PAST SIMPLE BOOKLET 1.- Complete this newspaper story with verbs in the past simple. Choose from these verbs: not know
lose
ring
steal
make
go
be (x 2)
get
understand
say
take
have
On Tuesday last week Mrs. Hilary Smith ____________ her purse while on a shopping trip. When she ____________ home, the telephone _____________. The man at the other end _______________ he ______________ the manager of a local supermarket and he ________________ her purse. She immediately ________________ back to the supermarket. But the manager ________________ anything about her purse. But half an hour later she ________________ the reason - the same thief who ________________ her purse ________________ the phone call. Then, while she ________________ at the supermarket, he ____________ the opportunity to steal everything in her flat as well as her purse. (Adopted from English Grammar Lessons)
2.- Write the story in the past simple. Use each verb once: THANK
CLOSE
BE
GET
INVITE
WORK
FIND
LIVE
LOSE
COME
Angela O´Neill ______________ to Seattle two years ago. Before that she _____________ in Chicago where she _______________ as a sales representative for an electronics firm, but she ______________ her job when the company _______________. She _____________ very lucky because she quickly ______________ a new job with Devereux Computers. Last year, when she _____________ a really big contract, the Chief Executive _______________ and ______________ her out for dinner. 3.- Put past simple verbs into the story: Come
Give
Run
Hear
Hold
Say
Open
Not read
Not speak
Say
Not see
Take
Turn
Write
Stand
He _________ outside her door for a long time. Then he _________ her footsteps inside the house. She ________ the door and _________ out. At first she ________ him, but then she __________. `Oh, hello, Harold´ He __________ a paper out of his pocket and __________ it to her. She _________ it in one hand, but ___________ it. `Listen,´he _________. She ____________. `I ____________ you this letter because ´ She ___________ back into the house. He _________ and walked slowly down the street. (Adapted from The Good Grammar Book)
4.- Complete the text with a verb from the box in the past simple: Fall
Find
Break
Laugh
Spend
Leave
Lose
Need
Take
Celebrate
Save
Can (negative)
Gary Smith yesterday ______________ his twentieth birthday, but he´s lucky to be alive. In March this year, he was climbing Ben Nevis, Britain´s highest mountain, when he __________ his way and ___________ sixteen hours in sub-zero temperatures. `My friends ____________ at me for having so much survival equipment, but it ___________ my life´. On the first night, the weather was so bad that it tore his new mountain tent to pieces, so he moved into a Youth Hostel. He ___________ the hostel at 10.00 the next morning, but that afternoon he was in trouble. `I __________ off a rock and ____________ my left leg. I ____________ move´. Mountain rescue teams went out to look for Gary, and ___________ him at 9.00 the next morning. A helicopter ____________ him to hospital, where he ____________ several operations. `Next time I´ll go with my friends, not on my own!´ he joked. (Adapted from New Headway. Pre-Intermediate. Workbook)
5.- Put the verbs in brackets in the past simple: DAVID: SARA: DAVID: SARA: DAVID: SARA: DAVID: SARA: DAVID: SARA: DAVID: SARA:
DAVID: SARA:
Where _________you __________(go) for your last holiday, Sara? I _____________(go) cycling in France with two friends. Oh yes? How __________you ___________(get) to France? We ___________(catch) the ferry to Cherbourg. __________you __________(stay) in hotels? Only twice, when the weather ____________(not be) very good. The rest of the time we ___________(camp), so we ____________(not spend) much money. ___________it _____________(rain) much? No, the sun ____________(shine) most days. _________you_________(have) any problems? Well, I ___________(fall) off my bike once, and we ___________(forget) to take any tea bags, but we ____________(not have) any mechanical problems! What __________you________(do) in the evenings? We _____________(find) a campsite, and then we ___________(go) shopping in the nearest village, __________(cook) a big dinner, __________(eat) a lot of food, and _____________(drink) wine. It _________(be) great! When __________you_________(get) back? I ____________(fly) home last Sunday, but my friends ____________(come) back three days later. They ______________(not want) to leave France!
(Adapted from New Headway. Pre-intermediate. Workbook)
6.- Complete the radio interview with a golf journalist, Kazuko Niioka. Write the Past Simple form of the verbs in brackets:
(Adopted from International Express. Pre-intermediate)
7.- Put the past simple form of the verbs into the text. Use each verb once: Fly
Buy
Take
Go
Know
Visit
Start
Get
Finish
Swim
Enjoy
Tony and I ______ down to Mexico last spring. We ______ our trip in Mexico City. The Aztec pyramids at Teotihuacan were fascinating and our guide _________ everything about their history. We then ________ to Acapulco where we _________ in the sea and ___________ the night-life. A week later we _________ another plane to Chiapas where we _________ all the Mayan ruins. We _______ quite a lot of rain there. We ________ our trip in the Yucatan where we _________ a lot of souvenirs before flying home. (Adopted from Survival English. Workbook)
8.- Read this biography of Emily Dickinson. Complete it using the past simple form of the verbs in the box: Wear
Write
Address
Appear
Happen
Write
Be
Become
Lead
Leave
Live
See
Emily Dickinson, one of the most popular American poets, ……(1) from 1830 to 1886. She ……(2) about love, nature and time. These ……(3) her favourite themes. Dickinson ……(4) an unusual life. After just one year of college, she ……(5) a recluse- she almost never ……(6) her house in Amherst, Massachusetts. At home, she ……(7) no one except her family, and she only ……(8) white. In addition to her poetry, Dickinson ……(9) many letters. Other people always ……(10) the envelopes for her. During her lifetime only seven of her 1,700 poems ……(11) in print – and this ……(12) without her knowledge or permission.
1.-
2.-
3.-
4.-
5.-
6.-
7.-
8.-
9.-
10.-
11.-
12.-
(Adapted from Grammar Express)