Simple past / there was-were

Simple Past

Content

01

Use

Structure

02

Regular and

irregular verbs

03

There was

There were

Simple past tense review

01

What is the
simple past
tense?

Affirmative sentence:

Subject + verb in past + complement.

You called Sebastián yesterday.

They got home very late last night.

The simple past is used to show that a completed action took place at a
specific time in the past.

How to make the simple past negative

Fortunately, there is a formula for making simple
past verbs negative, and it’s the same for both
regular and irregular verbs (except for the verb to
be). The formula is did not + [root form of verb].
You can also use the contraction didn’t instead
of did not.

➔ Wolfgang did not brag too much about his hula

hoop skills.

➔ Wolfgang’s girlfriend didn’t see the contest.

Multiple Choice

I ______ read a book last month.

• didn't

• did

• walked

• listened

Multiple Choice

Last Saturday you ________ use the computer.

• did't

• don't

• do

• didn't

Multiple Choice

Last Saturday you ________ use the computer.

• did't

• don't

• do

• didn't

Multiple Choice

You didn' t _________ TV yesterday night.

• listened

• play

• watch

• watched

Multiple Choice

Dan ____ (not/work) last week.

• did work

• did worked

• did not worked

• did not work

Verb to be in simple past

For the verb to be, you don’t need the auxiliary did.
When the subject of the sentence is singular,
use was not or wasn’t.
When the subject is plural, use were not or weren’t.

●The third-place winner was not as happy as Zarate.

●The fourth-place winner wasn’t happy at all.

●The contestants weren’t ready to leave either.

How to ask a question

The formula for asking a question in the simple
past tense is did + [subject] + [root form of
verb].

●Did Victoria win the gold medal or the silver
medal?

●Where did Haram go to celebrate?

●Did the judges decide fairly, in your opinion?

How to ask a question
with the verb to be

When asking a question with the verb to be, you
don’t need the auxiliary did.
The formula is was/were + [subject].

●Was Cecisol in a good mood after the contest?

●Did people take lots of pictures?

Multiple Choice

He _______ happy with the result.

• weren't

• wasn't

• isn't be

• not be

Multiple Choice

The simple past of the verb tobe

• waz, wer

• is, are

• waz, were

• was,were

Multiple Choice

The past of ( I am )

• i waz

• i were

• i was

• i wass

Multiple Choice

he ___

• was

• were

• were

• wase

Multiple Choice

They ___

• are

• was

• were

• ware

Multiple Choice

Where _______ Mike yesterday?

• was

• were

• is

• are

Multiple Choice

How many students _______ there in the classroom last Friday?

• was

• is

• were

• are

Multiple Choice

Where was Lily last year?

• She were in France.

• She's were in France.

• She was in France.

• She's in France.

Multiple Choice

Mark _________ at home.

• were

• wasn't

• weren't

• isn't

Verbs in simple past

02

Regular verbs: Spelling rules

➔ Inf. + -ed:

e.g. want – wanted

play – played

➔ Inf. ending –e + -d

e.g. arrive – arrived

hate – hated
love – loved

➔ Inf ending consonant + -y: -ied

e.g. try – tried

➔ One- syllable verbs (CVC): double the cons. + -ed

e.g. plan – planned

stop – stopped

Practice: Complete the spaces with the verbs in parentheses.

1.Jane __________________________ a film. (not watch)

2.He __________________________ a box. (carry)

3.They __________________________ their father. (not help)

4.John and Amy __________________________ things. (swap)

5.I __________________________ to Andrew.(not talk)

6.Susan __________________________ with Peter. (dance)

7.The boys __________________________ basketball. (not try)

8.We __________________________ a trip. (plan)

9.She __________________________ her hair. (not wash)

10.The car __________________________ at the traffic lights. (stop

Multiple Choice

stop

• stopp

• stopping

• stopped

• stoped

Multiple Choice

check

• checked

• cheked

• checking

• cheeked

Multiple Choice

chat

• chated

• chatting

• chatedd

• chatted

Multiple Choice

carry

• carried

• carrying

• carryed

• carring

Multiple Choice

dry

• dryied

• drying

• dry

• dried

Multiple Choice

destroy

• destroyeed

• destroyed

• destroying

• destroied

Irregular verbs: Spelling rules

1.Some verbs don’t change its forms:

➔ Put – Put

Cost – Cost

2.Some verbs change only in one form:

➔ Run – Ran

Make – Made

➔ Come – Came

Sit – Sat

3.Some verbs change the full form:

➔ Eat – Ate

Stand – Stood

➔ Bring – Brought

Do – Did

There isn’t a rule, but we can classify them.

