A lady thinking about her past

Simple Past Tense Worksheet with Answers 1

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What is past simple tense?

An action that took place in the past is called past simple tense. For example, I saw an elephant yesterday.

Here are the key rules:

1. Forming the Simple Past Tense

  • Regular Verbs:
    • Add -ed to the base form of the verb.
      • Example:
        • Clean → Cleaned
        • Talk → Talked
    • For verbs ending in e, add -d.
      • Example:
        • Love → Loved
        • Dance → Danced
        • Care  → Cared
    • For verbs ending in a consonant + y, change the y to i and add -ed.
      • Example:
        • Fry → Fried
        • Study → Studied
  • Irregular Verbs:
    • Irregular verbs do not follow a consistent pattern; their past forms must be kept in mind.
      • Example:
        • Write → Wrote
        • Have → Had
        • Sell → Sold
        • Drink  → Drank

2. Sentence Structures in the Simple Past

  • Affirmative Sentences:
    Subject + past tense verb + object.
    • Example: She cleaned her room last night.
  • Negative Sentences:
    Subject + did not + first form of the verb + object.
    • Example: He did not read a magazine yesterday.
    • Note: The main verb stays in its base form because “did” already shows that the action was taken in the past.
  • Interrogative Sentences:
    Did + subject + first form of the verb + object?
    • Example: Did you write an essay yesterday?
    • The main verb remains in its first form.

3. Spelling Rules for Regular Verbs

  • Double the final consonant if the verb is one syllable and ends with a consonant-vowel-consonant.
    • Example: Stop → Stopped, Plan → Planned, Clap → Clapped
  • Do not double the consonant if the word ends in w, x, or y.
    • Example: Play → Played, Fix → Fixed

4. Time Expressions Used with the Simple Past

The simple past often works with time expressions indicating a finished period.

  • Examples:
    • Yesterday
    • Last week/month/year
    • Three days ago
    • In 2015
  • 5. Uses of the Simple Past Tense
  • Completed Actions in the Past:
    • Example: I washed my hair an hour ago.
  • Series of Actions in the Past:
    • Example: She woke up, phoned her brother, and went to the market.
  • Past Habits (Often with “used to”): Example: He used to work in a factory.

Here is the simple past tense worksheet with answers.

Watch this video to master simple past tense.
A lady thinking about her past

It is wrong to say:-

  1. Thomas Savery has invented the steam engine.
  2. I have written a letter to her.
  3. Bony has died of fever last night.
  4. I have passed my MBA in 1982.
  5. She has left the hotel a week ago.

The correct forms are:

  1. Thomas Savery invented the steam engine.
  2. I wrote a letter to her yesterday.
  3. Bony died of fever last night.
  4. I passed my MBA in 1982.
  5. She left the hotel a week ago.
past present future

Point to note:

Has and have are not used in the simple past tense. When we write a sentence in the simple past tense, we use the verb in the second form (simple past). The verb comes just after the subject.

Subject means the person or something we are talking about in a sentence. It can be I, we, you, they, he, she, and it. The verb in its second form remains the same for all subjects. For example, Rohan played cricket yesterday.

I, we, you, they, he, she, it  watched
Verb in its second form
Put the past in the Past

Download the pdf of simple past tense worksheet with answers:

Simple Past Tense Worksheet with Answers pdf

Fill in the blanks. Use simple past tense for the verbs given in brackets:

