Past Simple exercises

Put the verbs into the correct form (past simple).

1. Last year I (spend)  my holiday in Ireland.
2. It (be)  great.
3. I (travel)  around by car with two friends and we (visit)  lots of interesting places.
4. In the evenings we usually (go)  to a pub.
5. One night we even (learn)  some Irish dances.
6. We (be)  very lucky with the weather.
7. It (not / rain)  a lot.
8. But we (see)  some beautiful rainbows.
9. Where (spend / you)  your last holiday?

 

1. It was warm, so I  off my coat. (take)

2. The film wasn't very good. I  it very much. (enjoy)

3. I knew Sarah was very busy, so I  her. (disturb)

4. I was very tired, so I  to bed early. (go)

5. The bed was very uncomfortable. I  very well. (sleep)

6. Sue wasn't hungry, so she  anything. (eat)

7. We went to Kate's house but she  at home. (be)

8. It was a funny situation but nobody  (laugh)

9. The window was open and a bird  into the room. (fly)

10. The hotel wasn't very expensive. It  very much. (cost)

11. I was in a hurry, so I  time to phone you. (have)

12. It was hard work carrying the bags. They  very heavy. (be)

B. Complete the exercise with the verbs inside the box. (simple past tense)

buy	catch	cost	drink
fall	hurt	sell	spend
teach	throw	win	write

1. Mozart  more than 600 pieces of music.

2. 'How did you learn to drive?' 'My father  me.'

3. We couldn't afford to keep our car, so we  it.

4. I was very thirsty. I  the water very quickly.

5. Paul and I played tennis yesterday. He's much better than me, so he

 easily.

6. Don  down the stairs this morning and  his leg.

7. Jim  the ball to Sue, who  it.

8. Ann  a lot of money yesterday. She 

a dress. It  100.

Exercises with was / were

Complete the sentences with was / were

1. How many people __________ at your house last weekend?

2. The book wasn´t difficult It __________ easy.

3. Those __________ my best jeans.

4. Dinosaurs __________ prehistoric animals.

5. __________ your friends at school yesterday?

6. Sandra __________ not at school yesterday.

7. You __________ nasty to me!

8. __________ your grandparents designers.

9. John and I __________ in the garden.

10. __________ your parents in the restaurant? Yes, they __________ .

11. My grandmother __________ a nurse. She wasn´t a doctor.

12. I __________ thin when I was 6 years old.

13. When I __________ younger, I played with teddy bears.

14. We __________ away on vacation last month.

15. __________ you at the cinema last night?

16. Ten years ago, I __________ a baby.

17. __________ the exam difficult?

18. The film __________ (not) exciting. It was boring.

19. __________ there many people at the party?

20. __________ the girls in the park? No, they __________ .

21. Her name wasn´t Kate. It __________ Isabel.

22. Paco wasn´t happy. He __________ sad.

23. __________ the boys at the football game? Yes, they __________ .

24. The books __________ (not) on the shelf. They were in the bookcase.

25. __________ Tom at a concert? Yes, he __________ . 

Complete the sentences with was / were

1. It wasn´t my dad´s birthday on Sunday, it __________ on Saturday.

2. The exercises weren´t easy, they __________ difficult.

3. My grandfather wasn´t a writer, he __________ a composer.

4. My cousins weren´t at the park, they __________ at the cinema.

5. Last night I wasn´t at home, I __________ at a party.

6. __________ the weather good yesterday?

7. What __________ your first class this morning?

8. __________ her sister at the party.

9. Who __________ his favourite film star?

10. Where __________ you last night?

11. __________ they interested in rap music?

12. Where __________ you yesterday?

13. I __________ (not) at home last night.

14. __________ your teacher at school? No, she __________ .

15. Why __________ (not) Marta at school?

16. We __________ (not) at a party last week.

17. __________ you at a concert last night?

18. The students __________ in London last summer.

19. __________ it sunny yesterday?

20. __________ Meg at the library? No, she __________ .

21. The Beatles__________ a pop group.

22. __________ your teacher ill yesterday?

