Examples of Questions in the Past Tense

• Did you go to work yesterday?

• Did they arrive on time?

• Did she like the surprise?

• Where did she go?

• What did you do yesterday?

• What did you say? - I didn't say anything.

• Why did we have to come?

Irregular Verbs in the Past Tense

Irregular verbs are ONLY irregular in affirmative/positive sentences. (An exception to this is with the verb TO BE in the Past Tense).

For example: The past tense of GO is WENT. It does not end in –ED so it is considered irregular.

The word went is used for all subjects – I, you, we, they, he, she, it.

• I went to the beach

• He went to the park.

• She went to the zoo.

• They went to the library.

BUT, as we mentioned before, it is only in its irregular form (went) in sentences that are affirmative/positive.

Compare the following using GO in the past tense.

• They went to the beach

• They didn't go to the beach --- Didn't shows that we are talking in the past tense.

• Did they go to the beach? --- Did shows that we are talking in the past tense.

Another example with an irregular verb. The past of EAT is ATE.

• You ate my cake.

• You didn't eat my cake.

• Did you eat my cake?

• As is the case with any verb tense in English, it is generally possible to give short answers to a question. This is certainly the case for questions in the past tense.

• If the question commences with one of the traditional question words such as WHO, WHERE, WHEN, WHY, WHAT, WHICH or HOW, it requires a more detailed answer and it is not possible to give a short answer.

• Examples of long answers

• What did you do on the weekend? - I went to a party with my friends. (It is not possible to give a short answer to this question like 'Yes, I did').

• Why did you call him? - Because I needed to borrow his computer.

• HOWEVER, if the question is more direct, and commences with a verb or Did, then it is generally possible to give a short or a long answer to the question.

• Examples

• Was Chris at the party last night? - Yes, he was. (short answer) - Yes, Chris was at the party last night. (long answer)

• Did you see Julie on the weekend? - No, I didn't. (short answer) - No, I didn't see Julie on the weekend. (long answer) 

• Could they speak Japanese? - Yes, they could. (short answer) - Yes, they could speak Japanese. (long answer)

• As you can see, long answers usually sound repetitive and are not commonly used.

Exercise

Write the sentences in Past Indefinite.

Example: I (to do) morning exercises. 

+ I did morning exercises.

? Did I do morning exercises?

— I didn’t do morning exercises.

He (to work) at a factory. 

+ ________________________

— ________________________

? ________________________

She (to sleep) after dinner.  + ________________________

— ________________________

? ________________________

We (to work) part-time.  + ________________________

— ________________________

? ________________________

They (to drink) tea every day.  + ________________________

— ________________________

? ________________________

Mike (to be) a student. 

+ ________________________

— ________________________

? ________________________

Helen (to have) a car.  + ________________________

— ________________________

? ________________________

You (to be) a good friend. 

+ ________________________

— ________________________

? ________________________

It (to be) difficult to remember everything.

+ ________________________

— ________________________

? ________________________

Exercise

Regular (R) or irregular (I) verbs? Write the past simple of the verbs.