  1. The class _______ (begin) at 10.00 am.
  2. John ______ (break) his pencil this morning.
  3. Sue _______ (bring) flowers for her mother yesterday.
  4. They _______ (build) a temple 10 years ago.
  5. Sandy _______ (buy) a doll last month.
  6. Rose _______ (catch) an insect an hour ago.
  7. He ______ (come) home late last night.
  8. She _______ (cut) the vegetables.
  9. Rony _______ (do) his homework.
  10. Rachel _______ (draw) a house in her notebook.
  11. They _______ (drink) a glass of orange juice.
  12. He _______ (drive) the car at a great speed.
  13. Sam _______ (eat) an apple.
  14. The book ______ (fall) from the shelf.
  15. He _______ (feel) sad when he lost the match.
  16. The boy ______ (fight) with his best friend.
  17. The old man _______ (find) his spectacles.
  18. The bird _______ (fly) in the sky.
  19. She _______ (forget) her brother’s birthday.
  20. Messy _______ (get) good marks.
  21. His relatives _______ (give) chocolate to him.
  22. He ______ (go) to see the doctor last Sunday.
  23. Tom ______ (grow) a plant in his garden.
  24. I ______ (have) a motorbike last year.
  25. Sarah _______ (hide) the money under the pillow.
  26. The naught boy ________ (hit) the dog.
  27. They _______ (keep) the toys in the box.
  28. I _______ (know) him.
  29. Peter _______ (leave) home an hour ago.
  30. Diane _______ (lend) her bicycle to Peter.
  31. The players ________ (lose) the match last year.
  32. He _______ (light) the room with candles.
  33. Rachel ______ (make) a birthday card for her friend.
  34. George _______ (meet) his grandmother last Wednesday.
  35. Linda ______ (pay the electricity bill yesterday.
  36. Please _______ (put) the pencil in the pencil box.
  37. I _______ (read) a storybook last night.
  38. He ______ (ring) his neighbour’s doorbell.
  39. Sheila _______ (run) in the race this morning.
  40. We _______ (see) a butterfly in the garden
  41. The shopkeeper _______ (sell) all the mangoes.
  42. Martin _______ (show) the pictures to me this morning.
  43. Sue _______ (shut) the door ten minutes ago.
  44. Margaret _______ (sit) in the first bench yesterday.
  45. Peter _______ (speak) to the class teacher.
  46. She _______ (stand) in front of the class.
  47. The thief _______ (steal) the car last year.
  48. Kevin _______ (swim) in the river last Wednesday.
  49. The teacher _______ (teach) us Mathematics five years ago.
  50. They _______ (throw) the rubbish in the dustbin.
Past Word Written

Answers:

  1. Began
  2. Broke
  3. Brought
  4. Built
  5. Bought
  6. Caught
  7. Came
  8. Cut
  9. Did
  10. Drew
  11. Drank
  12. Drove
  13. Ate
  14. Fell
  15. Felt
  16. Fought
  17. Found
  18. Flew
  19. Forgot
  20. Got
  21. Gave
  22. Went
  23. Grew
  24. Had
  25. Hid
  26. Hit
  27. Kept
  28. Knew
  29. Left
  30. Lent
  31. Lit
  32. Lost
  33. Made
  34. Met
  35. Paid
  36. Put
  37. Read
  38. Rang
  39. Ran
  40. Saw
  41. Sold
  42. Showed
  43. Shut
  44. Sat
  45. Spoke
  46. Stood
  47. Stole
  48. Swam
  49. Taught
  50. Threw

What Should You Do Next?

Here’s how you can take your learning to the next level:

  1. Download the Worksheet
    • Get your hands on the Simple Past Tense Worksheet with Answers. It’s packed with 50 questions that cater to all proficiency levels, from basic fill-in-the-blanks to sentence-correct conceptual understanding.
  2. Practice Regularly
    • Dedicate time daily or weekly to solve the exercises. Consistent practice is key to mastering grammar.
  3. Check Your Answers
    • Use the answer key provided to check your performance. Work on your mistakes and try not to repeat them in the future.
  4. Share Your Experience
    • If you’re a teacher, share how this worksheet helped your students. If you’re a learner, let us know how it improved your understanding of the simple past tense.
  5. Explore More Grammar Resources
    • Visit our blog for additional grammar worksheets and tips, from other tenses to sentence construction, story writing, grammar exercises, vocabulary building, and more.

We’d love to hear from you!

  • Did the exercises help you?
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Drop your viewpoints in the comments section. Let’s make learning grammar an engaging and enjoyable experience!

Happy learning, and remember—consistent practice leads to success! 😊

Also see:

  1. Sentences for Class 2 in English: Simple and Easy: https://englishvedas.com/sentences-for-class-2-english-simple-easy/
  2. Creative English Activities for Class 2: https://englishvedas.com/creative-english-activities-for-class-2/
  3. How to Introduce Yourself: 5 Best Wayshttps://englishvedas.com/how-to-introduce-yourself-5-best-ways/
  4. Story Writing for Class 9: https://englishvedas.com/best-story-writing-for-class-9/

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