2.4: Simple Past Tense Review Exercises
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Past Tense Meanings of Verbs in English
Simple Past Tense: Used to describe actions or activities that began and ended in the past. Its emphasis is on the action itself and not on the action's relationship to another action in the past. It simply says, "This happened."
Examples:
I went to the store yesterday, bought some milk and eggs, and returned home.
The United States fought in World War Two. Thousands of soldiers died in Asia.
My father drove a cab for many years. He only ever had one accident.
My son got up this morning, ate breakfast, and left for school.
Two Types of Past Tense Verbs: Regular and Irregular
1. Regular verbs are verbs that end in ed in the past tense affirmative.
Examples: open/opened, start/started, wait/waited, memorize/memorized
2. Irregular Verbs are verbs that change form in the past and past participle form.
Examples: go/went, strike/struck, fly/flew, write/wrote, put/put, forget/forgot
The same rules for the negative and question form apply to both types of verbs.
Sample Sentences:
We stayed home last night and ate dinner together.
My father drove a taxi and worked in a factory for many years.
My brother broke the chair and then tried to fix it.
I enjoyed living with my family, but I left home at 22 years old.
We saw a man who needed to buy some medicine.
Forming the Negative: Present and Past Tenses
Present Tense Negative Past Tense Negative
I I
You play. You play.
We don’t go. We didn’t go.
They wash. They wash.
He play. He play.
She doesn’t go. She didn’t go.
It wash. It wash.
After the helping verbs don’t, doesn’t, and didn’t ALWAYS use the base form of the verb in the present tense and in the past tense.
Use the S Form of the Verb only in the present tense for he, she, and it. Never use the S Form in the past tense.
Notice that in the present tense and in the past tense that the verb always goes back to the base form after don’t, doesn’t, and didn’t.
Present Tense Negative Verb To Be Past Tense Negative Verb To Be
I am not I was not
He He
She is not She was not
It It
We We
You are not You were not
They They
When you change the verb to be from the present tense to the past tense, you use the words was and were. When you want to make the past continuous tense, then the main verb always uses ing.
Remember that the words am, is, and are have the same meaning as was and were. The only difference is the time (tense).
Examples:
I am here now. I was here yesterday.
She is not in class today. She was not in class yesterday.
We are studying the past tense now. We were studying the present tense last week.
Are you sitting in class now? Were you sitting in class last night?
My sons are not living at home anymore. They were not living at home last August.
Where are my books? Where were my books this morning?
Sounds for ED Endings for Regular Verbs
ED sounds like a T, ID, and D depending on the sound that comes before it in a word.
1. ED sounds like T when the last sound in a word is a: P, K, F, S, SH, CH, or X.
walk kiss crunch splash
kick clap fix staff
miss watch stop laugh
Examples:
The audience clapped for twenty minutes for the singer.
The mechanic fixed my transmission.
We watched the movie on television.
2. ED sounds like ID when the last sound in a word is a: T or D.
wait raid hate pretend
invite defend need lift
skate invent start aid
Examples:
We waited for the bus for five minutes.
He pretended to be sick.
The soldiers defended the village.
3. ED sounds like D in all other regular verbs.
arrive open close play
form buzz hang spell
bow save enjoy call
Examples:
We arrived at the meeting five minutes late.
The boy called his mother from his friend's house.
I enjoyed watching the baseball game.
Exercise 32: Change the following sentences to the simple past tense, please.
Example:
I go to the store for my mother. I went to the store for my mother.
1. Some people intend to go to the party late.
2. We often have a lot of fun when we play in the snow.
3. Speaking a foreign language always makes me laugh at myself.
4. Going shopping with my mother and sister is not fun for me.
5. My boys work during the summer every year.
6. I like to look out the window and dream.
7. My uncle builds houses in Rhode Island.
8. My sister comes to Seattle every year.
9. I drive a 1954 Ford to work every day.
10. People send packages in the mail.
11. Mothers feed children when they are babies.
12. We often crawl in the grass when my friends and I play together.
13. My brother seldom helps to clean the house.
14. I plant a garden every spring.
15. The ground freezes every winter in Seattle.
16. I mow my grandparents’ lawn every week.
17. My alarm clock rings every morning at 6:00 AM.
18. My mother always thinks about what is best for us.
19. My grandfather weeps when he thinks about his mother in Sicily.
20. My children tear their pants all of the time.
21. My uncle pulls the weeds out of his garden every Sunday.
22. My aunt writes letters to me whenever I travel to foreign countries.
23. I swim in the Atlantic Ocean every summer.
24. We open the windows in our house every summer.
25. My sister smokes cigarettes all day long.
26. I have to spend lots of money every week.
27. Mr. McDonald teaches me history in the eighth grade.
28. My dog sleeps all day long.
29. Students always do their homework in the evening.
30. Some students pray five times a day.
Exercise 33: Change the following sentences to the Past Tense Negative, please.
