Present Simple vs. Past Simple – English Grammar Exercises for A1
You are in a classroom or a meeting. You do not have your book, homework, or report with you. You must explain to your teacher or your boss why you don’t have it today because of a mistake you made in the past.
Choose the best answer (A, B, C, or D) to complete each sentence.
1 I am sorry, Mr. Davis. I ______ my textbook today.
(a) didn’t have
(b) don’t have
(c) am not have
(d) not have
2 I ______ it on my desk at home this morning.
(a) leave
(b) leaved
(c) was leave
(d) left
3 Right now, my bag ______ completely empty.
(a) is
(b) was
(c) be
(d) has
4 I ______ to put the report in my folder last night.
(a) forget
(b) forgot
(c) forgetted
(d) was forget
5 I ______ the pen you gave me yesterday, so I cannot write the test.
(a) doesn’t have
(b) didn’t have
(c) don’t have
(d) not have
6 I ______ my laptop to the meeting because the battery died.
(a) don’t bring
(b) didn’t brought
(c) didn’t bring
(d) wasn’t bring
7 We ______ extra copies of the presentation today, so please share with a partner.
(a) don’t have
(b) didn’t have
(c) aren’t have
(d) doesn’t have
8 I printed the document an hour ago, but I ______ it in the printer!
(a) leave
(b) left
(c) did left
(d) leaved
9 Sarah ______ her notebook, so she can’t take notes right now.
(a) don’t have
(b) didn’t has
(c) doesn’t have
(d) isn’t have
10 Boss: “______ you print the agenda this morning?”
(a) Do
(b) Did
(c) Were
(d) Have
11 I am sorry, I ______ my homework last night because I was very sick.
(a) didn’t do
(b) don’t do
(c) didn’t did
(d) wasn’t do
12 I ______ the password for this software, so I can’t open the file for you now.
(a) didn’t know
(b) doesn’t know
(c) don’t know
(d) am not know
13 Teacher, I can’t find my worksheet. I think my dog ______ it yesterday!
(a) eat
(b) ate
(c) eated
(d) is eat
14 Teacher: “Why ______ your materials for the lesson today?”
(a) didn’t you have
(b) you don’t have
(c) aren’t you have
(d) don’t you have
15 I ______ the document on my table last night, but it is not there now.
(a) puts
(b) putted
(c) put
(d) was put
16 I am sorry, my project ______ ready today. I need more time.
(a) wasn’t
(b) isn’t
(c) doesn’t
(d) aren’t
17 I can’t show you the presentation because I ______ my flash drive on the train.
(a) lost
(b) lose
(c) losed
(d) did lost
18 I can’t read the report on the screen because I ______ my glasses at home.
(a) left
(b) leave
(c) leaved
(d) did left
19 We ______ to print the charts yesterday, so we must look at the computer screen now.
(a) forget
(b) forgot
(c) are forget
(d) forgetted
20 I ______ the email with the instructions yesterday, so I don’t know what to do now.
(a) don’t read
(b) didn’t readed
(c) wasn’t read
(d) didn’t read
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (b) don’t have
- The Key: “Today” and the context of apologizing right now indicate a present state. For “I”, the negative is “don’t have”.
- Error Analysis: (a) didn’t have (Common Mistake: Using past tense for a current problem). (d) not have (Structural Error: Missing the auxiliary “do”). (c) am not have (Strong Distractor: Mixing “to be” with a base verb).
2 (d) left
- The Key: “This morning” is a finished time in the past. “Leave” is an irregular verb, and its past form is “left”.
- Error Analysis: (a) leave (Common Mistake: Using present tense for a past action). (b) leaved (Structural Error: Adding “-ed” to an irregular verb). (c) was leave (Strong Distractor: Incorrect auxiliary).
3 (a) is
- The Key: “Right now” requires the Present Simple. “My bag” is singular, taking the verb “is”.
- Error Analysis: (b) was (Common Mistake: Wrong tense). (c) be (Structural Error: Unconjugated verb). (d) has (Strong Distractor: “Has” means possession, but “empty” is an adjective describing a state, so it needs “is”).
4 (b) forgot
- The Key: “Last night” signals the Past Simple. “Forget” is an irregular verb, becoming “forgot”.
- Error Analysis: (a) forget (Common Mistake: Forgetting to backshift to past tense). (c) forgetted (Structural Error: Regularizing an irregular verb). (d) was forget (Strong Distractor).
5 (c) don’t have
- The Key: The second clause “so I cannot write” shows this is a present problem.
- Error Analysis: (b) didn’t have (Common Mistake: Tricked by the word “yesterday” in the first clause, but the speaker is talking about their current lack of the pen). (a) doesn’t have (Structural Error: Wrong subject agreement for “I”). (d) not have (Structural Error).
6 (c) didn’t bring
- The Key: The past reason (“the battery died”) means the action of bringing also happened in the past. The negative past is “didn’t + base verb”.
- Error Analysis: (a) don’t bring (Common Mistake: Using present tense for a past event). (b) didn’t brought (Structural Error: Double past marking). (d) wasn’t bring (Strong Distractor).
