PAST TENSE

Exercise 1: Choose the word whose underlined part is pronounced

differently from the others

1. A.​ arrived B.​ believed C.​ received D.​ hoped

2. A.​ tried B.​ obeyed C.​ cleaned D.​ asked

3. A.​ packed B.​ added C.​ worked D.​ pronounced

4. A.​ laughed B.​ washed C.​ helped D.​ weighed

5. A.​ killed B.​ hurried C.​ regretted D.​ planned

6. A.​ needed B.​ teased C.​ washed D.​ rained

7. A.​ filled B.​ naked C.​ suited D.​ wicked

8. A.​ caused B.​ increased C.​ practised D.​ promised

9. A.​ considered B.​ rescued C.​ pulled D.​ roughed

10. A.​ whispered B.​ wandered C.​ sympathized D.​ sentenced

Exercise 2: Supply the correct verb form (Simple Past / Past Continuous)
1.​ When I ____________ (arrive) at this house, he ______________
(still / sleep).
2.​ The light ______________ (go) out while we ______________
(have) dinner.
3.​ Bill ______________ (have) breakfast when I ______________
(stop) at his house this morning.
4.​ As we ______________ (cross) the street, we ______________
(see) an accident.
5.​ Tom __________ (see) a serious accident while he ____________
(stand) at the bus stop.
6.​ While my father __________ (read) a newspaper, I ___________
(learn) my lesson and my sister ____________ (do) her homework.
 7.​ The children __________ (play) football when their mother
__________ (come) back home.
8.​ The bell __________ (ring) while Tom __________ (take) a bath.
9.​ I ______ (be) very tired because I ______ (work) all day yesterday.
10.​He __________ (sit) in a cafe when I __________ (see) him.
11.​A: How ________ Justin _________ (break) his leg?
B: He ____________ (drink) alcohol and ____________ (drive)
car when he ____________ (be) absolutely hit by a car.
A: _______ he _____ (go) to hospital?
12.​A: When ________ you ________ (contact) Jorge?
B: While I ____________ (take) a shower, he _________ (call) me.
A: I ____________ (call) at the same time but you ____________
(not / answer). Why didn’t you answer my phone?
B: I ____________ (talk) with Jorge.

Exercise 3: Supply the correct verb form (Simple Past / Past Perfect)
1.​ They __________ (go) home after they __________ (finish)
their work.
2.​ She said that she _________________ (already / see) Dr. Rice.
3.​ When we came to the stadium, the match _______________
(already / begin).
4.​ They told me they _________________ (not / eat) such kind
of food before.
5.​ He _________________ (ask) why we _________________
(come) so early.
6.​ After they had gone, I _________________ (sit) down and
_________________ (rest).
 7.​ Before she _________________ (watch) TV, she
_________________ (do) her homework.
8.​ After taking a bath, he _________________ (go) to bed.
9.​ Where _________ (be) he when he ___________(be) young?
10.​It was the first time I _________________ (ever / see) such a
beautiful girl.

Exercise 4: Supply the correct verb form: Past Tenses.

