Simple Past: Tag Questions - Exercise

Tag questions are formed using the auxiliary did. In the following examples, the negative tag questions are underlined. Contractions are usually used in negative tag questions.

Affirmative Statement	Affirmative Statement with Tag Question
I worked.	I worked, didn't I?
You worked.	You worked, didn't you?
He worked.	He worked, didn't he?
She worked.	She worked, didn't she?
It worked.	It worked, didn't it?
We worked.	We worked, didn't we?
They worked.	They worked, didn't they?

Paying attention to the correct forms of the negative questions, add the tag question at the end of each sentence.
 For example:
    You walked quickly.
    You walked quickly, didn't you?



      Answers: 
1.You watched the game, didn't you?
2. I climbed the ladder, didn't I?
3. We pleased the visitors, didn't we?
4. They canned the peaches, didn't they?
5. He received the letter, didn't he?
6. You saw the fireworks, didn't you?
7. It cost five dollars, didn't it?
8. She hit the ball, didn't she?
9. He did his homework, didn't he?
10. They cut the ribbon, didn't they?

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Simple Past: Negative Questions Exercise

In order to change an affirmative statement into a negative Question, did is placed before the subject, not is placed after the subject, and the form of the verb is changed to the bare infinitive. However, when contractions are used, the contracted form of not follows immediately after the auxiliary did. For example:

Without Contractions	With Contractions
Did I not work?	Didn't I work?
Did you not work?	Didn't you work?
Did he not work?	Didn't he work?
Did she not work?	Didn't she work?
Did it not work?	Didn't it work?
Did we not work?	Didn't we work?
Did they not work?	Didn't they work?

Exercise

Change the following statements into NEGATIVE QUESTIONS either with or without contractions.

Example:

She went to the party.

Didn't she go to the party?

Did she not go to the party?





Answer Key:

1. Didn't she hurry to school? / Did she not hurry to school?
2. Didn't they carry the parcels? / Did they not carry the parcels?
3. Didn't you close the door? / Did you not close the door?
4. Didn't they plan the party? /  Did they not plan the party?
5. Didn't she tell a story? /  Did she not tell a story?
6. Didn't they shake hands? / Did they not shake hands?

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Simple Past: Negative Statements Exercise

Grammar Lesson and Quiz on How to Change Affirmative into Negative Statements in the Simple Past

In order to change an affirmative statement 

into a negative statement, did not is placed 

after the subject, and the form of the verb is 

changed to the bare infinitive. In the following

example, the irregular verb to speak is used. 

The verb to speak has the bare infinitive speak and the Simple Past spoke.

Affirmative Statement	Negative Statement
I spoke.	I did not speak.
You spoke.	You did not speak.
He spoke.	He did not speak.
She spoke.	She did not speak.
It spoke.	It did not speak.
We spoke.	We did not speak.
They spoke.	They did not speak.

In spoken English, the following contraction is often used:

Without Contraction	With Contraction
did not	didn't

 EXERCISE

Paying attention to the correct forms of the bare infinitives, change the following affirmative statements into negative statements. For example:
    
  I scanned the newspaper.
  I did not scan the newspaper.

      They flew to Toronto.
      They did not fly to Toronto


Answer Key:
1. We did not enjoy ourselves.
2. She did not pin on the brooch.
3. I did not fan myself.
4. They did not empty their pockets.
5. You did not reply at once.
6. He did not go to work.
7. We did not swim across the river.
8. They did not take the bus.
9. I did not shut the windows.
10. You did not run fast.

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Simple Past: Questions Exercise

In both the Simple Present and the Simple Past of verbs other than the verb to be, questions and negative statements are formed using the auxiliary to do and the bare infinitive.

For questions and negative statements in the Simple Past, the Simple Past of the auxiliary to do is used. The Simple Past of to do is conjugated as follows:

I did

you did

he did

she did

it did

we did

they did

In order to change an affirmative statement into a question, did is placed before the subject, and the form of the verb is changed from the Simple Past to the bare infinitive. In the following example, the regular verb to work is used. The verb to work has the Simple Past worked, and the bare infinitive work.

Affirmative Statement	Question
I worked.	Did I work?
You worked.	Did you work?
He worked.	Did he work?
She worked.	Did she work?
It worked.	Did it work?
We worked.	Did we work?
They worked.	Did they work?

Exercise: 
Paying attention to the correct forms of the bare infinitives, change the following affirmative statements into questions. For example:
      He lifted the suitcase.
      Did he lift the suitcase?

      I paid the rent.
      Did I pay the rent?





Answers:
1. Did she hurry to school?  

2. Did they carry the parcels? 

3. Did you close the door? 

4. Did I plug in the lamp? 

5. Did they plan the party? 

6. Did we teach the class? 

7. Did she tell a story? 

8. Did they strike a bargain? 

9. Did he meet his friends? 

10. Did I shake hands?

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Simple Past: Affirmative Statements Exercise

                                                         




English verbs other than the verb to be have the same form in the Simple Past, regardless of the subject.