23. We __________ at a party last week.

24. My mum __________ (not) at work yesterday.

25. __________ you cold last night? 

Complete the sentences with was / were

1. It __________ six o´clock when we got home.

2. __________ you still in bed when I phoned?

3. Edison __________ a famous inventor.

4. The weather __________ fine this morning.

5. He __________ sick yesterday.

6. Beethoven __________ a German composer.

7. There __________ a lot of people at our party yesterday.

8. Don´t blame him. It __________ my mistake.

9. He __________ not well yesterday.

10. __________ you at the party yesterday?

11. Sam __________ second in the race, __________ she?

12. Jack __________ (not) in London.

13. We __________ on the same school team.

14. Betty __________ (not) at the cinema.

15. We __________ the champions last year.

16. Victoria __________ (not) in the UK.

17. Mom and Dad __________ on vacation last week.

18. Sally and Mark __________ (not) at home.

19. There __________ a small lake here many years ago.

20. There __________ any clouds in the sky.

21. My friend __________ ill yesterday.

22. They __________ third in the race.

23. Mom __________ angry when she saw the broken vase.

24. The Romans __________ brave soldiers.

25. It __________ very wet on Monday. 

Complete the sentences with was / were

1. Picasso __________ a great artist.

2. She __________ (not) at home, she was at school.

3. __________ you at the park? Yes, I __________ .

4. Bill Gates __________ a student at Harvard University.

5. I __________ in bed at 9 o´clock this morning.

6. The math questions __________ (not) easy, they were difficult.

7. She __________ reading in bed at 11 o´clock last night.

8. The room __________ (not) big, it was small.

9. __________ it sunny yesterday?

10. Einstein __________ a great mathematician.

11. __________ English you favourite subject last year?

12. It __________ (not) cold, it was hot.

13. I __________ with my friends in the park.

14. The English exam __________ (not) difficult, it was OK.

15. Alexander __________ in a cinema in Oxford.

16. __________ it a good film?

17. Lamberto __________ with his family in Norway.

18. __________ they at home? No they __________ .

19. __________ your friends in Málaga? Yes, they __________ .

20. __________ you a good student last year? Yes, I __________ .

21. Silvia and her sister __________ at the zoo.

22. John and Teresa __________ on holiday in France.

23. __________ your sister at home? Yes, she __________ .

24. __________ famous people always good at school? No, they __________ .

25. __________ Antonio Banderas in Málaga last summer? 

Pasado simple del verbo 'to be'

Pasado simple del verbo 'to be'

Afirmativo

I was

You were

He was

She was

It was

We were

You were

They were

La forma afirmativa del pasado no se puede contraer.

Ejemplos

I was sleepy	Estaba adormilado
She was wrong	Estaba equivocada
We were happy	Éramos felices
They were teachers	Eran profesores

Negativo

Sujeto + was/were + not + ...

Forma larga	Forma corta
I was not	I wasn´t
You were not	You weren´t
He was not	He wasn´t
She was not	She wasn´t
It was not	It wasn´t
We were not	We weren´t
You were not	You weren´t
They were not	They weren´t

La forma negativa se puede contraer.

Ejemplos

I wasn´t married	No estaba casada
It was not windy	No hacía viento
We were not young	No éramos jóvenes
You weren´t our lawyers	No érais nuestros abogados

Interrogativo

Was/Were + Sujeto + ...?

Afirmativo	Negativo
Was I...?	Was I not...?
Were you...?	Were you not...?	Weren´t you...?
Was he...?	Was he not...?	Wasn´t he...?
Was she...?	Was she not...?	Wasn´t she...?
Was it...?	Was it not...?	Wasn´t it...?
Were we...?	Were we not...?	Weren´t we...?
Were you...?	Were you not...?	Weren´t you...?
Were they...?	Were they not...?	Weren´t they...?

Ejemplos

Was I late?	¿Llegaba tarde?
Weren´t you 18 years old?	¿No tenías 18 años?
Why wasn´t she here?	¿Por qué no estaba aquí?
Were they not afraid?	¿No tenían miedo?