1.​ Yesterday John _________________ (go) to the store before
he _________________ (go) home.
2.​ Our teacher _________________ (tell) us yesterday that he
_________________ (visit) England in 1970.
3.​ When John and I got to the theatre, the movie _____________
(start) already.
4.​ Before Alice ___________ (go) to sleep, she ____________
(call) her family.
5.​ When the phone ___________ (ring), I _________________
(have) dinner.
6.​ Daisy _________________ (agree) with other members in the
last meeting.
7.​ What _________________ (you / do) at 6 p.m yesterday?
8.​ The little girl asked what _________________ (happen) to her
ice-cream.
9.​ He _________________ (teach) in this school before he
_________________ (leave) for England.
10.​She _________________ (win) the gold medal in 1986.
11.​He ____________ (buy) a new car last month.
12.​I burned my finger while I ____________ (cook) breakfast.
13.​By the time I came back, Mike and Jane _________________
(leave), so I couldn’t tell them about it.
14.​He _________________ (smoke) for twenty years when he
finally quit smoking.
15.​By the time I arrived, everyone _________________ (leave)!
16.​Steve _________________ (already / see) the film, so he
didn’t come with us to the cinema.
17.​I _________________ (call) you yesterday because my
telephone was out of order.
18.​Tina _________________ (not finish) doing the housework by
seven o’clock, so she called Andrea to tell her she would be late.
19.​_________________ (you / just / speak) to Billy when I rang?
20.​The car broke down just after we ________________(set off).
21.​I didn’t eat anything at the party because I _______________
(already / eat) at home.
22.​_________________ (You / hear) about the accident before
you saw it on TV?
23.​The girls _________________ (tidy) the house when the
visitors arrived.
24.​I only _________________ (do) the washing-up for a few
minutes when Clare came home, so she offered to finish it.
25.​He was waiting for his bus at the bus stop when the robbers
___________________ (attack) him.
26.​Christopher Columbus ___________________ (discover)
America in 1492.
27.​_____________ you already _____________ (give) James
his birthday present when we gave him ours?
28.​Gail _____________ (tell) me that she would help me, so I
wasn’t angry when she didn’t.
29.​Mum _________________ (drink) her cup of tea for several
minutes before she realised it had salt in it!
30.​We ___________________ (get) ready all day when they
called to say the party had been cancelled.
31.​I was exhausted at the end of the exam. I ________________
(write) for over two hours.
32.​It was a fantastic experience because I __________________
(never / fly) in a plane before.
33.​I saw a lovely dress while I ___________________ (shop),
maybe I will go back and buy it.
34.​A plumber _______________ (come) to our house yesterday.
35.​He ________________ (want) to repair our washing machine
that ________________ (break) a few days before.
36.​I _____________ (open) the door and ________________
(see) the police officer standing there.
37.​I told John not to drive because he ___________________
(drink) all night.
38.​Why did you change the channel? I ___________________
(watch) that movie.
39.​When he entered the room, somebody ___________________
(hit) him in the head.
40.​ He admitted that he ___________________ (take) all the
money from the box.
Exercise 5: Supply the correct verb form: Past Tenses.
It was Sunday afternoon. I (1) ______________ (watch) a cookery
program on TV when I (2) ______________ (realize) how hungry I
was. But of course I was hungry; I (3) ______________ (not eat)
anything since lunch, and I (4) ______________ (run) a race in the
morning. “Biscuits!” I (5) ______________ (think). My mother (6)
______________ (give) me a jar of delicious home-made biscuits.

I (7) ______________ (go) into the kitchen, (8) ______________

(open) the fridge and (9) ______________ (pour) some milk in a big
glass. Then I (10) ______________ (look) for the kitchen chair but it
______________ (not be) there: somebody (12) ______________
(take) it away. And there were no biscuits in the jar: somebody (13)
______________ (eat) them all! I was sure I (14)
______________ (put) the jar there the previous day, and I (15)
______________ (eat) only one cookie. It was very strange.

A few minutes later, I (16) ______________ (drink) my glass of milk

when I (17) ______________ (hear) a loud noise coming from the
dining room. I (18) ______________ (go) there quickly and I (19)
______________ (open) the door. I couldn’t believe my eyes. An
enormous monkey (20) ______________ (eat) the biscuits excitedly
on the kitchen chair.

Exercise 6: Supply the correct verb forms with USED TO, GET / BE
USED TO
1.​ When I was a student, I _________________ (work) in a bar.
2.​ I will never ___________________ (work) nights. I prefer
working days.
 3.​ She ___________________ (live) on her own. The house feels
quite empty.
4.​ When I worked in the city, I ___________________ (get up)
really early.
5.​ ___________________ (you / live) in your new house yet?
6.​ We ___________________ (live) in a cold climate. We’re used
to a warm one.
7.​ I _______________ (be) a gardener. I _________________
(sit) in an office all day.
8.​ Since I retired from my job, I can’t ________________ (have)
nothing to do all day.
9.​ In my last job, I ___________________ (wear) a suit and tie.
Now I wear jeans.
10.​I was just ___________________ (wear) glasses.

Exercise 7: Supply the correct verb forms with USED TO, GET / BE
USED TO
I moved to London ten years ago, and after ten years, I can say I (1)
___________________ (live) in the UK. However, coming from
Peru, it took me some time to (2) ___________________ (be) in a
country which is so different from my motherland. In Peru, I (3)
___________________ (talk) to the people in the street: the people
I met on the bus, in the shops, in the park, etc. Here, it was very
difficult to speak to anybody, and not because of the language. Before
I came, I was (4) ___________________ (speak) English every day,
because back in Peru, I (5) ___________________ (be) an English
teacher. So, the language was not the problem; it was just that the
people here mind their own business; they don’t normally speak to
strangers. But now, I have already (6) ___________________
(mind) my own business.
The other thing which was completely different was the weather. In
Peru, I (7) ___________________ (be) outdoors all day, because it
(8) ___________________ (be) hot and sunny. When I came here I
had to (9) ___________________ (be) mostly indoors, because the
weather is horrible. Now, after ten years here, I think I (10)
___________________ (wear) thick clothes and I don’t mind the
rainy weather as much as I did in the past, but I’ll always miss the
weather in Peru.