by R. S. Karunaratne

Simple past questions

We make simple past questions with ‘did + subject + infinitive (without ‘to’)
Did you work yesterday?
Did I tell you this story last week?
Did we invite him?
Did he receive the appointment letter?
Did she pass the examination?
Did they fight in the class?

Be careful when questions have long subjects. The word order does not change.
When did Mary and her sister return to Sri Lanka?
Where did Ravi, John and Muriel stay in Malaysia?
How did you, your sister and her brother find the way to my house?
When did the Portuguese, Dutch and British come to Sri Lanka?
Where did the king, queen and their children hide during the war?

We can form questions without using the word ‘did.’
Who phoned you just now?
Who met you at the airport?
What happened yesterday?
Who gave you this necklace?
Who said that I was not coming to office?
Who made that noise?
Who helped her to pursue higher studies?
Who told you that I am ill?
What fell off the lorry?
Who wrote this essay?
Who broke that window?
Who discovered America?
Who built the great pyramid?
Who invented gun-powder?
Who painted this picture?
Who directed the film Dr Shivago?

[Activity]

Make simple past questions with ``who, what, how” or ``where.”Check your answers with the key.

1. Rex saw somebody at the door.
...................................

2. Carol went somewhere.
...................................

3. Nimal bought something.
...................................

4. Anne married somebody.
...................................

5. Kusala broke something.
...................................

6. Jayantha stayed somewhere.
...................................

7. Gemunu fought with Elara.
...................................

8. Sanka played cricket well.
...................................

9. The tourist enjoyed the food.
...................................

10. Alice gave me something.
...................................

Key:

1. Who did he see at the door?
2. Where did she go?
3. What did he buy?
4. Who did she marry?
5. What did she break?
6. Where did he stay?
7. Who did he fight with?
8. How did he play cricket?
9. What did he enjoy?
10. What did she give you?

Match words and meanings

Here’s a novel way to enrich your vocabulary. Match the words in Column ‘A’ with the meanings in column ‘B.’ Check your answers with the key. The first one has been done for you.

[Column A] [Column B] O 1. Auditory A. a sign of what might happen in the future ....2. Augury B. friendly ....3. August C. a bright circle of light, especially around the head ....4. Aural D. stated ....5. Aureole E. to stay away from somebody or something ....6. Auspicious F. extremely eager or interested ....7. Austere G. the activity of flying aircraft ....8. Authentic H. having great importance ....9. Authorial I. to write your signature ....10. Autism J. government by a single person or small group that has unlimited power ....11. Autocracy K. a closed space in which birds are kept ....12. Autograph L. a car ....13. Automobile M. a failure to develop (US) social abilities or communication skills ...14. Autonomous N. to prevent something bad happening ....15. Autopsy O. of or about hearing ....16. Auxiliary P. examination of a dead body to find the cause of death ....17. Aver Q. to state the truth of something strongly ....18. Averse R. relating to hearing ....19. Avert S. suggesting a positive and successful future ....20. Aviary T. real or true ....21. Aviation U. giving help or support ....22. Avid V. very simple and without comfort ....23. Avoid W. having the power to make your own decisions ....24. Avowed X. strongly disliking ....25. Avuncular Y. relating to the author of a book

Key:

2. A 3. H 4. R 5. C 6. S 7. V 8. T 9. Y 10. M 11. J 12. I 13. L 14. W 15. P 16. U 17. Q 18. X 19. N 20. K 21. G 22. F 23. E 24. D 25. B

Starters :

When to use the simple past tense

We use the simple past tense to talk about when things happened: immediate past, yesterday or 10 years ago.

When did you arrive?
I didn't see you yesterday.
The Portuguese arrived in the island in 1505.
She passed the G.C.E. Ordinary Level Examination in 1995.
Who left that bicycle in the garden?

We use the simple past tense, not the present perfect tense, with finished time-expressions.
I saw Benhur 20 years ago.
Did you meet Amanda on Saturday?
William Shakespeare died in 1616.
As children we always spoke in English at home.
When did you learn to speak French so well?
When we use ‘ago’, we follow the following word order.
I started working as a full-time journalist 30 years ago.
She celebrated her tenth birthday a week ago.
We met our college friends at a party five months ago.
He worked at a dispensary a few years ago.
It happened a long time ago.

We use the simple past tense for things that happened one after another.
He got off the bus, hailed a cab and got into it.
We stopped the car at a hotel, had lunch and returned home late in the evening.

[Activity]

Make simple past questions from the following statements. Check your answers with the key.

1. Prem and Madhuri went to Canada.
When ..........................................?

2. Ganga and her mother came out of the theatre late in the evening.
When ..........................................?

3. Malinda's friends collected money and bought him a laptop.
Why ............................................?

4. The dark fat woman said something to my son.
What ...........................................?

5. The students bought something for their teacher's birthday.
What ........................................... ?

6. Somebody left a car in the no-parking area.
Who ............................................ ?

7. Something fell off the lorry.
What ........................................... ?

8. The passengers found a snake on the bus.
Who ............................................ ?

9. The students found a python in the playground.
What ........................................... ?

10. The express train stopped at the Panadura Railway Station.
Where ........................................ ?

Key:

1. When did Prem and Madhuri go to Canada?
2. When did Ganga and her mother come out of the theatre?
3. Why did Malinda's friends collect money?
4. What did the dark fat woman say to my son?
5. What did the students buy for their teacher's birthday?
6. Who left a car in the no-parking area?
7. What fell off the lorry?
8. Who found a snake on the bus?
9. What did the students find in the playground?
10. Where did the express train stop?

Quiz on irregular verbs

Irregular verbs, unlike regular verbs, have different forms in the past tense. Fill in the blanks in Column ‘B’ with the past tense of the verbs in Column ‘A.’ Check your answers with the key.

Column A Column B

1. Cast ............
2. Catch ............
3. Choose ............
4. Cleave ............
5. Cling ............
6. Come ............
7. Cost ............
8. Creep ............
9. Cut ............
10. Deal ............
11. Dig ............
12. Dive ............
13. Draw ............
14. Dream ............
15. Drink ............
16. Drive ............
17. Dwell ............
18. Eat ............
19. Fall ............
20. Feed ............

21. Feel ............
22. Fight ............
23. Find ............
24. Flee ............
25. Fling ............
26. Fly ...........
27. Forbid ............
28. Forecast ............
29. Foresee ............
30. Forget ............
31. Forgive . ...........
32. Forgo ............
33. Forsake ............
34. Forswear ............
35. Freeze ............
36. Gainsay ............
37. Get ............
38. Gird ............
39. Give ............
40. Go ............

Key:

1. cast 2. caught 3. chose 4. cleaved 5. clung 6. came 7. cost 8. crept 9. cut 10. dealt 11. dug 12. dived 13. drew 14. dreamed / dreamt 15. drank 16. drove 17. dwelt 18. ate 19. fell 20. fed 21. felt 22. fought 23. found 24. fled 25. flung 26. flew 27. forbade 28. forecast 29. foresaw 30. forgot 31. forgave 32. forwent 33. forsook 34. forswore 35. froze 36. gainsaid 37. got 38. girt/girded 39. gave 40. went