Simple Past Tense Quiz
Verbs are an essential component of English grammar. A verb is an action word, which means that it describes or indicates an action. A study of verbs is necessary to form our preliminary knowledge of the English language. There are many types of verbs based on different methods of classification. In this article, we will classify verbs on the basis of tenses. Hence, we will shift our focus to the simple past tense form of verbs and implement our knowledge through a simple past tense worksheet. As we practise more questions, we will get acquainted with the usage of verbs in the simple past tense form. Let us begin by understanding the basics!
What Is A Verb?
A verb is a word that describes the physical state of a noun by stating its action, state of being, etc. It is the heart of a sentence since it essentially tells us about the subject and what it is doing. A verb is in agreement with the gender, number and voice of the subject that it qualifies. Verbs also have tenses. We need to learn more about tenses before we can move on to the simple past tense questions and answers exercises!
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What Are Tenses?
Tenses are a component of grammar that express time. We use verbs to express tenses, and these are mainly of three types: past, present and future. There are further classifications among these types, but for now, we will understand the fundamental tenses of simple past, simple present and simple future tense.
The Simple Past, Simple Present & Simple Future Tenses
Let us understand the three types of tenses with an example of each. This understanding will help us in our simple past quiz!
Past tense: I ate.
Present tense: I eat.
Future tense: I will eat.
We use various forms of the verb ‘eat’ to denote when the action took place. The past tense of a verb indicates that the action is complete when you are speaking the sentence. The present tense indicates an action taking place in the present or something that takes place regularly. The simple future tense denotes an action that is yet to take place.
More On The Simple Past Tense
Since we will be solving past tense questions, it is crucial that we understand the simple past tense forms of verbs well. In this section, we will discuss these verbs in greater detail. The simple past tense comes into play when talking about something which took place or existed in the past. For example, imagine talking about the vacation you took last summer:
I went to the beach.
We drank coconut water.
We swam in the ocean.
The simple past tense emphasizes an action that the subject completed in the past, as opposed to the past continuous tense, which describes an action that took place over a period of time. You will learn more about the past continuous tense later!
How To Ask Questions In Simple Past Tense?
By now, we know about the simple past tense, and it is almost time for us to implement our knowledge through practise worksheets! However, before that, there is one last topic which we will cover. We will see how to formulate questions in the simple past tense. Once we understand this, we can move on to solving past tense questions!
Let us discuss two rules in this regard:
To form a question in the simple past tense, we use the structure did + \[\left [ \text{subject}\right ]+ \left [ \text{root form of the verb}\right ]+\left [ \text{rest of the sentence}\right ]\]. For example: Did Sheena watch the movie?
When formulating the past tense of a to be a verb, we do not include the word did. The structure in this case is was/were + \[\left [ \text{subject}\right ]+\left [ \text{rest of the sentence}\right ]\]. For example, Was Raj a good student?
Solved Examples
Here is a solved simple past tense worksheet for you to better understand the simple past tense of verbs.
I ___ to the mall after class.
goes
gone
went
Answer: I went to the mall after class.
I ___ a bear half an hour ago.
see
saw
seen
Answer: I saw a bear half an hour ago.
___ Jason visit his mom last month?
Does
Where
Did
Answer: Did Jason visit his mom last month?
She did not ___ for two months.
worked
working
work
Answer: She did not work for two months.
Alex ___ not happy with the ending.
were
did
was
Answer: Alex was not happy with the ending.
FAQs on Past Tenses Quiz
1. How to tackle past tense questions in examinations?
To answer questions related to the simple past tense, it is important that you understand the concept behind it. The simple past tense, like any other tense, gets manifested through verbs. Hence, it is important that you understand what verbs are and how to use them in a sentence. It is also crucial that you know the usage of each of the tenses. Once you have these basic grammatical concepts cleared out, you can go on practising questions. You can look up any simple past quiz online and solve it. These quizzes also come with the answer key, so you can always crosscheck the answers you marked. With consistent practice, you will have a fair idea of verbs and their tenses!
2. List some rules for the formulation of verbs in the simple past tense.
The following are some essential rules which can come in handy while you are solving a simple past tense worksheet:
For most verbs, adding -ed to the root form of the verb is all you need to do. For example, play becomes played and listen becomes listened.
For verbs ending in ‘e’, add -d at the end of the root verb to convert it to simple past tense. For example, type becomes typed.
Some verbs look exactly the same in their root form as well as simple past tense form. For example, words such as hit, cut, put, etc. However, in some cases, the pronunciation may differ. For example, the word ‘read’ has a different pronunciation in the present and past tense.
Some verbs have very erratic past tense forms. For example, do becomes did, build becomes built, and rise becomes rose.
