Simple Past Tense – English Grammar Exercises for A1
Basic Interview Background: My Past Experience
You are in an interview for a part-time job or a student club. The interviewer asks you about your high school years and your previous work experience. Read the sentences and choose the correct option (A, B, or C) to complete your answers.
1 “I ______ a student at Lincoln High School from 2018 to 2021”
(A) was
(B) am
(C) were
2 “I ______ my high school education two years ago.”
(A) finish
(B) finished
(C) finishd
3 “My business and math classes ______ very interesting and helpful.”
(A) was
(B) are
(C) were
4 “Last summer, I ______ as a cashier at a local supermarket.”
(A) worked
(B) work
(C) workked
5 “I really ______ my time at my old job because the team was great.”
(A) like
(B) liked
(C) likked
6 “I ______ work on weekends because I needed time to study for exams.”
(A) wasn’t
(B) don’t
(C) didn’t
7 Interviewer: “______ you play any sports for your school team?”
(A) Did
(B) Were
(C) Was
8 “I ______ the team captain, but I was a very dedicated player.”
(A) didn’t
(B) wasn’t
(C) weren’t
9 “I ______ hard for my final exams and got good grades.”
(A) studyed
(B) studid
(C) studied
10 Interviewer: “Did you organize any events for the science club?” – Applicant: “Yes, I ______.”
(A) did
(B) was
(C) worked
11 “I ______ working at the café in December because I moved to this city.”
(A) stoped
(B) stopped
(C) stop
12 “The manager at my previous job ______ very friendly and supportive.”
(A) were
(B) did
(C) was
13 “I ______ basketball for the school team every Friday evening.”
(A) played
(B) plaied
(C) play
14 “I ______ the computer system at my first job because it was a manual role.”
(A) didn’t used
(B) didn’t use
(C) wasn’t use
15 Interviewer: “______ your previous job stressful?”
(A) Did
(B) Were
(C) Was
16 “I ______ to help the customers, so I always answered their questions.”
(A) wanted
(B) wantted
(C) want
17 “I ______ shy at first, but then I ______ to talk to the customers.”
(A) was / startted
(B) was / started
(C) did / started
18 “My coworkers ______ lazy; they worked very fast and helped me a lot.”
(A) wasn’t
(B) didn’t
(C) weren’t
19 “We ______ a new marketing campaign for the school club in 2020”
(A) planned
(B) planed
(C) plant
20 “I ______ the low salary, so I looked for a new job with better pay.”
(A) didn’t liked
(B) didn’t like
(C) wasn’t like
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (A) was
- Why it’s correct: “I” is a singular subject, so the past tense of “to be” is “was”. This describes a past state (being a student).
- Why the others are wrong: Option B is the present tense. Option C is used for plural subjects or “you”.
2 (B) finished
- Why it’s correct: “Finish” is a regular verb. We add “-ed” to form the past tense.
- Why the others are wrong: Option A is the present tense. Option C is a spelling error (missing the “e”).
3 (C) were
- Why it’s correct: “My classes” is a plural subject (they), so it takes the plural past form “were”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option A is a common mistake (using singular “was” for a plural noun). Option B is the present tense.
4 (A) worked
- Why it’s correct: “Work” is a regular verb; simply add “-ed”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option B is the present tense. Option C is a spelling error (never double the ‘k’).
5 (B) liked
- Why it’s correct: “Like” is a regular verb that already ends in “e”, so we just add “-d”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option A is the present tense. Option C is a spelling error (doubling the ‘k’ is incorrect).
6 (C) didn’t
- Why it’s correct: “Work” is an action verb. To make a negative past simple sentence with an action verb, we use “didn’t”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option A incorrectly uses the “to be” verb with an action verb. Option B is the present tense.
7 (A) Did
- Why it’s correct: “Play” is an action verb. To form a past simple question in an interview, use “Did” + subject + base verb.