In the case of regular English verbs, the Simple Past has the same form as the past participle. For example, the Simple Past of the regular verb to work is conjugated as follows:

I worked

you worked

he worked

she worked

it worked

we worked

they worked

Exercise:

Paying attention to the correct spelling, fill in the blanks with the Simple Past of the regular verbs shown in brackets. For example:
      It _______ raining. (to stop)
      It stopped raining.

      I _________ myself. (to disguise)
      I disguised myself. Answers:
1. flipped 

2. watched 

3. arranged 

4. bragged 

5. enjoyed 

6. supplied 

7. reassured 

8. waited 

9. shipped 

10. worried

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The Simple Past: Affirmative Statements with Irregular Verbs

 English Grammar Lesson and Exercise on Simple Past -Irregular Verbs

In the case of irregular English verbs, the form of the Simple Past must be memorized. As illustrated by the examples below, for some irregular verbs, the Simple Past is the same as the past participle; whereas for others, the Simple Past differs from the past participle. A table of 140 common English irregular verbs is provided. 

For example:

Bare Infinitive	Simple Past	Past Participle
begin	began	begun
find	found	found
go	went	gone
let	let	let
take	took	taken

Like the regular verbs, irregular verbs other than the verb to be do not modify in the Simple Past, but have the same form, regardless of the subject. For example, the Simple Past of the irregular verb to take is conjugated as follows:

I took
you took
he took
she took
it took
we took
they took

Exercise

Referring to the table of English irregular verbs if necessary, fill in the blanks with the Simple Past tense of the irregular verbs shown in brackets. For example:
They _____ a song. (to write)
They wrote a song.

We _____ the floor. (to sweep)
We swept the floor.

Answers:
1. did  
2. went 
3. took 
4. made 
5. ran 6. 
got 
7. drank 
8. slept 
9. forgot 
10. left

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Simple Past: Questions and Negative Statements with the Verb "to be"

English Grammar Lesson and Exercise on the Simple Past: How to Make Questions and Negative Statements  with verb "TO BE"

Questions and negative statements

The Simple Present and Simple Past of the verb to be do not use auxiliaries to form questions and negative statements. Instead, the verb itself is used.

The verb to be forms questions and negative statements in the same way in the Simple Past as in the Simple Present. In order to form a question, the verb is placed before the subject. For example:

Affirmative Statement	Question
I was awake.	Was I awake?
They were ready.	Were they ready?

In order to form a negative statement, the word not is placed after the verb. For example:

Affirmative Statement	Negative Statement
I was awake.	I was not awake.
They were ready.	They were not ready.

In spoken English, the following contractions are often used:

Without Contractions	With Contractions
was not	wasn't
were not	weren't

In order to form a negative question, the verb is placed before the subject, and the word not is placed after the subject. However, when contractions are used, the contracted form of not immediately follows the verb. For example:

Without Contractions	With Contractions
Was I not awake?	Wasn't I awake?
Were they not ready?	Weren't they ready?

In order to form tag questions, the verb itself is used. In the following examples, the negative tag questions are underlined. Contractions are usually used in negative tag questions.

Affirmative Statement	Affirmative Statement with Tag Question
I was awake.	I was awake, wasn't I?
They were ready.	They were ready, weren't they?

Exercise

Rewrite the following affirmative statements as questions, negative statements, negative questions without contractions, negative questions with contractions, and affirmative statements followed by negative tag questions.
For example:
      You were on time.
      Were you on time?
      You were not on time.
      Were you not on time?
      Weren't you on time?
      You were on time, weren't you?

It was warm enough.
      Was it warm enough?
      It was not warm enough.
      Was it not warm enough?
      Wasn't it warm enough?
      It was warm enough, wasn't it?

Answers: 
1. Was I late? I was not late. Was I not late? Wasn't I late? I was late, wasn't I? 

2. Were they in a hurry? They were not in a hurry. Were they not in a hurry? Weren't they In a hurry? They were in a hurry, weren't they? 

3. Was he an artist? He was not an artist. Was he not an artist? Wasn't he an artist? He was an artist, wasn't he? 

4. Were we right? We were not right. Were we not right? Weren't we right? We were right, weren't we? 

5. Was she there? She was not there. Was she not there? Wasn't she there? She was there, wasn't she?

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Simple Past of the Verb "TO BE": Form & Uses

English Grammar Lesson and Exercise on: Simple Past of Verb "TO BE"



 

1. Uses of the simple past  

The uses of the Simple Past are somewhat similar to the uses of the Simple Present, except that past states or actions are expressed. In the examples given below, the verbs in the Simple Past are underlined.

For instance, the Simple Past can be used to express actions which occurred at regular intervals in the past.

e.g. Last year I drove to Yarmouth once a week.