1. We intended to buy a new car last week.
2. He had a sandwich for lunch.
3. My brother let my sons play video games.
4. He remembered to take his wife to the market.
5. She borrowed $100 from her brother.
6. The police arrested the thief last night.
7. I forgot to pick up the milk on my way home.
8. Friday was the last time for class.
9. Tom brought a book to the class.
10. He helped his friend fix the car.
11. The girls made dinner for their father.
12. I wished to see the old man.
13. He invented the electric light bulb.
14. The teacher corrected the students’ homework assignment.
15. The businessman flew to Chicago on a business trip.
Exercise 34: Change these sentences from the affirmative to the negative, please.
1. The old man fell on the floor.
2. The housewife froze the meat that she bought at the store.
3. I lost my briefcase at the meeting.
4. The tire on my car blew out last week.
5. The army invaded a peaceful country.
6. The government collected taxes from all American people last April 15th.
7. We saw the bank robber get away in his car.
8. The soldiers fought bravely against their enemy.
9. Some people hated to do their work.
10. The employer interviewed 10 people for the one job.
11. The woman wore a beautiful yellow dress to the party.
12. My sister shopped for a new bathtub for her house.
13. The judge released the prisoner from jail.
14. We heard the birds singing in the trees.
15. The man rejected the job offer.
Exercise 35: Change the following sentences to the negative, please.
1. The police proved their case against the robber.
2. My son swept the floor last night.
3. I shut the door when I entered my house.
4. Some employees quit their jobs.
5. My son sat in the front seat when I drove my car.
6. The boys were sliding on the floor yesterday evening.
7. My aunt shrank when she got old.
8. The women divided the bill at the restaurant yesterday.
9. The girl sought to marry a rich man.
10. The young girl ran a fever.
11. Some children were picking fruit near their house.
12. That store sold furniture and appliances for the home.
13. The cowboy was riding his horse every afternoon last summer.
14. Two boats sank in the river during the storm.
15. My son shook his head when I asked him if he wanted to eat vegetables.
Exercise 36: Change the following sentences to the past tense yes/no questions, please.
1. We intended to buy a new car last week.
2. He had a sandwich for lunch.
3. My brother let my sons play video games.
4. He remembered to take his wife to the market.
5. She borrowed $100 from her brother.
6. The police arrested the thief last night.
7. I forgot to pick up the milk on my way home.
8. Friday was the last time for class.
9. Tom brought a book to the class.
10. He was helping his friend fix the car.
11. The girls made dinner for their father.
12. I wished to see the old man.
13. He invented the electric light bulb.
14. The teacher corrected the students’ homework assignment.
15. The businessman flew to Chicago on a business trip.
Past Continuous Tense
The past continuous tense is used to describe two related actions or activities that happened in the past at the same time. Its emphasis is on showing the relationship of the actions relative to the duration of time each takes. The action of longer duration uses the past continuous tense; the action of shorter duration takes the simple past tense. It simply says, "While this was happening, something else happened." The second action interrupts the first action that is already happening. Note: The past continuous tense may be used for a single action in the past, but this usage is rare and it is employed only when the speaker wishes to emphasize the continuous action of the verb. The past continuous tense can also be used when two or more actions take place in the past for the same duration of time. “While I was working in my garden, my wife was cooking.”
Examples of Two Actions at the Same Time:
While we were studying, the telephone rang.
My front tire blew out while I was driving home from school.
When their mother was preparing dinner, the boys came home.
When I got to class, my students were waiting for me.
Examples of Two Actions of Equal Duration of Time:
While I was ironing my clothes, I was watching a DVD.
While my older son was takinga shower, my younger son was waiting for him to finish so that he could take a shower.
While my son was driving my car, I was sitting next to him.
Examples of One Action Use of the Past Continuous Tense
Yesterday I started working in my garden at 8:00 AM and stayed in my garden until 8:00 PM. I was working all day long in my garden.
I was correcting homework papers for four hours last night.
Both of my sons were still sleeping at 2:00 PM yesterday.
My sons and I were watching movies all afternoon long on Saturday.
Exercise 37: Make one sentence using the following actions. One of the actions will require the past continuous tense and the other one will require the simple past tense.
For example: pick potatoes in my garden find a piece of glass
While I was picking potatoes in my garden yesterday, I found a piece of glass.
1. stop to buy a coffee drive to school
2. work in my office get a phone call from my wife
3. speak to my son tell him about a party
4. break a glass help my wife in the kitchen
5. watch television fall asleep
6. eat breakfast open a window in my kitchen
7. shop with my sons buy two toys for them
8. drink coffee with a friend see a pretty girl walking across the street
9. have a nightmare sleep
10. do my homework take a break
11. mow my lawn run out of gas in the lawnmower
12. answer the phone read the newspaper
13. answer the teacher’s question sit in class