Past Simple Exercises

Affirmative (Regular Verbs)

In these past simple exercises for regular verbs you can test your knowledge of the simple past tense.

The exercises on this page and the following pages test:

Regular Verbs
Irregular Verbs
Forming Questions (Yes / No and Wh-/How Questions)
Forming Negatives

There are also free downloads of the past simple exercises so you can print them off and also use them in class if you are a teacher.

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Past Simple Tense Exercises

Regular Verbs (d/ed/ied)

Instructions

Place the correct form of the verb in brackets into the gap.

1. My wife

late yesterday. (to work)

2. She

to pass the test. (to try)

3. My friends

at my house at 7pm. (to arrive)

4. They

last month. (to marry)

5. They

to the zoo. (to walk)

6. The children

at the local park. (to play)

7. John

up the TV to full volume. (to turn)

8. My sister

the broken window. (to fix)

9. He

not to go. (to decide)

10. She

very hard while at university. (to study)

11. He

all the washing up liquid that was left. (to use)

12. The government

to change the law. (to want)

13. He

many things to do. (to have)

14. The teachers

what to do next with the children. (to discuss)

15. The school caretaker’s duties

cutting the grass. (to include)

If you found these printable past simple exercises with answers useful, also check out our other grammar worksheets that can be printed.

More Past Tense Quizzes

Past Simple Negative Exercise: Gap Fill
This past Simple negative exercise is a practice quiz on forming the negative of the simple past. You need to turn the statements into their negative form.
Uses of the Past Continuous Quiz
In this uses of the past continuous quiz you are tested on your understanding of the differing ways that this past tense can be used.
Past Perfect Continuous Negative Quiz: Gap Fill
In this Past Perfect Continuous Negative Quiz you have to change the verb in brackets to its correct form in order to make the tense.
Past Simple Questions Quiz: Yes / No and Questions Words
Past simple questions quiz testing your ability to create yes / no types questions and with question words such as why, when, where and how.
Irregular Verb Quiz: Change Verbs to Past Simple
Irregular Verb Quiz - in this quiz you have to change the words in brackets into the irregular form of the past simple.
Past Perfect Interrogative Quiz (Yes / No Questions): Gap Fill
Past Perfect Interrogative Quiz - Gap fill quiz testing you on the past perfect tense. These are yes / no type questions.
Past Perfect Exercises - Affirmative: Gap Fill
These Past Perfect Exercises focus on the affirmative, interrogative and negative forms. This first quiz is for the affirmative.
Past Perfect Tense Questions Quiz (why, when, how long etc): Gap Fill
In this past perfect tense questions quiz you have to complete the sentences with the words in brackets to make the past perfect interrogative.
Past Perfect Negative Quiz: Gap Fill
In this Past Perfect Negative Quiz you have to place the correct form of the verb into the gap to make a negative sentence.
Past Perfect Continuous Interrogative Quiz (Yes/No Questions) Gap Fill
In this past perfect continuous interrogative quiz (yes / no questions) you have to use the words in brackets to create the tense correctly.