Para los demás tiempos verbales 'to be' se comporta como un verbo ordinario.

I have been a good friend (Present Perfect).

I am being very patient (Present continuous).

I will be your wife (Future).

I can be your friend (con un verbo modal).

Ejercicios

1 Completa las siguientes oraciones con el pasado simple del verbo to be en forma afirmativa.

1 They  very happy.

2 I  very angry.

3 My friend Tom  in New York last summer.

2 Completa las siguientes oraciones con la forma contraída del verbo to be en pasado y en forma negativa.

4 You  at school last Monday.

5 He  fifteen years old.

6 Our houses  very old.

3 Completa las siguientes oraciones con el pasado del verbo to be en interrogativa afirmativa.

7  she a beatiful girl?

8 Where  my car?

4 Completa las siguientes oraciones con la forma contraída del verbo to be en pasado interrogativa.

9  we here last holidays?

10  it a nice present?

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Past Simple - Grammar

The simple past expresses an action in the past taking place once, never, several times. It can also be used for actions taking place one after another or in the middle of another action.

Form of Past Simple

	Positive	Negative	Question
no differences	I spoke.	I did not speak.	Did I speak?

For irregular verbs, use the past form (see list of irregular verbs, 2nd column). For regular verbs, just add “ed”.

Exceptions in Spelling when Adding ‘ed’

Exceptions in spelling when adding ed	Example
* after a final e only add d	love – loved
* final consonant after a short, stressed vowel * a final consonant after a vowel is doubled	admit – admitted travel – travelled
* final y after a consonant becomes i	hurry – hurried

Use of  Past Simple

• action in the past taking place once, never or several times
  Example: He visited his parents every weekend.
• actions in the past taking place one after the other
  Example: He came in, took off his coat and sat down.
• action in the past taking place in the middle of another action
  Example: When I was having breakfast, the phone suddenly rang.
• if sentences type II (If I talked, …)
  Example: If I had a lot of money, I would share it with you.

Signal Words of Past Simple

• yesterday, 2 minutes ago, in 1990, the other day, last Friday
• If-Satz Typ II (If I talked, …)

Cortos

Learn English chapter 1
Chapter 2

Build a flower - letter sounds

                                                                           flower

LOs años

Los años en inglés generalmente son escritos en números, algo parecido al idioma español, sin embargo existen ciertas dudas y confusiones sobre cuál es la manera correcta de leer los años en inglés. Por ejemplo el año 1990 podría tener estas confusiones "one thousand nine hundred ninety" o "nineten ninety" o "one nine nine oh". Estas dudas son las que aclararemos a continuación.

Para leer correctamente los años en el idioma inglés podemos seguir estos puntos:

AÑOS DEL 1 AL 99.

Los años que van desde el 1 al 99, son leídos como los números normales que conocemos, por ejemplo:

2 (two), 23 (twenty three) , 99 (ninety nine)

AÑOS DEL 100 AL 999.

Para leer los años de 100 a 999, los separamos en 2 partes, de la siguiente manera:

Por ejemplo:
678 (six seventy-eight), 589 (five eighty-nine), 420 (four twenty)

Pero los años que son centenarios como ser: 100, 200, 300....etc. son leídos como:one hundred, two hundred, three hundred....etc. o como: one centenary, two centenary, three centenary....etc.

AÑOS DE 1000 A 1999.

Estos años como tienen 4 dígitos los separamos en 2 partes como por ejemplo:

1456 (fourteen fifty six)
1678 (sixteen seventy eight)
1945 (nineteen forty five)

Sin embargo existen algunas excepciones:

• Los años como como ser 1100, 1500, 1700, etc. También son separados en dos partes, donde la primera parte utiliza la forma de número ordinal (th) y como la segunda parte tiene ceros es leído como century o simplemente la primera parte puede ser leída como un numero natural y la segunda como hundred. Por ejemplo:
  
  1400 (fourteenth century o fourteen hundred)
  1900 (nineteenth century o nineteen hundred)

AÑOS DEL 2000 PARA ADELANTE.

