Past Simple: positive sentences
450 fill-in-the-gap exercises, 45 tests of ten
One form for every subject. All the work is in choosing the right past form of the verb.
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The pattern
There is no auxiliary and no agreement. The verb carries everything:
I worked. You worked. He worked. We worked. They worked.
That makes the positive Past Simple the simplest form in English to build — and the hardest to get right, because you have to know whether the verb is regular.
The -ed you cannot hear
Written -ed is pronounced three different ways, which is why learners often miss it in speech:
- after a voiceless sound it is /t/: worked, watched, helped
- after a voiced sound it is /d/: lived, played, opened
- after t or d it becomes a full syllable /ɪd/: wanted, needed, decided
Only the third one adds a beat to the word.
Irregular verbs worth knowing first
These turn up in almost every text: be, have, do, go, say, get, make, know, think, take, see, come, want, give, find, tell, become, leave, feel, put, bring, begin, keep, hold, write, stand, hear, let, mean, meet, run, pay, sit, speak, lie, lead, read, grow, lose, fall, send, build, understand, draw, break, spend, cut, rise, drive, buy, wear, choose, sell, eat, drink, sleep, win, forget.
The time is usually stated
Because the tense points at a finished moment, the sentence normally says when: last night, in 1998, two hours ago, on Monday, when I was ten, after the concert. If no time is given and the result still matters now, the Present Perfect is the better choice.
All forms
| Ending of the verb | What happens | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| most verbs | add -ed | work → worked, watch → watched |
| ends in -e | add -d | move → moved, like → liked |
| consonant + y | -y becomes -ied | carry → carried, try → tried |
| short vowel + consonant | double the consonant | stop → stopped, plan → planned |
| irregular | learn the form | go → went, see → saw, buy → bought |
Examples
Taken from the 450 sentences in this drill. The answer is highlighted.
- They had a picnic in the park the other day.
- She played tennis with her friends yesterday.
- They went to their favorite restaurant on their anniversary last month.
- We ate a delicious cake at the party last Friday.
- I watched my favorite show on TV last night.
- We bought our groceries from the store two weeks ago.
- They did their homework in the evening yesterday.
- We took a bike ride in the park this morning.
- She met her best friend at the park yesterday.
- He visited his grandma for her birthday last month.
- He cooked his favorite meal for dinner last night.
- She read the book in one evening last week.
Mistakes to avoid
Wrong: He studyed all evening. correct: He studied all evening.
Consonant plus -y turns into -ied.
Wrong: We stoped at the bakery. correct: We stopped at the bakery.
One short vowel between two consonants means the last consonant doubles.