Simple Past Tense – English Grammar Exercises for A1
Reporting an Incident: “I Lost My Bag!”
You are at the police station (or talking to a security guard) because you lost your bag. You need to explain exactly what happened step-by-step. Read the sentences and choose the correct option (A, B, or C) to complete your report.
1 “Good afternoon, officer. I am here because I ______ at the park this afternoon and my bag disappeared.”
(A) was
(B) am
(C) were
2 “I walked for a long time, so I ______ on a bench to rest.”
(A) rest
(B) rested
(C) restted
3 “My bag ______ very heavy, so I took it off my shoulder.”
(A) did
(B) were
(C) was
4 “I ______ the bag right next to me on the seat.”
(A) placed
(B) placeed
(C) place
5 “It was very hot, and I ______ to buy a bottle of water.”
(A) wanted
(B) wantted
(C) want
6 “I ______ to the small shop across the street.”
(A) walkked
(B) walked
(C) walk
7 “The shop ______ very far away, just about 20 meters from the bench.”
(A) didn’t
(B) wasn’t
(C) weren’t
8 “I ______ at my phone for just one minute while waiting to pay.”
(A) looked
(B) look
(C) lookked
9 “When I returned to the bench, my bag ______ there!”
(A) didn’t
(B) weren’t
(C) wasn’t
10 “I panicked and I ______ everywhere for it.”
(A) searched
(B) search
(C) searchhed
11 Officer: “______ you ask anyone around the park for help?”
(A) Was
(B) Were
(C) Did
12 “Yes, I ______ a man who was sitting near the fountain.”
(A) asked
(B) askked
(C) ask
13 “But he ______ notice anything strange.”
(A) wasn’t
(B) didn’t
(C) doesn’t
14 “I ______ to call my phone, but unfortunately, it was inside the bag.”
(A) tryed
(B) trid
(C) tried
15 Officer: “______ there any security cameras near the bench?”
(A) Were
(B) Was
(C) Did
16 “Yes, there were two cameras, but they ______ working.”
(A) didn’t
(B) weren’t
(C) wasn’t
17 “I ______ report it immediately because I thought my friend had it.”
(A) didn’t
(B) wasn’t
(C) don’t
18 “My friend ______ with me earlier, but she walked home.”
(A) did
(B) were
(C) was
19 “I ______ completely shocked when I realized it was stolen.”
(A) was
(B) were
(C) am
20 “After that, I ______ directly to this police station to talk to you.”
(A) hurried
(B) hurryed
(C) hurrid
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 (A) was
- Why it’s correct: “I” is a singular subject, so the past tense of “to be” is “was”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option B is the present tense. Option C is used for plural subjects.
2 (B) rested
- Why it’s correct: “Rest” is a regular verb; simply add “-ed”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option A is the present tense. Option C is a spelling error (do not double the ‘t’ here).
3 (C) was
- Why it’s correct: “My bag” is a singular subject (it), and “heavy” is an adjective. We use “was”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option A is an auxiliary for action verbs. Option B is for plural subjects.
4 (A) placed
- Why it’s correct: “Place” already ends in “e”, so we simply add “-d”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option B is a spelling error (adding “-ed” when there is already an “e”). Option C is the present tense.
5 (A) wanted
- Why it’s correct: “Want” is a regular verb taking “-ed”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option B is a spelling error (never double the ‘t’ because it follows a consonant, ‘n’). Option C is the present tense.
6 (B) walked
- Why it’s correct: “Walk” is a regular verb; simply add “-ed”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option A is a spelling mistake (never double the ‘k’). Option C is the present tense.
7 (B) wasn’t
- Why it’s correct: “The shop” is a singular subject, and the sentence describes its location (“far away”). The negative singular past is “wasn’t”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option A “didn’t” requires an action verb. Option C is for plural subjects.
8 (A) looked
- Why it’s correct: “Look” 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’).
9 (C) wasn’t
- Why it’s correct: “My bag” is singular, and the sentence describes its location (“there”). We use “wasn’t”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option A “didn’t” requires an action verb. Option B is for plural subjects.
10 (A) searched
- Why it’s correct: “Search” is a regular verb; add “-ed”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option B is the present tense. Option C is a spelling error.
11 (C) Did
- Why it’s correct: “Ask” is an action verb. To ask a past simple question with an action verb, we use “Did”.
- Why the others are wrong: Options A and B are forms of “to be”, which cannot be used to ask questions with action verbs.
12 (A) asked
- Why it’s correct: “Ask” is a regular verb; simply add “-ed”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option B is a spelling error. Option C is the present tense.
13 (B) didn’t
- Why it’s correct: “Notice” is an action verb. To say someone failed to do something in the past, use “didn’t”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option A uses “wasn’t” incorrectly with an action verb. Option C is the present tense.
14 (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.
15 (A) Were
- Why it’s correct: The noun “security cameras” is plural, so we use “Were there…?”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option B is used for singular nouns (“Was there a camera?”). Option C requires a main action verb in the sentence.
16 (B) weren’t
- Why it’s correct: “They” (the cameras) is a plural subject describing a state/condition (“working” acts as an adjective here in the A1 context, though technically past continuous, A1 focuses on they weren’t functional).
- Why the others are wrong: Option A “didn’t” is not used before an “-ing” word. Option C is for singular subjects.
17 (A) didn’t
- Why it’s correct: “Report” is an action verb. Negative actions use “didn’t” + base verb.
- Why the others are wrong: Option B incorrectly uses “wasn’t” with an action verb. Option C is the present tense.
18 (C) was
- Why it’s correct: “My friend” is a singular subject (she), and the sentence describes her location (“with me”). We use “was”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option A is an auxiliary for action verbs. Option B is for plural subjects.
19 (A) was
- Why it’s correct: “I” is a singular subject, and “shocked” is an adjective describing a feeling. We use “was”.
- Why the others are wrong: Option B is for plural subjects. Option C is the present tense.
20 (A) hurried
- Why it’s correct: “Hurry” ends in a consonant + “y” (r-y). We change the “y” to “i” and add “-ed”.
- Why the others are wrong: Options B and C are spelling mistakes.
GRAMMAR POINTS TO REMEMBER
- Setting the Scene (Using “to be”):
- When you start your story, use was / were to describe the time, the location, or how you felt (e.g., I was at the park. It was hot. The bag was heavy.).
- Remember: was (I, he, she, it), were (you, we, they).
- Listing the Actions (Using “-ed”):
- To tell the police exactly what happened step-by-step, use regular action verbs ending in -ed.
- Sequence Example: I rested → I placed my bag down → I walked away → I searched for it.
- Explaining what you didn’t do:
- If the police ask if you did something, or you need to clarify an action that did not happen, use didn’t + Base Verb.
- Example: I didn’t notice anyone. I didn’t report it immediately. (Never use wasn’t for these actions!).
- Spelling Rules for the Police Report:
- Place → placed (+d)
- Walk → walked (+ed)
- Try → tried (change “y” to “ied”)
- Hurry → hurried (change “y” to “ied”)