the 

chair 

3.  She is married to a man. He is richer than her. She is married to a 

man 

4. She is the friend. She helped me with my homework. She is the 

friend 

5. That is the swimming-pool. I used to go swimming there. That is the swimming-

pool 

6. That is the man. His wife is a famous actress. This is the 

man 

7. A doctor examined me last Friday. He was really kind. The doctor    was really kind.

8. The woman called the police. Her car had been stolen. The 

woman    called the police.

9. I went to a restaurant last week. It was very expensive. The 

restaurant    was very expensive.

10. I saw a film last night. It was very interesting. The film    was very interesting.

C.- ARE THESE RELATIVE CLAUSES DEFINING OR NON-DEFINING?

1. London, which is the capital of England, is one of the largest cities in the 

world. 

2. This is the dress my mother has made for me. 

3. Queen Elizabeth II, who is 83, has been the queen of England for 57 years 

now. 

4. That's the dog that bit me. 

5. Tom Cruise, who has starred a lot of films, is a famous American 

actor. 

6. The village where I grew up is very small. 

7. Greg, whose job involves travelling a lot, has been in nearly all the countries in the 

world. 

8. The office I have just rented is near my home. 

9. This is the officer that arrested the burglar. 

10. Lady Gaga, who is a well-known pop star, is only 24 

D.- CHOOSE THE RIGHT RELATIVE PRONOUN TO COMPLETE THESE SENTENCES.

1. Jim,    I've known for years, is my best friend.

2. My new coat,   I bought in New York, is very warm and comfortable.

3. My boss,   wife is French, travels to Paris regularly.

4. He didn't even say "thank you",    I found really rude.

5. Next summer I'm going to India,   I've never been before.

6. My sister,   is five years younger than me, is a lawyer.

7. Galileo Galilei,   suppported the heliocentric theory, was arrested by the Inquisition.

E.- JOIN THESE SENTENCES USING RELATIVE PRONOUNS BEGINNING WITH THE WORDS GIVEN. OMIT THE PRONOUN IF POSSIBLE. ADD COMMAS IF NECESSARY.

1. My school is very big. It is in Madrid. My school   is very big.

2. Robert Pattinson is an actor. He plays Edward Cullen in the Twilight saga. Robert 

Pattinson is 

3. Robert Pattinson is a British actor. He plays Edward Cullen in the Twilight 

saga. Robert Pattinson    is a British actor.

4. I bought this cake yesterday. It tastes delicious. The cake    tastes delicious.

5. Michael is a policeman. His father is a judge. Michael   is a policeman.

6. I bought a computer last month. It doesn't work properly. The 

computer    doesn't work properly.

7. Prince Charles will be the king of England one day. His mother is Queen 

Elizabeth. Prince Charles    will be the king of England one day.

8. I was given a dog. It is very friendly. The dog    is very friendly.

9. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was written by Mark Twain. I enjoyed it a 

lot. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn   was written by Mark Twain.

10. Mrs Kelly is the woman. She took me to hospital when I fainted at school. Mrs Kelly 

is the woman 

11.