English Grammar Exercises for A1 – Past simple (affirmative): irregular

1. Complete the text. Use the past simple affirmative form of the irregular verbs in brackets.

SAM KODO from Togo, in Africa, is an inventor and a businessman – and he 1……………………. (become) an inventor when he was very young. When he 2……………………. (be) only seven years old, he 3……………………. (build) his own robot. The robot 4……………………. (can) move around a room and follow instructions. Sam’s father teaches at the university in Lomé, the capital of Togo. At a young age, Sam often 5……………………. (go) with his father to work and 6……………………. (read) books in the library there. His favourite books 7……………………. (be) about electronics. Sam 8……………………. (begin) to make things using old parts from broken TVs and other electrical devices. Sometimes, he 9……………………. (break) his own toys to get the parts! When he was fifteen, he 10……………………. (make) his first smartphone and PC. Now Sam has his own computer company in Togo.

2. In some of these sentences, the past simple form is incorrect. Underline the incorrect verbs and write the sentence correctly. Tick the correct sentences.

1   I taked a lot of photos yesterday.

     ………………………………………….

2   I did my homework this morning.

     ………………………………………….

3   We speaked to the teacher earlier.

     ………………………………………….

4   I had cereal for breakfast.

     ………………………………………….

5   You comed home late last night.

     ………………………………………….

6   My grandfather fighted in World War 2.

     ………………………………………….

3. Complete the sentences with the past simple affirmative form of the verbs below. All the verbs are irregular.

buy      catch      draw      dream      fall      find      see      think

1   When I was at the beach, I …………………….. a picture of a face in the sand.

2   She’s in hospital because she …………………….. off her horse.

3   He …………………….. presents for all of his family.

4   She …………………….. about her answer for a long time before speaking.

5   My friend …………………….. a gold ring at the bottom of a swimming pool.

6   They …………………….. the last bus home at midnight.

7   She …………………….. about becoming a film star.

8   The teacher …………………….. me using my smartphone in class.

Which of the verbs also has a regular past simple form?

4. Write sentences in the past simple affirmative. Some verbs are regular and some are irregular.

1   we / see / an interesting film / last night

     ……………………………………………

2   I / travel / around Japan / last summer

     ……………………………………………

3   my brother / bring / home / a cat / yesterday

     ……………………………………………

4   I / get / a good grade / last term

     ……………………………………………

5   my cousins / arrive / a few minutes ago

     ……………………………………………

6   the lesson / finish / an hour ago

     ……………………………………………

7   I / cook / dinner / yesterday evening

     ……………………………………………

8   my parents / teach / abroad / ten years ago

     ……………………………………………

5. Choose six irregular verbs from the words below. Write six true sentences about yourself. Include some of the time expressions from exercise 4.

be      become      begin      buy      come      do      find      get

go      have      read      see      take

1   ……………………………………………

2   ……………………………………………

3   ……………………………………………

4   ……………………………………………

5   ……………………………………………

6   ……………………………………………

6. Complete the text with the correct past simple affirmative form of the verbs below.

bring     come     go     have     live     see     take      teach

When I was little, I only 1…………………… my grandparents once a year because they 2…………………… abroad. Every year, my grandfather 3…………………… me a new model plane when they 4…………………… to stay. In the afternoons, my grandfather and I 5…………………… the planes to the park and he 6…………………… me how to fly them. We 7…………………… a lot of fun together, and we often 8…………………… home very late. Today, I’ve got great memories of my grandfather and those planes.