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Quizzes > Literature & Language > English & Grammar

Take the Simple Past Tense Quiz and Test Your Grammar Skills

Ready for a simple past tense practice quiz? Test your skills online!

Difficulty: Moderate
2-5mins
Learning OutcomesCheat Sheet
Paper cut art of quiz elements including book pencil clock highlighting simple past tense mastery on teal background

Are you ready to sharpen your English skills? Take our simple past tense exam and discover how well you handle both regular and irregular verbs in this free Simple Past Tense Exam. Whether you're preparing for an English past tense test or looking for a quick simple past tense practice quiz, you'll get instant corrections, helpful tips, and a clear score breakdown. Grab this opportunity to turn mistakes into mastery as you move through each question. Perfect for students, professionals, and language lovers, this simple past tense quiz helps you test your knowledge, hone your skills, and enjoy the learning process. Curious to see where you stand? Try out this past simple exam and then launch the free quiz to challenge yourself with a fun past tense quiz online. Dive in now and boost your confidence - start today!

Yesterday, I ____ to the park.
walk
walking
walked
have walked
The sentence refers to a completed action in the past, so the regular verb 'walk' takes the -ed ending to become 'walked'. Simple past of regular verbs is formed by adding -ed to the base form. This is the most basic past tense construction in English. Learn more
She ____ dinner at 7 PM last night.
ate
was eating
eats
eaten
The verb 'eat' is irregular, and its simple past form is 'ate'. We use the simple past to describe actions completed at a specific time in the past. 'Eaten' is the past participle and would need an auxiliary verb. Reference
They ____ happy about the news.
were
been
was
are
The past simple form of 'be' for 'they' is 'were'. 'Was' is used with singular subjects like 'I' or 'he'. 'Are' is present tense and 'been' is the past participle, needing an auxiliary. More info
He ____ to the store yesterday morning.
goes
gone
went
goed
The verb 'go' is irregular and its simple past form is 'went'. 'Goed' is incorrect because irregular verbs do not follow the -ed rule. 'Gone' is the past participle and 'goes' is present tense. See details
I ____ the movie; it was terrible.
not liked
didn't like
didn't liked
didn't liking
In negative simple past sentences, we use 'didn't' plus the base form of the verb: 'didn't like'. 'Didn't liked' is redundant, 'not liked' is incomplete, and 'didn't liking' is grammatically incorrect. Learn more
She ____ tennis last weekend.
playes
have played
play
played
The regular verb 'play' takes -ed in the simple past to become 'played'. 'Have played' is present perfect, 'playes' is a spelling error, and 'play' is present tense. Reference
____ you ____ the concert on Saturday?
Did / see
Did / saw
Did / seen
Do / see
In questions in the simple past, we use 'Did' plus the base form: 'Did you see'. 'Did saw' and 'Did seen' are incorrect because the main verb must stay in base form. 'Do' is present tense. More info
We ____ the bus to work yesterday.
took
taked
have taken
take
The verb 'take' is irregular; its simple past is 'took'. 'Taked' is incorrect and 'have taken' is present perfect. 'Take' is present tense. See details
He ____ me a gift for my birthday.
given
gives
give
gave
The simple past of the irregular verb 'give' is 'gave'. 'Given' is the past participle and needs an auxiliary. 'Give' and 'gives' are present forms. Reference
They ____ their project on time because of delays.
doesn't finish
didn't finish
weren't finishing
haven't finished
The negative simple past uses 'didn't' plus the base form: 'didn't finish'. 'Doesn't finish' is present, 'haven't finished' is present perfect, and 'weren't finishing' is past continuous. Learn more
We ____ the ancient ruins on our trip to Peru.
saw
seen
have saw
had saw
The simple past of 'see' is the irregular form 'saw'. 'Seen' is the past participle and requires 'have' or 'had'. 'Had saw' and 'have saw' are ungrammatical. More info
This sentence contains an error: He runned to catch the bus. Which part is incorrect?
runned
He
catch
to
The verb 'run' is irregular and its simple past is 'ran', not 'runned'. All other words are correctly used. See explanation
She ____ the invitation, but she was busy.
was declining
declines
had declined
declined
The simple past of the regular verb 'decline' is 'declined'. 'Declines' is present tense, 'had declined' is past perfect, and 'was declining' is past continuous. Reference
After they ____ dinner, they went to bed.
have eaten
ate
eaten
had ate
The simple past form 'ate' correctly completes the sequence of past events. 'Had ate' is wrong - if you use past perfect it would be 'had eaten'. 'Eaten' and 'have eaten' are participles. Learn more
Which sentence correctly uses the simple past passive form?
The letter was written by Mary.
The letter is written by Mary.
The letter was wrote by Mary.
The letter wrote by Mary.
The passive voice in the simple past uses 'was' plus the past participle 'written'. 'Wrote' is the simple past active form. 'Wrote by Mary' and 'is written' are incorrect for simple past passive. See more
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Study Outcomes

  1. Identify Regular Verb Patterns -

    Recognize and apply the rules for forming regular verbs in the simple past tense to improve accuracy in your simple past tense quiz answers.

  2. Differentiate Irregular Verb Forms -

    Learn to spot common irregular verbs and recall their unique past tense forms when taking our free simple past tense exam.

  3. Formulate Accurate Sentences -

    Practice building grammatically correct sentences in the simple past tense to describe actions and events clearly.

  4. Apply Past Tense in Everyday Contexts -

    Use the simple past tense naturally in various scenarios, from storytelling to recounting daily activities in this past tense quiz online.

  5. Analyze Mistakes and Feedback -

    Review instant feedback from the quiz to pinpoint recurring errors and reinforce correct verb usage.

  6. Evaluate Quiz Performance -

    Assess your strengths and weaknesses in the English past tense test to guide further practice and mastery.

Cheat Sheet

  1. Regular verb formation -

    According to Cambridge University, most regular verbs form the simple past by adding "-ed" to the base form (play→played). Remember spelling changes: verbs ending in "e" only take "-d" (live→lived), while verbs ending in consonant + "y" swap "y" for "i" and add "-ed" (study→studied).

  2. Mastering irregular verbs -

    Irregular verbs don't follow a single rule, so group them by patterns or frequency lists recommended by the British Council (e.g., ring→rang, sing→sang). Use consistent practice with flashcards or apps to lock in top 100 irregular verbs - mnemonic tip: link the past tense sound to a vivid image (fall→fell by picturing yourself tripping).

  3. Negative & question forms -

    Per Purdue OWL guidelines, negatives and questions in the simple past use "did" + base verb (did not walk, did you eat). A handy mnemonic is "Did + do" to remind you never to change the main verb form (correct: did enjoy, not did enjoyed). Practice transforming statements into Q&A pairs to build automatic recall.

  4. Time expressions & signal words -

    English past tense test prep materials from Oxford University highlight signal words - like yesterday, last year, or two days ago - that trigger the simple past. Spotting these cues helps you choose the correct verb form instantly, and you can underline them in practice sentences.

  5. Narrative sequencing -

    University writing centers advise using past simple to list completed events in chronology (I finished breakfast, then I left for work). Employ transitional phrases like "after that" or "before" to guide readers through your story and reinforce your verb choices. Try reordering mixed-tense paragraphs in past-only drills for extra confidence.

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