Present Simple vs. Past Simple – English Grammar Exercises for A1

1 (c) were

• The Key: “In 2010” requires the Past Simple. The subject “we” takes the plural past form of “to be”, which is “were”.
• Error Analysis: (a) are (Common Mistake: Using the present tense for a past time). (b) was (Strong Distractor: Past tense, but wrong for the plural subject “we”). (d) did (Structural Error: “did” cannot be used without a main verb like “have” or “work”).

2 (b) started

• The Key: “Twenty years ago” signals a finished past event. “Start” is a regular verb.
• Error Analysis: (a) start (Common Mistake: Forgetting to use the past tense). (c) starts (Strong Distractor: Present Simple for he/she/it, but the time frame is past). (d) is start (Structural Error).

3 (b) have

• The Key: “Right now” indicates a present state. “We” takes the base verb “have”.
• Error Analysis: (a) had (Common Mistake: Using past tense for a present state). (c) has (Strong Distractor: Present tense, but wrong subject agreement for “we”). (d) having (Structural Error: Missing the auxiliary “are”, and “have” for possession is rarely used in the continuous form at this level).

4 (a) didn’t have

• The Key: “In the beginning” is a past time marker. The negative past form is “didn’t + base verb”.
• Error Analysis: (b) don’t have (Common Mistake: Using present tense to talk about the company’s past). (c) didn’t had (Structural Error: Double past marking – using both “didn’t” and “had”). (d) wasn’t have (Strong Distractor).

5 (c) sold

• The Key: “In 2015” is a past time marker. “Sell” is an irregular verb, and its past form is “sold”.
• Error Analysis: (a) sell (Common Mistake: Present tense). (b) selled (Structural Error: Applying a regular “-ed” rule to an irregular verb). (d) was sell (Strong Distractor).

6 (c) sell

• The Key: “Today” implies a current routine or fact. “We” takes the base verb.
• Error Analysis: (b) sold (Common Mistake: Using past tense for a present fact). (a) sells (Strong Distractor: Adding ‘s’ for the wrong subject). (d) are sell (Structural Error).

7 (b) Did

• The Key: Asking a question about a finished past time (“in 2018 or 2019”) requires the past auxiliary “Did”.
• Error Analysis: (a) Do (Common Mistake: Asking about the past using the present auxiliary). (c) Were (Strong Distractor: Past tense, but cannot be used with the base verb “open”). (d) Are (Structural Error).

8 (a) don’t

• The Key: “Anymore” and “now” indicate a present change in habit. The negative auxiliary for “we” is “don’t”.
• Error Analysis: (b) didn’t (Common Mistake: Using past tense for a current situation). (c) doesn’t (Strong Distractor: Wrong agreement for “we”). (d) aren’t (Structural Error: Cannot be used with the base verb “use”).

9 (d) was

• The Key: “Our first factory” implies something built in the past. It is singular, so it takes “was”.
• Error Analysis: (a) is (Common Mistake: Using present tense for a past entity/location). (c) were (Strong Distractor: Past tense, but wrong agreement for the singular “factory”). (b) did (Structural Error).

10 (a) makes

• The Key: “Every day” is a present routine. “Our new factory” is a singular subject (it), so the verb needs an ‘s’.
• Error Analysis: (c) made (Common Mistake: Using past tense for a daily routine). (b) make (Strong Distractor: Present tense, but missing the ‘s’ for a singular subject). (d) making (Structural Error).

11 (c) went

• The Key: “Last year” requires the Past Simple. “Go” is an irregular verb (went).
• Error Analysis: (a) go (Common Mistake: Forgetting to backshift to past tense). (b) goed (Structural Error: Adding “-ed” to an irregular verb). (d) was go (Strong Distractor).

12 (b) goes

• The Key: “Usually” and “once a month” indicate a present routine. “Manager” is singular (he/she), so we add “-es” to “go”.
• Error Analysis: (c) went (Common Mistake: Using past tense for a current routine). (a) go (Strong Distractor: Forgetting the third-person singular “-es”). (d) going (Structural Error).

13 (d) didn’t make

• The Key: “Ten years ago” is in the past. We use “didn’t + base verb” to form the negative.
• Error Analysis: (a) doesn’t make / (b) don’t make (Common Mistakes: Using present negative for a past event). (c) didn’t made (Structural Error: Double past marking).

14 (c) Do

• The Key: The client is asking about “today” (current facts). With the subject “you”, the present question auxiliary is “Do”.
• Error Analysis: (a) Did (Common Mistake: Asking about the past instead of the present). (d) Does (Strong Distractor: Wrong agreement for “you”). (b) Are (Structural Error: Cannot use “are” with the base verb “work”).

15 (b) bought

• The Key: “In 2020” is a finished past time. The irregular past tense of “buy” is “bought”.
• Error Analysis: (a) buy (Common Mistake: Using present tense). (c) buyed (Structural Error: Applying regular rules to an irregular verb). (d) did buy (Strong Distractor).

16 (c) need

• The Key: “Today” indicates a present state. “We” takes the base verb.
• Error Analysis: (a) needed (Common Mistake: Wrong tense). (b) needs (Strong Distractor: Adding ‘s’ incorrectly for “we”). (d) am need (Structural Error).

17 (c) grew

• The Key: “Between 2018 and 2022” is a finished past period. The irregular past of “grow” is “grew”.
• Error Analysis: (a) grow (Common Mistake: Present tense). (b) growed (Structural Error: Applying “-ed” to an irregular verb). (d) did grew (Strong Distractor: Double past).

18 (b) didn’t know

• The Key: “When we first started” is a past time marker. We use “didn’t + base verb” for the negative.
• Error Analysis: (a) don’t know (Common Mistake: Present tense). (c) didn’t knew (Structural Error: Double past marking). (d) wasn’t know (Strong Distractor).

19 (b) knows

• The Key: “Now” indicates a present state. Words like “everyone”, “everybody”, “someone” always take singular verbs, so we need the ‘s’.
• Error Analysis: (c) knew (Common Mistake: Wrong tense). (a) know (Strong Distractor: Tricky subject agreement. Students often think “everyone” is plural and drop the ‘s’). (d) knowing (Structural Error).

20 (c) met

• The Key: “Five years ago” requires the past tense. The irregular past of “meet” is “met”.
• Error Analysis: (a) meet (Common Mistake: Present tense). (b) meeted (Structural Error: Treating an irregular verb as regular). (d) was meet (Strong Distractor).

1. Spot the Time Markers: In business English, you will constantly contrast the past and the present.
• When you see in 2010, ten years ago, when we started, in the beginning, immediately switch your brain to the Past Simple (e.g., we were, we had, we started, we didn’t have).
• When you see today, now, right now, currently, every day, use the Present Simple (e.g., we are, we have, we make, we don’t use).
2. Irregular Verbs of Growth: The verbs you need to talk about business history are mostly irregular. Memorize these pairs:
• buy → bought (We bought a new office).
• sell → sold (We sold our first product).
• grow → grew (The company grew fast).
• meet → met (I met the CEO).
• go → went (We went to London).
3. The “Everyone” Rule: Remember Question 19! Even though “everyone” implies a large group of people, grammatically it acts like a singular person (he/she/it). Always add an “s” in the Present Simple: Everyone knows our brand (NOT Everyone know).