1. 12. Past simple.

Rule.

The Past Simple of the verb “to be” is was (I, he, she, it) and were (you, we, they).

E.g. Last year he was in London.

Last year they were in London.

We form questions with the help of inversion.

E.g. Was he in London last year?

Were they in London last year?

We form the negative sentences with the help of not to the verb.

E.g. Last year he was not in London.

Last year they were not in London.

Affirmative	Negative		Interrogative
	Long form	Short form
I was You were He was She was It was We were You were They were	I was not You were not He was not She was not It was not We were not You were not They were not	I wasn’t You weren’t He wasn’t She wasn’t It wasn’t We weren’t You weren’t They weren’t	Was I? Were you? Was he? Was she? Was it? Were we? Were you? Were they?

Rule.

We use the past Simple for actions which finished at a definite time in the past.

Time expressions

yesterday, last week, last month, last year, two days / weeks /months / years ago, in 1966 etc.

1. Fill in the gaps with am, is, are, was or were.

1. I ….am... cold. Please, close the windows.

2. Tom and Jean ………. in Spain last week.

3. Sarah ……….ten years old in 1995.

4. George………. tired. He is going to bed now.

5. I ………. a secretary. I work in a big office.

6. Tom ………. at Peter's house yesterday.

7. Mum and Dad .. ………. at home last night.

8. Terry ………. my friend. He lives next door.

9. Alison and Kate ……….late for school yesterday.

10. ………. the cameramen at the studio now?

2. Fill in was, wasn’t, were or weren’t.

1. “…Was… Marilyn Monroe a famous actress?” “Yes, she .. ..was…. “

2. “ .......... Alfred Hitchcock an actor?” “No, he .......... . He .......... a famous director.”

3. “.......... Beethoven, Mozart and Chopin directors?” “No, they .......... . They .......... composers.”

4. “.......... Thomas Edison a singer?” “No, he .......... . He .......... an inventor.”

5. “.......... Abraham Lincoln and George Washington presidents of the USA?” “Yes, they .......... “

3. Put the words in the correct order to make questions. Then, match the questions to the answers.

1. was / with / you / who?

2. the meeting / at / were / people / how many?

3. you / were / sad / why?

4. last night / you / at / home / were?

5. open / was / shop / the?

6. were / much / tickets / the / how?

a …………………………………………………………. …………………

No, it was closed

b …………………………………………………………………………….

Forty-five

c ……………………………………………………………………………..

£20

d ……………………………………………………………………………

Because I was alone

e…………………………………………………………………………….

No, I was out

f …………………Who was with you?…………………………………….

Aunt Mary.

4. Fill in am/is/are/was/were. Some sentences are present and some are past.

1. Last year she …..was….22, so she ….is….. 23 now.

2. Today the weather ………. nice, but yesterday it ………. cold.

3. I………. hungry. Can I have something to eat?

4. I………. hungry last night, so I had something to eat.

5. Where ………. you at 10 o'clock last Friday morning?

6. Don't buy those shoes. They………. too expensive.

7. Why ……….you so angry yesterday?

8. We must go now. It………. very late.

9. This time last year I………. in Paris.

10. We ……….tired when we arrived home, so we went to bed.

11. Charlie Chaplin died in 1978. He ………. a famous film star.

12. “Where ………. the children?” “I don't know. They ………. in the garden ten minutes ago.”

5. Fill in was / wasn’t / were / weren’t.

1. We didn't like out hotel room. It ....was……very small and it …. wasn’t …. very clean.

2. Kate got married when she ………. 24 years old.

3. I phoned you yesterday evening but you ………. at home. Where ………. you?

4. George ………. at work last week because he ………. ill. He's better now.

5. The shops ………. open yesterday because it ………. a public holiday.

6. “………. you at home at 9.30?” “No, I………. . I ………. at work.”

Rule.

There are regular and irregular verbs, they have different forms. To know whether the verb is regular or not you should see the list of irregular verbs.

Regular verbs	Irregular verbs
+
We add the ending –ed to the main verb. E.g. Work – worked Play – played I worked in Paris 2 years ago.	Change its form E.g. Go – went See – saw I went to Paris 2 years ago.
? We form the questions with the help of the auxiliary verb did and the infinitive.
Did I work in Paris 2 years ago?	Did I go to Paris 2 years ago?
- We form negations with did+ not and the infinitive.
I did not work in Paris 2 years ago.	I did not go to Paris 2 years ago.

Rule.

• Verbs ending in –e take only d.

