Simple Past Tense – English Grammar Exercises for A1
Experience-Based Recommendation: “Don’t Buy That Phone!”
Your friend wants to buy the exact same smartphone you used last year and asks for your advice. Read your text messages to your friend and choose the correct option (A, B, or C) to complete the conversation.
1 “I ______ very excited when I first got that phone last year.”
(A) was
(B) am
(C) were
2 “The design of the phone ______ very modern and beautiful.”
(A) were
(B) was
(C) is
3 “I really ______ the big screen for watching movies.”
(A) liked
(B) like
(C) likked
4 “In the beginning, everything ______ perfectly.”
(A) work
(B) workked
(C) worked
5 “My parents ______ happy because the price was quite low.”
(A) are
(B) were
(C) was
6 “But after a few months, the battery ______ very good.”
(A) didn’t
(B) wasn’t
(C) weren’t
7 “I ______ it to 100% every morning before going to work.”
(A) charge
(B) chargeed
(C) charged
8 “Sadly, the battery ______ a full day.”
(A) didn’t lasted
(B) wasn’t last
(C) didn’t last
9 “I ______ a lot of games on it, which probably killed the battery.”
(A) played
(B) plaied
(C) play
10 “______ the phone heavy to hold?” – “No, it was very light.”
(A) Did
(B) Were
(C) Was
11 “I accidentally ______ it on the floor once, but the screen didn’t break.”
(A) droped
(B) dropped
(C) drop
12 “I ______ to take photos at night, but they looked terrible.”
(A) trid
(B) tryed
(C) tried
13 “Sometimes, the apps ______ very slowly.”
(A) opened
(B) openned
(C) open
14 “______ the speakers loud enough for music?” – “Yes, they were okay.”
(A) Were
(B) Did
(C) Was
15 “Suddenly, the phone completely ______ working one day.”
(A) stoped
(B) stop
(C) stopped
16 “I ______ to fix it at the repair shop, but it was too expensive.”
(A) wantted
(B) wanted
(C) want
17 “Why ______ you stop using it?” – “Because I needed a better battery.”
(A) do
(B) did
(C) was
18 “Because of the bad battery, I ______ a portable charger with me everywhere.”
(A) carried
(B) carred
(C) carryed
19 “It ______ a budget phone, so I ______ expect too much from it.”
(A) is / don’t
(B) was / didn’t
(C) was / wasn’t
20 “______ the store help you?” – “No, they ______.”
(A) Did / didn’t
(B) Was / wasn’t
(C) Did / wasn’t
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (A) was
- Why it’s correct: “I” is a singular subject, so the past tense of the verb “to be” is “was”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option B is the present tense. Option C is used for plural subjects and “you”.
2 (B) was
- Why it’s correct: “The design” is a singular subject (it), so it takes “was”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option A is for plural subjects. Option C is the present tense.
3 (A) 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 B is the present tense. Option C is a spelling error (never double the ‘k’ in this word).
4 (C) worked
- Why it’s correct: “Work” is a regular verb; simply add “-ed”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option A is the present tense. Option B is a spelling error (do not double the ‘k’).
5 (B) were
- Why it’s correct: “My parents” is a plural subject (they), so we use the plural past form “were”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option A is the present tense. Option C is a common mistake (using singular “was” for a plural noun).
6 (B) wasn’t
- Why it’s correct: “Good” is an adjective. We use the verb “to be” (wasn’t) to describe a state or quality in the past.
- Why the others are wrong: Option A “didn’t” is an auxiliary for action verbs. Option C is for plural subjects.
7 (C) charged
- Why it’s correct: “Charge” ends in “e”, so we simply add “d”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option A is the present tense. Option B is a spelling error (adding “-ed” when there is already an “e”).
8 (C) didn’t last
- Why it’s correct: To make a negative statement with an action verb (“last”), use “didn’t” + the base form of the verb.
- Why the others are wrong: Option A is the classic “double past” error (didn’t + lasted). Option B incorrectly mixes the “to be” verb with an action verb.
9 (A) played
- Why it’s correct: “Play” ends in a vowel + “y” (a-y). For these verbs, we simply add “-ed” without changing the “y”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option B is a common mistake where learners incorrectly apply the “change y to i” rule. Option C is the present tense.
10 (C) Was
- Why it’s correct: “The phone” is a singular subject, and the question asks about an adjective (“heavy”). Therefore, we use “Was”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option A “Did” requires an action verb. Option B is for plural subjects.
11 (B) dropped
- Why it’s correct: “Drop” is a short, 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 basic spelling error. Option C is the present tense.
12 (C) 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 A and B are common spelling mistakes for this specific rule.
13 (A) opened
- Why it’s correct: “Open” is a regular verb. Even though it ends in a vowel and a consonant, the stress is on the first syllable (O-pen), so we do not double the final consonant. Just add “-ed”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option B is a common spelling mistake. Option C is the present tense.
14 (A) Were
- Why it’s correct: “The speakers” is a plural subject. The question is asking about an adjective (“loud”), so we use “Were”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option B requires an action verb. Option C is for singular subjects.
15 (C) stopped
- Why it’s correct: “Stop” ends in a single vowel + single consonant (o-p) and has only one syllable. Double the “p” before adding “-ed”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option A is a spelling error. Option B is the present tense.
16 (B) wanted
- Why it’s correct: “Want” is a regular verb; simply add “-ed”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option A is a spelling error (do not double the ‘t’ because it follows another consonant, ‘n’). Option C is the present tense.
17 (B) did
- Why it’s correct: “Stop” is an action verb. To form a past simple question, we use the auxiliary “did”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option A is the present tense. Option C incorrectly mixes “was” with a base action verb.
18 (A) carried
- Why it’s correct: “Carry” ends in a consonant + “y” (r-y). We must change the “y” to “i” and add “-ed”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option B is a basic error (forgetting the ‘i’). Option C is a common spelling mistake (forgetting to drop the ‘y’).
19 (B) was / didn’t
- Why it’s correct: The first blank describes a state (“a budget phone”), requiring “was”. The second blank negates an action verb (“expect”), requiring “didn’t”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option A is the present tense. Option C incorrectly uses “wasn’t” before a base action verb.
20 (A) Did / didn’t
- Why it’s correct: The question uses an action verb (“help”), so it starts with “Did”. The short negative answer must match the auxiliary: “No, they didn’t.”
- Why the others are wrong: Options B and C use forms of the verb “to be”, which do not match the action verb in the sentence.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
- Proving your experience:
- When giving a recommendation, using the Past Simple shows your friend that your advice comes from real experience (e.g., I used it. It worked well. I dropped it.).
- States vs. Actions (The Golden Rule):
- Use was / were to describe the phone’s features or quality (e.g., The screen was big. The speakers weren’t loud.). Do not use “did” for descriptions.
- Use -ed verbs for things you or the phone actually did (e.g., It stopped working. I charged it.).
- Tricky Spelling Rules:
- Consonant + y: change to -ied (try -> tried, carry -> carried).
- Vowel + y: just add -ed (play -> played).
- CVC (Consonant-Vowel-Consonant): double the last letter for short words (drop -> dropped, stop -> stopped), but NOT if the stress is on the first part of the word (open -> opened).
- The “Double Past” Danger:
- When telling your friend what the phone failed to do, use didn’t + Base Verb (e.g., It didn’t last long.). Never add “-ed” after “didn’t” (It didn’t lasted is incorrect).