- Why the others are wrong: Options B and C are forms of “to be”, which cannot be used to ask questions with base action verbs.
8 (B) wasn’t
- Why it’s correct: “The team captain” is a noun phrase describing a title/state. The subject is “I”, so we use “wasn’t”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option A “didn’t” requires an action verb to follow it. Option C is for plural subjects.
9 (C) studied
- Why it’s correct: “Study” ends in a consonant + “y”. We drop the “y”, change it to “i”, and add “-ed”.
- Why the others are wrong: Options A and B are common spelling mistakes for this rule.
10 (A) did
- Why it’s correct: In short answers to a “Did you…?” question, we must use the matching auxiliary verb: “Yes, I did.”
- Why the others are wrong: Option B uses “was”, which does not match the question. Option C is an action verb, but short answers require the auxiliary verb.
11 (B) stopped
- Why it’s correct: “Stop” is a one-syllable verb ending in a single vowel + single consonant (o-p). You must double the final consonant before adding “-ed”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option A is a basic spelling error. Option C is the present tense.
12 (C) was
- Why it’s correct: “The manager” is a singular subject (he/she). “Friendly” is an adjective, so we use the past tense of “to be” (“was”).
- Why the others are wrong: Option A is for plural subjects. Option B is an auxiliary for action verbs.
13 (A) played
- Why it’s correct: “Play” ends in a vowel + “y” (a-y). We simply add “-ed” without changing the “y”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option B is a common mistake (learners often apply the “change y to i” rule incorrectly here). Option C is the present tense.
14 (B) didn’t use
- Why it’s correct: To make a negative statement with an action verb, use “didn’t” + the base form of the verb.
- Why the others are wrong: Option A is a very common learner trap (the “double past” error: didn’t + used). Option C mixes “wasn’t” with an action verb.
15 (C) Was
- Why it’s correct: “Your previous job” is a singular subject (it), and the question asks about an adjective (“stressful”). Therefore, we use “Was”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option A requires an action verb. Option B is for plural subjects.
16 (A) wanted
- Why it’s correct: “Want” is a regular verb; simply add “-ed”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option B is a spelling error (do not double the ‘t’ because it follows another consonant, ‘n’). Option C is the present tense.
17 (B) was / started
- Why it’s correct: The first blank describes a state (“shy”), requiring “was”. The second blank is a regular past action (“started”).
- Why the others are wrong: Option A contains a spelling error (“startted”). Option C incorrectly uses “did” for a state of being.
18 (C) weren’t
- Why it’s correct: “My coworkers” is a plural subject (they), and “lazy” is an adjective. The negative plural past form is “weren’t”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option A is for singular subjects. Option B is used for action verbs.
19 (A) planned
- Why it’s correct: “Plan” is a short verb ending in one vowel and one consonant (a-n). 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).
20 (B) didn’t like
- Why it’s correct: Negative actions use “didn’t” + the base verb (like).
- Why the others are wrong: Option A makes the double past mistake (didn’t + liked). Option C uses the “to be” verb incorrectly.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
- Describing Roles, Feelings, and Environments:
- Use was / wasn’t for singular subjects (I, the manager, the job). Example: I was a cashier. The job wasn’t stressful.
- Use were / weren’t for plural subjects (My coworkers, the customers). Example: The customers were friendly.
- Golden Rule: Never use “did/didn’t” with adjectives (friendly, lazy) or job titles.
- Describing Your Past Responsibilities (Action Verbs):
- Most tasks just need -ed (worked, started).
- If the task ends in -e, add -d (liked, managed).
- If the task ends in Consonant + y, change to -ied (studied, copied).
- Short tasks ending in Vowel + Consonant, double the consonant (planned, stopped).
- Saying What You Didn’t Do:
- In an interview, if you need to say you did not have a certain responsibility, always use didn’t + Base Verb.
- Correct: I didn’t use that software.
- Incorrect: I didn’t used that software. (Avoid the “double past”!).