Simple Past
100% Original Practice Test
Tell the story of a neighbourhood seed-swap afternoon using regular and irregular past verbs. Study the guide, practise 44 questions, then use what you know in four short speaking tasks.
Your Quick Grammar Guide
At our neighbourhood seed-swap, people brought seeds and exchanged them with one another. Use the simple past to tell what happened and finished at a past time. First notice the time and meaning, then choose the past form.
1. How to Form It
Regular verbs
For many verbs, add -ed to the base form.
Positive: subject + past verb
Example: I planted beans. Nora shared seeds.
Negative (comparison): subject + did not + base verb
Example: I did not plant beans.
Question (comparison): Did + subject + base verb …?
Example: Did Nora share seeds?
In negatives and questions, did carries the past meaning, so the main verb uses its base form. This unit practises positive statements.
Irregular verbs
Some common verbs have a special past form. Learn each form with its verb.
Positive: subject + irregular past verb
Example: We went to the garden. Sam made a sign.
Negative (comparison): subject + did not + base verb
Example: We did not go home early.
Question (comparison): Did + subject + base verb …?
Example: Did Sam make a sign?
The past verb stays the same with every subject: I went, she went, they went.
Spelling when adding -ed
Most verbs take -ed: plant → planted. If a verb ends in e, add -d: share → shared. If it ends in consonant + y, change y to i and add -ed: carry → carried. For short one-syllable verbs ending in one vowel + one consonant, double the final consonant before -ed: stop → stopped, plan → planned. Do not double w, x or y: snow → snowed, fix → fixed, play → played. With a vowel before y, keep y: play → played. In longer verbs, the final syllable must be stressed for doubling: visit → visited.
2. Clue Words & Patterns
Completed past time
yesterdaylast Saturdaytwo days agoin 2024
These phrases can show when a finished event happened: We shared seeds yesterday. The time phrase supports the past meaning; the sentence context tells you what happened.
One subject, one past form
The simple past positive verb is the same for all subjects: I planted, Nina planted, the neighbours planted.
Compare a regular and an irregular verb in the same setting: Nina carried a box, and we went to the garden. Carry follows a spelling rule; go has the special form went.
Compare the meaning and time
Every Sunday, Nina visits the garden. This is her routine. Last Sunday, Nina visited the garden. This is one completed visit.
At noon can mean today, yesterday or tomorrow; it does not identify a tense by itself.
Last Sunday, we visited the garden tells about a completed visit. A past-time word can help, but choose the verb form that matches the meaning and the time being described.
3. Watch Out & Common Mistakes
Check the form and spelling
Regular spelling: Wrong: We carryed the bags. Better: We carried the bags. Reason: Change consonant + y to i before adding -ed.
Irregular form: Wrong: Maya goed to the garden. Better: Maya went to the garden. Reason: Go has the special past form went.
Same form for every subject: Wrong: Yesterday, she wents home at five. Better: Yesterday, she went home at five. Reason: The affirmative past form went stays the same with I, she and they. Do not add -s.
Double the consonant when needed: Wrong: Nina stoped beside the gate. Better: Nina stopped beside the gate. Reason: Stop is a short verb ending in one vowel and one consonant. Double p before -ed.
Self-check 1: Complete: Last Sunday, we ___ (share) bean seeds.
shared: share ends in e, so add -d for the regular past form.
Self-check 2: Choose: Maya (goed / went) to the garden yesterday.
went: go is irregular in the past.
Self-check 3: Which is correct for all subjects: I planted / she planted / they planted?
All three are correct. A positive simple past verb keeps the same form with every subject.
Before you answer: Is the event finished? What past form does the verb use? Check its spelling, then keep that same past form with the subject.
Speaking: make it personal
Listen to each model, repeat it, then change the details to tell your own story. Speaking practice is for self-assessment and adds no points to the 44-question test.
Practice 1
Tell a partner three things you did at a seed-swap afternoon.
Read the model
I carried seed packets, shared beans and planted a sunflower.
Practice 2
Describe one thing a neighbour brought and one thing they chose.
Read the model
Mina brought a bag of pea seeds and chose two flower packets.
Practice 3
Tell a short story about arriving at the garden and going home.
Read the model
I arrived at noon, met my neighbours and went home at four.
Practice 4
Say how the group finished the afternoon.
Read the model
We watered the pots, moved the boxes and ate apple cake.
Ready to check your work?
Submit to grade your whole test, OR use 👁 Show Answer per part / per question.
Learning review: what can you do now?
Can you describe a finished past event? Can you spell regular past verbs and remember irregular forms? Tell a partner three things you did yesterday.