• Los años del 2000 al 2009 son leídos como un número normal. Por ejemplo:
  
  2000 (two thousand)
  2001 (two thousand one)
  2009 (two thousand nine)
• Los años del 2010 para adelante pueden ser leídos de dos formas, la primera es hacerlo como si fueran números normales y la segunda es dividiéndolos en 2 partes. Por ejemplo
  
  2010 (two thousand ten o twenty ten)
  2011 (two thousand eleven o twenty eleven)
  2014 (two thousand fourteen o twenty fourteen)

Happy St. Patrick´s Day!!

History of Saint Patrick´s day

The History of Saint Patrick´s day

British family tree

British family
Curiosities
Brief History of the Royal family
The differen between United Kingdom, Great Britain and England

Comparative and Superlative
Exercises

Games

Games

The Temperature

English Vocabulary

The Temperature in English

The temperature is how hot or cold something is.
We use a thermometer to measure the temperature of something.
Temperature is usually measure in degrees.

The ° symbol after a number means degrees.
30° = thirty degrees

There are two main systems used for measuring temperature:
°F = degrees Fahrenheit (only used in United States)
°C = degrees Celsius (used in the rest of the world)

When talking about the temperature we normally use:
It + is/was/will be + adjective

• It is chilly today.
• It was warm yesterday.
• It will be cold tomorrow.

Here is a chart showing temperature vocabulary:

The temperatures given are only an approximation to give you an idea of when to use them.

28°C (or more) - Hot
15 to 28°C - Warm
10 to 15°C - Cool
5 to 10°C - Chilly
0 to 5°C - Cold
0°C (or less) - Freezing

Remember, what is hot in one country may only be considered warm in another.
What may be chilly in one country may be freezing in another.

The following words refer to being MORE than hot and are used for temperatures over 30°C.

Boiling: very hot, often used in negative contexts
Humid: hot and damp. It makes you sweat a lot
Muggy: warm and damp in an unpleasant way
Scorching: very hot, often used in positive contexts
Stifling: hot and you can hardly breath
Sweltering: hot and uncomfortable

So what makes a day hot or cold? It depends on the weather…

The Weather in English

video

In English, we usually use it is when we talk about the weather.
This is normally: It is + adjective OR It is + verb-ing

It is + adjective = A description of the weather

• It is sunny today.
• It's hot and humid today.
• It'sa nice day today.

We can also say:
It is a + adjective + day (or morning/afternoon/night)

• It's a fine day.
• It's a windy afternoon.

It is + verb-ing = This type of weather is happening now.

• It's drizzling outside.
• It's snowing.
• Take an umbrella, it's raining.

You can also use it is in different tenses

• It was cold yesterday.
• It will be cloudy tomorrow.

When you are learning vocabulary about the weather, it is important to remember that some of the words have a noun form, a verb form and/or an adjective form. For example:

• Rain: (noun) The game was cancelled because of the rain.
• Rain: (verb) I think it is going to rain later.
• Rainy: (adjective) It's a rainy day.

It pays to learn the different forms of each word and when they are used.

Nouns and Adjectives
Many times when we are talking about the weather, we can add the letter Y to the end of a noun to make it an adjective.

• rain (noun) - rainy (adjective)
• sun (noun) - sunny (adjective)
• wind (noun) - windy (adjective)
• cloud (noun) - cloudy (adjective)
• fog (noun) - foggy (adjective)

Questions about the weather

People commonly ask about the weather by saying:

• What's it like out(side)?
• How's the weather?
• What's the weather like?
• What's the temperature?
• What's the weather forecast?

