Past Simple · Exercises
A1Beginner practice
was / were, regular -ed and common irregular verbs.
Play
- Practice10 exercises at your own pace
- Time Attack60 seconds, as many as you can
- Survival3 lives, harder as you go
- Tense SortDrag sentences into their tense — 60 seconds
- Timelines10 sentences to match to their timelines
- A1 Boss12 hits before you lose 3 lives
- Irregular MatchPair verbs with their past forms — 60 seconds
Want to mix tenses, go endless or pick exercise types? Set up your own session.
What you’ll practise at A1
- was / were
- Regular verbs: -ed
- Irregular verbs (went, saw, bought…)
- Negatives: didn’t / wasn’t
- Questions: Did you…?
- Short answers: Yes, I did / No, it wasn’t
- Timelines: what the tense means
Need a refresher? Learn the past simple: rules, tables and audio examples.
Sample exercises
A taste of what’s inside. In practice mode every exercise is freshly generated.
Is this sentence correct?
Was Yuki in London? Yes, she was.
Show answer
Was Yuki in London? Yes, she was.
Yes, it’s correct. Answer was / were questions with was / were (not did): Yes, I was. / No, they weren’t.
Is this sentence correct?
Lily didn't helped the neighbours at the weekend.
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Lily didn't help the neighbours at the weekend.
“helped” should be “help”. Negatives: didn’t + base form (not the past form). Lily didn't help the neighbours at the weekend.
Write the verb in the past simple.
Tom _____ (watch) a documentary last summer.
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Tom watched a documentary last summer.
Past simple: the same form for every person (I / she / they went). Regular verbs add -ed. Regular verbs add -ed: watch → watched.
Choose the past simple.
Omar _____ (make) a sandwich yesterday.
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Omar made a sandwich yesterday.
“make” is irregular: make → made. Learn it by heart.
Choose the right word.
Zara _____ really happy last summer.
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Zara was really happy last summer.
Use was with I, he, she, it (or one person) and were with you, we and they.
Write the verb in the past simple.
Ivan _____ (open) the window last night.
Show answer
Ivan opened the window last night.
Past simple: the same form for every person (I / she / they went). Regular verbs add -ed. Regular verbs add -ed: open → opened.