English Grammar Exercises for A2 – Past simple (affirmative)

1. Complete the sentences with the past simple affirmative form of the regular verbs below.

decide      die      drop      look      marry      move      stop      study      talk      want

1   My dad ………………………… maths at university.

2   We live in Oxford. We ………………………… here five years ago.

3   Jason ………………………… at me and smiled.

4   The train ………………………… at the station and we got off.

5   Jenny ………………………… on the phone with her friend for over two hours!

6   In the end, we ………………………… to go on holiday to Italy, not to France.

7   The goalkeeper had the ball, but then he ………………………… it.

8   My mum ………………………… my dad in 1988.

9   I ………………………… to go to the shopping mall, but my mum said to.

10   Sadly, my grandma ………………………… last year. She was 98.

2. Complete the sentences. Use the past simple affirmative form of the irregular verbs in brackets.

1   Emma tried on a green dress and a blue dress in the clothes shop, and ………………………… (choose) the blue one.

2   I ………………………… (find) £20 in the street last Saturday.

3   We ………………………… (go) bowling yesterday evening.

4   Somebody ………………………… (steal) my smartphone from my schoolbag.

5   The film ………………………… (begin) at seven and finished at ten.

6   It ………………………… (take) six hours to drive from London to Edinburgh.

7   Hannah ………………………… (feel) relieved when she got her exam results.

8   Tom and Matt ………………………… (be) upset that George didn’t invite them to his party.

9   We ………………………… (get) home at eight o’clock on Sunday.

10   Millie ………………………… (spend) all her money on computer games.

3. Complete the texts with the past simple affirmative of the verbs in brackets.

Callie Rogers 1……………………….. (be) just sixteen when she 2……………………….. (win) the lottery in 2003. She 3……………………….. (give) up her job as a shop assistant and 4……………………….. (start) to spend her money. She 5……………………….. (take) her family on expensive holidays, 6……………………….. (invite) all her friends to big parties every weekend and 7……………………….. (have) cosmetic surgery. Ten years later, she 8……………………….. (have) just £2,000 left. But she’s happy now. ‘I 9……………………….. (be) too young to win the lottery,’ she 10……………………….. (say).

Tom Crist 11……………………….. (get) a big surprise when he 12……………………….. (answer) his phone on 16 December 2013. He 13……………………….. (be) a lottery winner, and the prize 14……………………….. (be) enormous – $40 million! He 15……………………….. (decide) not to tell anyone about the win. He immediately 16……………………….. (give) all the money to charities. ‘I don’t really need that money,’ he 17……………………….. (say). ‘My wife 18……………………….. (die) earlier in the year so I 19……………………….. (choose) cancer charities that 20……………………….. (help) her.’

4. Correct the verbs in sentences 1-5.

1   We was at home last night. ✗ …………………………………….

2   I droped my phone on the floor. ✗ …………………………………….

3   I gived my brother a book for his birthday. ✗ …………………………………….

4   My sister studyed maths at university. ✗ …………………………………….

5   I spended all my pocket money on sweets. ✗ …………………………………….

5. Write five true sentences about what you did last weekend. Use past simple forms of the verbs below to help you, or your own ideas.

be      get      go      have      phone      play      study

take      talk      visit      watch

1   ………………………………………………….

     ………………………………………………….

2   ………………………………………………….

     ………………………………………………….

3   ………………………………………………….

     ………………………………………………….

4   ………………………………………………….

     ………………………………………………….

5   ………………………………………………….

     ………………………………………………….

6. Complete the dialogues with the past simple form of the verbs in brackets.

Jane    Tim 1……………………… (tell) me about your holiday. Is it true you 2……………………… (go) to Spain?

Chris   Yes! We 3……………………… (have) a fantastic time. We 4……………………… (visit) some amazing museums, and we 5……………………… (have) some truly amazing food!

Mike    I 6……………………… (buy) a new tablet yesterday. Someone 7……………………… (steal) my old one out of my bad.

Laura   That’s a shame! You 8……………………… (report) the theft to the police, didn’t you?

Mike    No. I 9……………………… (want) a new tablet anyway, and I actually 10……………………… (spend) less on the new one than the old one.