7 (a) don’t have
- The Key: “Today” and giving a current instruction (“please share”) indicates a present state.
- Error Analysis: (b) didn’t have (Common Mistake: Wrong tense). (c) aren’t have (Strong Distractor: Incorrectly mixing “to be” and “have”). (d) doesn’t have (Structural Error: “We” takes “don’t”).
8 (b) left
- The Key: “An hour ago” is in the past. The past form of “leave” is “left”.
- Error Analysis: (a) leave (Common Mistake: Using present tense). (d) leaved (Structural Error: Adding “-ed” to an irregular verb). (c) did left (Strong Distractor: Double past marking).
9 (c) doesn’t have
- The Key: “Right now” indicates a present state. “Sarah” (she) requires “doesn’t”.
- Error Analysis: (a) don’t have (Common Mistake: Wrong subject agreement). (b) didn’t has (Structural Error: Past auxiliary with present singular verb). (d) isn’t have (Strong Distractor).
10 (b) Did
- The Key: Asking about a completed action (“this morning”) requires the past auxiliary “Did”.
- Error Analysis: (a) Do (Common Mistake: Using present tense for a past action). (c) Were (Strong Distractor: Cannot be used with the base verb “print”). (d) Have (Structural Error).
11 (a) didn’t do
- The Key: “Last night” is past tense. The negative is formed with “didn’t + base verb (do)”.
- Error Analysis: (b) don’t do (Common Mistake: Wrong tense). (c) didn’t did (Structural Error: Double past marking). (d) wasn’t do (Strong Distractor).
12 (c) don’t know
- The Key: Knowledge is a present state (“so I can’t open the file… now”).
- Error Analysis: (a) didn’t know (Common Mistake: Wrong tense). (b) doesn’t know (Structural Error: Wrong agreement for “I”). (d) am not know (Strong Distractor: “Know” is a state verb and cannot be combined with “am” like this).
13 (b) ate
- The Key: “Yesterday” requires the past tense. The irregular past of “eat” is “ate”.
- Error Analysis: (a) eat (Common Mistake: Present tense). (c) eated (Structural Error: Applying “-ed” to an irregular verb). (d) is eat (Strong Distractor).
14 (d) don’t you have
- The Key: Asking about the current lack of materials (“today”) requires the Present Simple negative question format.
- Error Analysis: (a) didn’t you have (Common Mistake: Asking about the past instead of the present state). (b) you don’t have (Structural Error: Missing the question inversion). (c) aren’t you have (Strong Distractor).
15 (c) put
- The Key: “Last night” is past tense. “Put” is an irregular verb that does not change its form in the past.
- Error Analysis: (a) puts (Common Mistake: Present tense for he/she/it). (b) putted (Structural Error: Adding “-ed” to an irregular verb). (d) was put (Strong Distractor: Passive voice, which is incorrect here).
16 (b) isn’t
- The Key: “Today” describes a current state. “My project” is singular, so the negative “to be” verb is “isn’t”.
- Error Analysis: (a) wasn’t (Common Mistake: Wrong tense). (c) doesn’t (Strong Distractor: “doesn’t” must be followed by a main verb like “have” or “work”, not an adjective like “ready”). (d) aren’t (Structural Error: Plural verb for a singular subject).
17 (a) lost
- The Key: The loss happened on the train (in the past), causing the current problem. The irregular past of “lose” is “lost”.
- Error Analysis: (b) lose (Common Mistake: Present tense). (c) losed (Structural Error: Applying “-ed” incorrectly). (d) did lost (Strong Distractor: Double past).
18 (a) left
- The Key: The action of leaving the glasses happened before the meeting (in the past).
- Error Analysis: (b) leave (Common Mistake: Present tense). (c) leaved (Structural Error: Treating an irregular verb as regular). (d) did left (Strong Distractor).
19 (b) forgot
- The Key: “Yesterday” signals the past tense. “Forget” becomes “forgot”.
- Error Analysis: (a) forget (Common Mistake: Present tense). (d) forgetted (Structural Error). (c) are forget (Strong Distractor).
20 (d) didn’t read
- The Key: “Yesterday” means the reading (or lack of reading) happened in the past. Use “didn’t + base verb”.
- Error Analysis: (a) don’t read (Common Mistake: Wrong tense). (b) didn’t readed (Structural Error: Double past marking). (c) wasn’t read (Strong Distractor).
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
- The Formula for Excuses: When you are explaining why you don’t have something, you are usually connecting two timelines:
- The Present Result: Use Present Simple to describe what is happening now. (e.g., I don’t have my book. My bag is empty.)
- The Past Cause: Use Past Simple to explain the mistake that happened before. (e.g., I left it at home. I forgot to put it in my bag.)
- Watch out for Irregular “Mistake” Verbs: The verbs we often use to make excuses are irregular. You must memorize their past forms:
- leave → left (I left my notebook at home).
- forget → forgot (I forgot my password).
- lose → lost (I lost my pen).
- put → put (I put it on the table, but now it’s gone).
- Never Double the Past: When you use didn’t for a past mistake, the main verb must return to its base form.
- Correct: I didn’t bring it.
- Incorrect: I didn’t brought it.