Your task
Fill in the gap in each sentence with the correct word or phrase.
0 / 15 answered
Your score
0 / 150%
Keep practising! Focus on the explanations below.
Quick rule
The Past Simple (also called the Simple Past) is the tense we use to describe actions and events that happened at a specific, finished point in the past. Once something is completely done and over — not continuing into the present — the Past Simple is our tool for talking about it.
yesterdaylast …… agoin + year
See full explanation ↓About this exercise
This A2 set focuses on past simple — 15 questions, each with an explanation of why the answer is right. English has twelve main tense forms: four presents (simple, continuous, perfect, perfect continuous), four pasts, and four futures. Each encodes a different perspective on time and aspect — whether an event is complete or ongoing, relevant to the present or purely historical, habitual or happening right now.
The rule in 30 seconds
The Past Simple (also called the Simple Past) is the tense we use to describe actions and events that happened at a specific, finished point in the past. Once something is completely done and over — not continuing into the present — the Past Simple is our tool for talking about it.
Subject + verb‑ed / irregular formyesterdayyesterday morning / evening
last …last week / month / year / night
… agotwo days ago / an hour ago
in + yearin 2019 / in the 1990s
whenwhen I was young / when it happened
then / after thatsequencing past events
once / one daysingle past event in a story
at that timereference to a past period
Learn from the errors
Common mistakes this set targets
- Keeping -ed after didn't. I didn't went home. → I didn't go home.After did/didn't the main verb returns to its base form.
- Using the base verb for a finished past action. Yesterday I walk to school. → Yesterday I walked to school.A finished past action with a past time marker needs the past simple form.
- Wrong irregular form. She buyed a new phone. → She bought a new phone.buy is irregular — its past form is bought, not buyed.
Frequently asked questions
When do you use the past simple?
Use the past simple for finished actions at a definite time in the past — "I visited Rome last year," "She called you yesterday." The time is over and usually stated or understood.
How do you form past simple negatives and questions?
Use did + the base verb: "I didn't go," "Did you go?" The main verb does not take the -ed ending after did.
What is the difference between regular and irregular past verbs?
Regular verbs add -ed (work → worked). Irregular verbs change form and must be memorised (go → went, see → saw, buy → bought).