Vocabulary about the weather in English

We have divided this vocabulary into different categories to make it easier. We have:
Clear or Cloudy – Types of Rain – Cold stuff – Types of Wind – Mixed Vocabulary

Clear or Cloudy

Bright: (adjective) full of light; when the sun is shining strongly
Sunny: (adjective) the sun is shining and there are no clouds
Clear: (adjective) without clouds
Fine: (adjective) not raining, clear sky
Partially cloudy: (adjective) when there is a mixture of both blue sky and clouds
Cloudy: (adjective) with many clouds in the sky
Overcast: (adjective) covered with cloud; dull
Gloomy: (adjective) with dark clouds and dull light; some people consider this weather depressing

Sometimes the cloud lowers to ground level and it becomes harder to see…
Fog (noun)/ foggy (adjective): thick cloud close to land
Mist (noun) / misty (adjective): light fog, often on the sea or caused by drizzle
Haze (noun) / hazy (adjective): light mist, usually caused by heat

Types of Rain

Damp: (adjective) slightly wet (often after the rain has stopped)
Drizzle: (verb/noun) to rain lightly with very fine drops
Shower: (noun) a short period of rain
Rain: (verb/noun) water that falls from the clouds in drops
Downpour: (noun) heavy rain
Pour: (verb) to have heavy rain
It's raining cats and dogs: (Idiom) To rain heavily
Torrential rain: (noun) very heavy rain
Flood: (verb/noun) to become covered in water usually due to excessive rain

Cold stuff

Hail: (verb) when frozen rain falls as small balls of ice (hailstones).
Hailstones: (noun) the small hard balls of ice that fall from the sky
Snow: (noun/verb) frozen rain that falls from the sky as soft snowflakes
Snowflake: (noun) an individual piece of snow
Sleet: (noun/verb) snow or hail mixed with rain (often with some wind)
Blizzard: (noun) severe snowstorm with strong winds

Types of Wind

Breeze: a gentle wind (often nice or refreshing)
Blustery: blowing (strong) gusts of wind
Windy: continual wind.
Gale: a very strong wind
Hurricane/cyclone/typhoon: a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce winds and heavy rain.

What's the difference between a hurricane, a typhoon and a cyclone?
They are the same thing just with different names because of the region they are in.
Atlantic/Northeast Pacific = a hurricane
Northwest Pacific = a typhoon
Southern Hemisphere = a cyclone

Tornado: (noun) strong violent circular winds in a small area; a rapidly revolving column of air
In United States the word twister is often used instead of tornado.

The Temperature in English

We have created an entire page about the temperature in English including the different ways of saying how hot or cold it is.

More vocabulary about the weather

Drought: (noun) Long periods of time without rain causing a lack of water in the area

• A lot of the crops dried up because of the drought.

Forecast: (noun) A prediction of how the weather will be on a certain day

• The forecast says it's going to rain tomorrow.

Lightning: (noun) A flash of light in the sky during a storm.

• Lightning lit the sky many times that night.

Puddle: (noun) a small pool of water on the ground, usually after rain.

• The kids jumped in the puddles on the way home from school.

Rainbow: (noun) an arch of colors in the sky formed when the sun shines through rain

• I took a photo of a beautiful rainbow that was just above the lake.

Smog: (noun) a cloud of pollution hanging over a city (a fog of smoke)

• The view of the city wasn't very good because it was covered in thick smog.

Sunburn: (noun) painful red skin caused by spending too long in the hot sun.

• If you don't put on your sunscreen, you'll get sunburn.

Sunshine: (noun) the light and heat of the sun

• I could feel the warm sunshine on my back.

Thunder: (noun/verb) the rumbling sound in the clouds that happens after lightning

• The cat hid inside because it was scared by the thunder.

Sentences using weather vocabulary

• It is usually chilly and damp in autumn, sometimes with rain or drizzle.
• I'm so glad there is a breeze right now otherwise it would be very hot.
• It is so humid that I've had to change my shirt twice already.
• It's a blustery day; make sure your umbrella doesn't blow away.
• Take a sweatshirt because it's a little chilly outside.
• Those large hailstones left dents in my car.
• There has been a gale warning so it's not safe to go out fishing on our boat.
• There was a drought in our province last summer. It didn't rain for three months.
• We won't be able to see the solar eclipse because it's overcast.

Questions using weather vocabulary

• What's the weather like in Buenos Aires in January?
• How's the weather in Moscow in winter?
• It's pretty hot. What's the temperature?
• Is it raining outside?
• What's the forecast for tomorrow?