E.g. Like – liked

• Verbs ending in a consonant -y, drop the y and take –ied

E.g. Study – studied

• Verbs ending in a vowel - y, take –ed

E.g. Play – played, stay – stayed.

• Verbs ending in one stressed vowel between two consonants double the last consonant and take –ed.

E.g. Stop – stopped

• Verbs ending in one l, double the l and take –ed

E.g. Travel – travelled.

6. Write the past simple of the verbs in the correct box.

Laugh, tidy, cook, change, cry, stay, hate, kiss, drop, enjoy, try, travel, dance, live, prefer, dance, stay, rob, pull.

-ed
-d
-ied
Double cons.+ed

7. Write the past simple of the verbs.

Infinitive	Past simple	Infinitive	Past simple	Infinitive	Past simple
run make break read see drink buy eat come find		say take drive write go wake bring leave sleep swim		speak teach understand think spend fall meet know give feel

8. Ask and answer the questions using the prompts.

1. Mary / go / somewhere / yesterday.

….Mary went somewhere yesterday. (theatre)…………………………………….

….Did she go to the theatre?..............................................................................

2. John / meet / somebody / yesterday (his boss)

………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………….

3. Father /repair/ something / yesterday (the car)

………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………….

4. They / visit / somebody / yesterday (the Browns)

………………………………………………………………………………….

………………………………………………………………………………….

5. Tom / talk to / somebody yesterday (Ben)

………………………………………………………………….........................

………………………………………………………………………………….

9. Complete these sentences. Use of these verbs.

clean die enjoy finish happen live open play rain smoke start stay want watch

1. Yesterday evening I ….watched…. television.

2. I ……….………. my teeth three times yesterday.

3. Bernard……….………. 20 cigarettes yesterday evening.

4. The concert last night ……….………. at 7.30 and ……….………. at 10 o'clock.

5. The accident ……….………. last Sunday afternoon.

6. When I was a child. I ……………….. to be a doctor.

7. Mozart ……………….. from 1756 to 1791.

8. We ……….………. our holiday last year. We ……….………. at a very good hotel.

9. Today the weather is nice, but yesterday it ……….……….

10. It was hot in the room, so I ……….………. the window.

11. The weather was good yesterday afternoon so we ……….………. tennis.

12. William Shakespeare ……….………. in 1616.

10. Write sentences about the past (yesterday / last week etc).

1. He always goes to work by car.

Yesterday …..he went to work by car….

2. They always get up early.

This morning they …………………………………………………………

3. Bill often loses his keys.

He ……………………………………………………….. last Saturday.

4. I write a letter to Jane every week.

Last week ………………………………………………………………….

5. She meets her friends every evening.

She …………………………………. …………………. yesterday evening.

6. I usually read two newspapers every day.

………………………………………………………….. ……. yesterday.

7. They come to my house every Friday.

Last Friday ………………………………………………………………..

8. We usually go to the cinema on Sunday.

……………………………………………………………… last Sunday.

9. Tom always has a shower in the morning. …………………………………………………………… this morning

10. They buy a new car every year.

Last year…………………………………………………………………..

11. I eat an orange every day.

Yesterday ………………………………………………………………..

12. We usually do our shopping on Monday. …………………………………………………………… last Monday.

13. Ann often takes photographs.

Last weekend …………………………………………………………….

14. We leave home at 8 30 every morning.

……………………………………………………………….this morning.

11. Complete these sentences with the verb in the negative

1. I saw John but I ….. I didn’t see ……. Mary.

2. They worked on Monday but they ……………….. on Tuesday.

3. We went to the shop but we ……………….. go the hank.

4. She had a pen but she ……………….. any paper.

5. Jack did French at school but he ……………….. German.

12. You are asking somebody questions. Write questions with Did …?

1. I watched TV last night And you?................Did you watch TV last night?......

2. I enjoyed the party. And you? …………………………………………………

3. I had a good holiday. And you? ……………………………………………….

4. I got up early this morning. And you? …………………………………………

5. I slept well list night. And you? ..........................................................................

13. Put the verb in the correct form of the past (positive, negative or question).

1. I ….played…. (play) tennis yesterday but I ….didn’t win……(not / win).

2. We ……………….. (wait) a long time for the bus but it ……………….. (not/come).

3. That's a nice shirt. Where ……………….. (you / buy) it?

4. She ……………….. (see) me but she ……………….. (not / speak) to me.

5. “……………….. (it / rain) yesterday?” “No, it was a nice day.”

6. That was a stupid thing to do. Why ……………….. (you / do) it?

Chapter II.