Practice

1) I __________________ (come) to England in 1993.

2) She __________________ ( not stand) under a tree to shelter from the rain.

3) They __________________ (do) their homework yesterday.

4) We __________________ (not sing) too much last night - I have a sore throat!

5) He already __________________ eat) all the cake.

6) The child __________________ (not fall) off his bicycle.

7) It __________________ (take) three hours to drive to Paris.

8) I __________________ (not find) your keys under the table.

9) She __________________ (get) a new bike for her birthday.

10) She __________________ (not sell) her house last year.

Multiple Choice

Past simple: catch

• catch

• caught

• cought

• caugth

Multiple Choice

Past participle: buy

• bought

• bougth

• boght

• booght

Multiple Choice

Past simple: say

• sayd

• sayed

• said

• saied

Multiple Choice

Past participle: read

• ridden

• readed

• rode

• read

Multiple Choice

Past simple: begin

• begin

• began

• begun

• begon

Multiple Choice

Past simple: fly

• found

• flown

• felt

• flew

Multiple Choice

Past participle: leave

• left

• learnt

• leaved

• leaven

Multiple Choice

Past simple: see

• sold

• seen

• saw

• sang

Multiple Choice

Past Participle: take

• took

• taked

• taken

• taught

There was
There were

03

Use

We use there was for a singular object and there were for plural objects.

Meaning…

➔ When writing in the past tense, use I was, she/he was, and it was.

Use you were, we were, and they were.

➔ In the subjunctive mood, always use were.

Besides…
Negative

To make the negative, add “not” to “was” or “were”.
Singular: There was not / There wasn’t
Plural: There were not / There weren’t
Interrogative

To make a question, put “was” or “were” before “there”.
Singular: Was there..?
Plural: Were there…?

Multiple Choice

How many elephants were there?

• There were two elephants.

• There was five elephants.

• There were three elephants.

• There was two elephants.

Multiple Choice

How many zebras were there?

• There were two zebra.

• There was one zebra.

• There were three zebras.

• There was two zebras.

Multiple Choice

How many giraffes were there?

• There was one giraffe.

• There were one giraffes.

• There were five giraffes.

• There were three giraffes.

Multiple Choice

• There was one dog and one cat

• There were two dogs

• There was one dog and one man

• There were two persons 

Multiple Choice

There _________ a tram 20 years ago.

• were

• was

• weren't

Multiple Choice

There ______ a rocket 5 years ago.

• is

• were

• was

Multiple Choice

CHOOSE THE CORRECT OPTION:

• There were many stores around here.

• There was many stores around here.

Multiple Choice

CHOOSE THE CORRECT OPTION:

• There were two police officers waiting for you outside.

• There was two police officers waiting for you outside.

Multiple Choice

CHOOSE THE CORRECT OPTION:

• There was a letter on your desk.

• There were a letter on your desk.

A/an
Some
Any

➔1. A is used with singular countable nouns that begin with
a consonant.

➔ 2. An is used with singular countable nouns that begin with

a vowel.

➔ 3. Some can be used with plural countable nouns

and uncountable nouns. Some is usually used in
positive statements.

➔ 4. Any is usually used for plural countable

nouns and uncountable nouns in questions and negative statements.

Examples

Affirmative

There was a chair.
There were some chairs.
There was a bank.
There were some Banks.

Interrogative

Singular: Was there a park there?
Plural: Were there any restaurants?

Negative

There was not a shop. / There wasn’t a shop.
There were not any shops. / There weren’t any shops

Multiple Choice

I'm sorry I'm late. _____ a lot of traffic.

• There was

• There were

• There wasn't

• There weren't

Multiple Choice

There were ............ sandwiches.

• some

• any

Multiple Choice

There is _______ food on the table.

• any

• some

Multiple Choice

There ...... any empty chairs!

• was

• were

• wasn't

• weren't

Multiple Choice

Choose the correct sentence.

• There weren't any oranges left.

• There wasn't any oranges left.

Multiple Choice

_____ there any coffee in the cup?

• WAS

• WERE

Multiple Choice

He was drinking ____ cup of coffee.

• a

• an

Multiple Choice

The girl is ___ pilot

• a

• an

Multiple Choice

Look! There was ____ bird flying

• a

• an

Multiple Choice

I had _____ pencils on the self but I didn't have _____ rubbers.

• a / any

• some / any

• any / some

• some / a

Thanks!

Do you have any questions?