Simple Past Tense – English Grammar Exercises for A1
Announcing Personal News: “Guess What Happened!”
You just passed your driving test and want to share the amazing news with your family in the WhatsApp group chat. Read your messages and choose the correct option (A, B, or C) to complete the text.
1 “Hi family! I ______ so nervous this morning, but I have great news!”
(A) am
(B) was
(C) were
2 “I finally ______ my driving test an hour ago!”
(A) passed
(B) pass
(C) passsed
3 “The driving examiner ______ very strict, thank goodness. He was very nice.”
(A) didn’t
(B) weren’t
(C) wasn’t
4 “When he smiled at the end, I ______ that I passed.”
(A) realize
(B) realizeed
(C) realized
5 “My hands ______ shaking the whole time during the test.”
(A) was
(B) were
(C) are
6 “I ______ my car perfectly into the small parking space.”
(A) parked
(B) parkked
(C) park
7 “I ______ completely at the red light, just like dad taught me.”
(A) stoped
(B) stopped
(C) stop
8 “I ______ the speed limit at all. I drove very safely.”
(A) didn’t crossed
(B) didn’t cross
(C) wasn’t cross
9 “I ______ really hard to stay calm and focus on the road.”
(A) tryed
(B) trid
(C) tried
10 Mom replies: “Wow! ______ you cry when he told you the result?”
(A) Did
(B) Were
(C) Was
11 “Yes! I ______ my instructor because I was so happy.”
(A) huged
(B) hug
(C) hugged
12 “Don’t worry, dad. I ______ the car!”
(A) didn’t crash
(B) didn’t crashed
(C) wasn’t crash
13 “The test ______ very difficult, but I survived.”
(A) did
(B) was
(C) were
14 Dad replies: “______ the weather rainy during your test?”
(A) Did
(B) Were
(C) Was
15 “No, it was sunny! And the roads ______ busy, so that helped me a lot.”
(A) weren’t
(B) wasn’t
(C) didn’t
16 “After the test, the examiner ______ my paperwork to the front office.”
(A) carryed
(B) carried
(C) carred
17 “I ______ to text you immediately, but my phone ______ in my bag.”
(A) wanted / was
(B) wantted / was
(C) wanted / did
18 “I ______ to look at my phone while driving back with the instructor.”
(A) wasn’t try
(B) didn’t try
(C) didn’t tried
19 “I really ______ the drive back to the test center.”
(A) enjoyed
(B) enjoied
(C) enjoy
20 “I ______ expect this result! I ______ so surprised and happy!”
(A) wasn’t / was
(B) didn’t / did
(C) didn’t / was
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (B) was
- Why it’s correct: “I” is a singular subject, and “nervous” is an adjective describing a feeling. We use “was”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option A is the present tense. Option C is used for plural subjects.
2 (A) passed
- Why it’s correct: “Pass” is a regular verb. We simply add “-ed” to form the past tense.
- Why the others are wrong: Option B is the present tense. Option C is a spelling error (never add a third ‘s’).
3 (C) wasn’t
- Why it’s correct: “The driving examiner” is a singular subject (he/she), and “strict” is an adjective. The negative singular past is “wasn’t”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option A “didn’t” requires an action verb. Option B is for plural subjects.
4 (C) realized
- Why it’s correct: “Realize” already 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”).
5 (B) were
- Why it’s correct: “My hands” 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 C is the present tense.
6 (A) parked
- Why it’s correct: “Park” is a regular verb; simply add “-ed”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option B is a spelling mistake (never double the ‘k’). Option C is the present tense.
7 (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 “p” before adding “-ed”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option A is a basic spelling error. Option C is the present tense.
8 (B) didn’t cross
- Why it’s correct: To make a negative statement with an action verb, we use “didn’t” + the base form of the verb (“cross”).
- Why the others are wrong: Option A is the common “double past” error (didn’t + crossed). Option C incorrectly mixes “wasn’t” with an action verb.
9 (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 rule.
10 (A) Did
- Why it’s correct: “Cry” is an action verb. To ask a past simple question with an action verb, we use “Did”.
- 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.
11 (C) hugged
- Why it’s correct: “Hug” is a short verb ending in one vowel and one consonant (u-g). We must double the “g” before adding “-ed”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option A is a spelling error. Option B is the present tense.
12 (A) didn’t crash
- Why it’s correct: Negative actions use “didn’t” + base verb.
- Why the others are wrong: Option B makes the double past mistake (didn’t + crashed). Option C uses “wasn’t” incorrectly.
13 (B) was
- Why it’s correct: “The test” is a singular subject, and the sentence describes an adjective (“difficult”). Therefore, we use “was”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option A requires an action verb. Option C is for plural subjects.
14 (C) Was
- Why it’s correct: “The weather” is a singular subject, and the question asks about an adjective (“rainy”). We use “Was”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option A requires an action verb. Option B is for plural subjects.
15 (A) weren’t
- Why it’s correct: “The roads” is a plural subject, and “busy” is an adjective. We use “weren’t”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option B is for singular subjects. Option C “didn’t” requires an action verb.
16 (B) carried
- Why it’s correct: “Carry” ends in a consonant + “y” (r-y). Change “y” to “i” and add “-ed”.
- Why the others are wrong: Options A and C are spelling errors.
17 (A) wanted / was
- Why it’s correct: The first blank is a regular past action (“wanted”). The second blank describes a location (“in my bag”), requiring “was”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option B contains a spelling error (“wantted”). Option C incorrectly uses “did” for a location/state.
18 (B) didn’t try
- Why it’s correct: Negative actions use “didn’t” + base verb (“try”).
- Why the others are wrong: Option A uses “wasn’t” incorrectly. Option C has the double past error (didn’t + tried).
19 (A) enjoyed
- Why it’s correct: “Enjoy” ends in a vowel + “y” (o-y). For these verbs, 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.
20 (C) didn’t / was
- Why it’s correct: The first blank is a negative action (“didn’t expect”). The second blank describes a feeling (“was surprised”).
- Why the others are wrong: Option A incorrectly uses “wasn’t” with an action verb. Option B incorrectly uses “did” with an adjective.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
- Sharing the Facts (Action Verbs):
- When telling your family what just happened, use regular verbs ending in -ed (e.g., I passed. I parked. I hugged him.).
- Remember the tricky spelling rules:
- Double the last letter for short words: hug → hugged, stop → stopped.
- Change ‘y’ to ‘i’: try → tried, carry → carried (but enjoyed because of the vowel ‘o’).
- Sharing your Feelings (To Be):
- Use was / were to describe how you felt or how the situation was (e.g., I was nervous. The test was difficult.).
- Never use “did” to describe feelings or adjectives!
- Clarifying what didn’t happen:
- If you want to reassure your family that nothing bad happened, use didn’t + Base Verb (e.g., I didn’t crash. I didn’t cross the speed limit.).
- Do not add “-ed” after “didn’t”.