Past Simple · Exercises
C1Advanced practice
Unreal past, emphatic did and inversion.
Play
- Practice10 exercises at your own pace
- Time Attack60 seconds, as many as you can
- Survival3 lives, harder as you go
- Tense SortDrag sentences into their tense — 60 seconds
- Timelines10 sentences to match to their timelines
- C1 Boss12 hits before you lose 3 lives
- Irregular MatchPair verbs with their past forms — 60 seconds
Want to mix tenses, go endless or pick exercise types? Set up your own session.
What you’ll practise at C1
- Irregular verbs (went, saw, bought…)
- Negatives: didn’t / wasn’t
- Questions: Did you…?
- Wh- questions: Where did you go?
- used to
- Who called you? / Who did you call?
- Past simple or present perfect?
- Unreal past: It’s time we left / I wish I knew
- Passive: was built, weren’t invited, Were you told?
- Emphatic did and inversion (Little did she know…)
- Timelines: what the tense means
Need a refresher? Learn the past simple: rules, tables and audio examples.
Sample exercises
A taste of what’s inside. In practice mode every exercise is freshly generated.
Complete the past simple passive question.
_____ my niece hurt in the accident?
Show answer
Was my niece hurt in the accident?
Passive negatives: wasn’t / weren’t + past participle. Questions: Was / Were + subject + past participle (no did). Was my niece hurt in the accident?
Write the verb in the past simple or the present perfect.
Nadia _____ (try) skiing in 2019.
Show answer
Nadia tried skiing in 2019.
“in 2019” is a finished time, so use the past simple.
Is this sentence correct?
The woman upstairs didn't forgive her best friend last night.
Show answer
The woman upstairs didn't forgive her best friend last night.
Yes, it’s correct. Negatives: didn’t + base form (not the past form). The woman upstairs didn't forgive her best friend last night.
Ask a question about the highlighted words.
Our neighbours withdrew the money yesterday afternoon.
Show answer
What did our neighbours withdraw yesterday afternoon?
Wh- questions: question word + did + subject + base form. Where did you go?
Is this sentence correct?
The photos were taken on my old phone.
Show answer
The photos were taken on my old phone.
Yes, it’s correct. Plural subjects take were: The photos were taken on my old phone. Past simple passive: was / were + past participle (the action matters more than who did it).
Which sentence matches the timeline?
(Timeline: Finished at a time in the past)
Show answer
She cooked dinner.
“cooked” is the past simple (past form (did in questions and negatives)): finished at a time in the past.