1. fly __

2. use __

3. study__

4. eat __

5. make __

6. travel__

7. see __

Complete the sentences with the past simple

be – get up – meet – have – go – run – drink – sleep – swim – eat

1. I __ a shower and some fruit for breakfast.

2. Then I __ to the sports centre.

3. I __ 500 meters in the swimming pool and then

4. I __ 5 kilometers.

5. At lunchtime I __ my friends in a café.

6. We __ some pasta and __ some juice.

7. After lunch I __ for a few hours, I __ tired!

Complete the sentences

1. I opened the door and __ (look) inside.

2. Who __ (close) all the windows?

3. I __ (carry) my mom´s shopping bag.

4. I __ (not climb) over the fence.

5. I __ (rip) my shirt.

6. The plane __ (land) ten minutes ago.

7. We __ (live) in that house when I was a baby.

8. My brother __ (not cry) when he fell of his bike.

9. We __ (walk) to school yesterday.

10. She __ (smile) when she saw me.

11. We __ (hurry) to the station to catch the train.

12. She __ (laugh) when I told her the joke.

13. We __ (race) each other on our bikes.

14. Dad __ (not help) me with my homework.

15. Helen __ (whisper) me a secret.

16. Luis Miguel __ (hurry) to catch a bus.

17. We __ (return) our books to the library.

18. She __ (not kiss) the frog.

19. The frog __ (change) into a prince.

20. Two doctors __ (rush) into the room.

21. I __ (not kick) the ball very hard.

22. Who __ (invent) the computer?

23. Dinosaurs __ (live) many years ago.

24. It __ (not snow) last night.

25. They __ (not work) until twelve last night.

1. I __ (loose) my watch in the park.

2. David __ (not hurt) his knee.

3. I kicked the ball and it __ (break) a window.

4. My new shoes __ (not cost) a lot of money.

5. I __ (get) this book from the library.

6. We had a garage where we __ (keep) our car.

7. Ali __ (cut) his knee.

8. The glass __ (fall) off the table.

9. The glass __ (not break).

10. We __ (sell) our old car.

11. We __ (buy) a new car.

12. The bell __ (not ring).

13. We all __ (go) into school.

14. The dog __ (catch) the ball.

15. The man __ (not kneel) down.

16. Our cat __ (run) onto the road.

17. Jane __ (not write) a letter.

18. I __ (buy) a new camera last week.

19. We __ (drive) to a safari park yesterday.

20. Yesterday Dad __ (not take) me to the carnival.

21. Elizabeth __ (give) Eva a chocolate.

22. Jack and Jill __ (not go) up the hill.

23. Her ring __ (cost) ten Euros.

24. I __ (put) sugar in my coffee.

25. He __ (not hit) the ball over the net.

Exercise

Put the verbs in Past Indefinite.

1. Alice (to have) a sister. 

2. Her sister’s name (to be) Ann. 

3. Ann (to be) a student.

4. She (to get) up at seven o'clock. 

5. She (to go) to the institute in the morning. 

6. Jane (to be) fond of sports. 

7. She (to do) her morning exercises every day. 

8. For breakfast she (to have) two eggs, a sandwich and a cup of tea. 

9. After breakfast she (to go) to the institute. 

10. Sometimes she (to take) a bus. 

11. It (to take) her an hour and a half to do her homework. 

12. She (to speak) English well. 

13. Her friends usually (to call) her at about 8 o’clock. 

14. Ann (to take) a shower before going to bed. 

15. She (to go) to bed at 11 p. m.

16. My working day (to begin) at six o'clock. 

17. I (to get) up, (to switch) on the TV and (to brush) my teeth. 

18. It (to take) me about twenty minutes. 

19. I (to have) breakfast at seven o’clock. 

20. I (to leave) home at half past seven. 

21. I (to take) a bus to the institute. 

22. It usually (to take) me about fifteen minutes to get there. 

23. Classes (to begin) at eight. 

24. We usually (to have) four classes a day. 

25. I (to have) lunch at about 2 o’clock.

Exercise

Fill in the blanks using Past Indefinite.

1. They _____ football at the institute. (to play) 

2. She _____ emails. (not / to write)

3. ____ you____ English? (to speak) 

4. My mother ____ fish. (not / to like) 

5. ____ Ann ____ any friends? (to have) 

6. His brother _____ in an office. (to work) 

7. She ___ very fast. (cannot / to read) 

8. ____ they ____ the flowers every 3 days? (to water) 

9. His wife _____ a motorbike. (not / to ride) 

10. ____ Elizabeth_____ coffee? (to drink)

Exercise

Put the verb ‘to be’ in Past Indefinite.

1. I _____ a student. 

2. My father _____ not a shop-assistant, he _____ a scientist. 

3. _____ your aunt a nurse? - Yes, she _____. 

4. _____ they at home? - No, they _____ not. They _____ at school. 

5. _____ you an engineer? - Yes, I _____. 

6. _____ your friend a photographer? No, she _____ not a photographer, she _____ a student. 

7. _____ your brothers at school? - Yes, they _____. 

8. _____ this her watch? - Yes, it _____. 

9. Max _____ an office-worker. 

10. We _____ late, sorry!