Simple Past Tense – English Grammar Exercises for A1
Task Completion Report: Yesterday’s Work
Your boss (or teacher) is asking you about the tasks you did yesterday. Read the sentences and choose the correct option (A, B, or C) to report your progress.
1 “I ______ at my desk early yesterday morning to start the work.”
(A) am
(B) was
(C) were
2 “We ______ the new project on time, just as you requested.”
(A) started
(B) startted
(C) start
3 “The meeting room ______ ready for the presentation yesterday.”
(A) were
(B) is
(C) was
4 “First, I ______ my computer and checked my emails.”
(A) opened
(B) open
(C) openned
5 “The documents ______ on your desk yesterday afternoon.”
(A) are
(B) was
(C) were
6 “Did you finish the report?” – “Yes, I ______ it to you last night.”
(A) email
(B) emaild
(C) emailed
7 “I ______ the client to confirm our appointment for tomorrow.”
(A) called
(B) call
(C) calld
8 “The manager ______ very happy with our quick work.”
(A) was
(B) did
(C) were
9 “We ______ really hard to meet the deadline yesterday.”
(A) workked
(B) worked
(C) work
10 “Did you print the files?” – “No, I ______.”
(A) wasn’t
(B) don’t
(C) didn’t
11 “I ______ to contact the supplier, but they didn’t answer.”
(A) tried
(B) tryed
(C) trid
12 “She ______ all the data into the new software system.”
(A) copyed
(B) copied
(C) copid
13 “______ the tasks difficult?” – “No, they were easy.”
(A) Were
(B) Did
(C) Was
14 “I ______ the boss before I sent the final email.”
(A) ask
(B) asked
(C) askked
15 “We ______ the printing machine because it was broken.”
(A) didn’t used
(B) weren’t use
(C) didn’t use
16 “The team ______ the meeting at exactly 5 PM.”
(A) stoped
(B) stopped
(C) stop
17 “Why ______ you late for the morning briefing?”
(A) did
(B) was
(C) were
18 “I ______ the schedule carefully before the meeting.”
(A) planned
(B) planed
(C) plant
19 “Did the software work well?” – “No, it ______.”
(A) wasn’t
(B) didn’t
(C) doesn’t
20 “I ______ to finish everything, but I needed more time.”
(A) want
(B) wantted
(C) wanted
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (B) was
- Why it’s correct: “I” is a singular subject, so the past tense of “to be” is “was”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option A is the present tense. Option C is used for plural subjects (or “you”).
2 (A) started
- Why it’s correct: “Start” is a regular verb. We simply add “-ed” to form the past tense.
- Why the others are wrong: Option B is a spelling error (we do not double the ‘t’ here). Option C is the present tense.
3 (C) was
- Why it’s correct: “The meeting room” is a singular subject (it), so it takes “was”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option A is for plural subjects. Option B is the present tense.
4 (A) opened
- Why it’s correct: “Open” is a regular verb taking “-ed”. (Note: The stress is on the first syllable ‘O-pen’, so we do not double the final consonant).
- Why the others are wrong: Option B is the present tense. Option C is a common spelling mistake.
5 (C) were
- Why it’s correct: “The documents” is a plural subject (they), so the past tense of “to be” is “were”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option A is the present tense. Option B is a common mistake (using singular “was” for a plural noun).
6 (C) emailed
- Why it’s correct: “Email” is a regular verb; we add “-ed”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option A is the present tense. Option B is a spelling error (missing the “e”).
7 (A) called
- Why it’s correct: “Call” is a regular verb. We just add “-ed”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option B is the present tense. Option C is a spelling error.
8 (A) was
- Why it’s correct: “The manager” is a singular subject (he/she). “Happy” is an adjective describing a state, so we use “was”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option B is an auxiliary for action verbs, not adjectives. Option C is for plural subjects.
9 (B) worked
- Why it’s correct: “Work” is a regular verb; add “-ed”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option A is a spelling error. Option C is the present tense.
10 (C) didn’t
- Why it’s correct: In short answers to a “Did…?” question, we use “didn’t” for the negative.
- Why the others are wrong: Option A is the verb “to be”, which does not match the question. Option B is the present tense.
11 (A) tried
- Why it’s correct: “Try” ends in a consonant + “y”. We drop the “y”, change it to “i”, and add “-ed”.
- Why the others are wrong: Options B and C are common spelling mistakes for this rule.
12 (B) copied
- Why it’s correct: Similar to Q11, “copy” ends in a consonant + “y”. Change “y” to “i” and add “-ed”.
- Why the others are wrong: Options A and C are spelling errors.
13 (A) Were
- Why it’s correct: “The tasks” is a plural subject. The question asks about an adjective (“difficult”), so we use “Were”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option B is used to ask questions with action verbs, not adjectives. Option C is for singular subjects.
14 (B) asked
- Why it’s correct: “Ask” is a regular verb; add “-ed”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option A is the present tense. Option C is a spelling error.
15 (C) didn’t use
- Why it’s correct: To make a negative statement with an action verb, we use “didn’t” + the base form of the verb (use).
- Why the others are wrong: Option A is a very common learner trap (using “didn’t” with a past tense verb “-ed”). Option B incorrectly mixes the “to be” verb with an action verb.
16 (B) stopped
- Why it’s correct: “Stop” is a one-syllable verb ending in a single vowel + single consonant (o-p). We must double the final consonant before adding “-ed”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option A is a spelling error. Option C is the present tense.
17 (C) were
- Why it’s correct: The subject is “you”, and the question asks about an adjective (“late”). The correct past form is “were”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option A requires an action verb. Option B is for I/he/she/it.
18 (A) planned
- Why it’s correct: “Plan” is a one-syllable verb ending in a single vowel + single consonant (a-n). We double the “n” before adding “-ed”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option B is a spelling mistake. Option C is a completely different word (plant).
19 (B) didn’t
- Why it’s correct: The question asks “Did the software work…?”. The short negative answer must match the auxiliary verb: “No, it didn’t.”
- Why the others are wrong: Option A is the verb “to be”. Option C is the present tense.
20 (C) wanted
- Why it’s correct: “Want” is a regular verb; add “-ed”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option A is the present tense. Option B is a spelling error (we do not double the ‘t’ because there are two consonants at the end: n-t).
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
- Reporting States vs. Actions:
- When telling your boss about a state, location, or description (e.g., ready, late, happy, at the desk), use was/were.
- When telling your boss about an action you completed (e.g., call, email, finish), use the -ed verb form.
- Spelling Rules for Regular Verbs (-ed):
- Most verbs: add -ed (open → opened).
- Verbs ending in -e: add -d (use → used).
- Verbs ending in a Consonant + y: change y to i and add -ed (try → tried, copy → copied).
- One-syllable verbs ending in 1 Vowel + 1 Consonant: double the consonant and add -ed (stop → stopped, plan → planned).
- The “Didn’t” Rule:
- When you report that you did not do a task, always use didn’t + Base Verb.
- Correct: I didn’t use the machine.
- Incorrect: I didn’t used the machine.