In addition, the Simple Past is used to describe situations which existed for a period of time in the past.
e.g. Millions of years ago, dinosaurs inhabited the earth.
      George Washington was the first president of the United States.

The Simple Past is also used to express non-continuous actions which occurred at a definite time in the past.
e.g. Columbus reached America in 1492.
      I graduated from school last year.

2. Formation of the simple past  
a. The verb To Be

The Simple Past of the verb to be is conjugated as follows:

I was

you were

he was

she was

it was

we were

they were

Exercise

Using the Simple Past tense, fill in the blanks with the correct forms of the verb to be. For example:
I ___ calm.
I was calm.

You ____ right.
You were right.

Answers: 
1. was    2. were    3. were    4. were    5. was    6. was    7. were     8. was     9. were     10. was

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Present Perfect Continuous: Questions Negative Statemets & Tag Questions

Questions and negative statements




When a verb has more than one auxiliary, it is the first auxiliary which must change its form to agree with the subject of the verb. It is also the first auxiliary which is used to form questions and negative statements.

Questions are formed by placing the first auxiliary before the subject of the verb. 

For example:

Affirmative Statement	Question
I have been working.	Have I been working?
You have been working.	Have you been working?
He has been working.	Has he been working?
She has been working.	Has she been working?
It has been working.	Has it been working?
We have been working.	Have we been working?
They have been working.	Have they been working?

Negative statements are formed by placing the word not after the first auxiliary. For example:

Affirmative Statement	Negative Statement
I have been working.	I have not been working.
You have been working.	You have not been working.
He has been working.	He has not been working.
She has been working.	She has not been working.
It has been working.	It has not been working.
We have been working.	We have not been working.
They have been working.	They have not been working.

Negative questions are formed by placing the first auxiliary before the subject, and the word not after the subject. However, when contractions are used, the contracted form of not follows immediately after the first auxiliary. For example:

Without Contractions	With Contractions
Have I not been working?	Haven't I been working?
Have you not been working?	Haven't you been working?
Has he not been working?	Hasn't he been working?
Has she not been working?	Hasn't she been working?
Has it not been working?	Hasn't it been working?
Have we not been working?	Haven't we been working?
Have they not been working?	Haven't they been working?

Tag questions are formed using the first auxiliary. In the following examples, the negative tag questions are underlined. For example:

Affirmative Statement	Affirmative Statement with Tag Question
I have been working.	I have been working, haven't I?
You have been working.	You have been working, haven't you?
He has been working.	He has been working, hasn't he?
She has been working.	She has been working, hasn't she?
It has been working.	It has been working, hasn't it?
We have been working.	We have been working, haven't we?
They have been working.	They have been working, haven't they?

Exercise:

Following the model of the example, rewrite the following two affirmative statements as questions, negative statements, negative questions without contractions, negative questions with contractions, and affirmative statements followed by negative tag questions. 
For example:
      They have been enjoying themselves.
      Have they been enjoying themselves?
      They have not been enjoying themselves.
      Have they not been enjoying themselves?
      Haven't they been enjoying themselves?
      They have been enjoying themselves, haven't they?

Answers: 
1. Has it been snowing? It has not been snowing. Has it not been snowing? Hasn't it been snowing? It has been snowing, hasn't it? 
2. Have you been visiting your friends? You have not been visiting your friends. Have you not been visiting your friends? Haven't you been visiting your friends? You have been visiting your friends, haven't you?

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Present Perfect Continuous: Use & Formation

The present perfect continuous

a. Use
The Present Perfect Continuous tense is used to express continuous, ongoing actions which have already been completed at the time of speaking or writing.

In the following example, the verb in the Present Perfect Continuous tense is underlined.
e.g. The bus has been waiting for one hour.

The use of the Present Perfect Continuous tense in this example indicates that, at the time of speaking or writing, the bus has completed one hour of continuous waiting.

b. Formation
The Present Perfect Continuous tense of any English verb is formed from the Present Perfect of to be, followed by the present participle of the verb. For instance, the Present Perfect Continuous tense of the verb to work is conjugated as follows:

I have been working

you have been working

he has been working

she has been working

it has been working

we have been working

they have been working

Thus, it can be seen that the Present Perfect Continuous tense has two auxiliaries. The first auxiliary is have or has, and the second auxiliary is been.


Exercise:
Paying attention to the spelling of the present participles, fill in the blanks using the correct forms of the verbs shown in brackets. 

For example:
      I ________________ all night. (to work)
      I have been working all night.

      She ___________________ the trumpet. (to practise)
      She has been practising the trumpet.

Answers:
1. have been waiting    2. have been running    3. has been reading    4. have been writing    5. have been setting    6. has been raining    7. have been living    8. has been speaking    9. have been buying 10. have been planning

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Present Perfect: Questions- Negative Statements & Tag Questions

6. Questions and negative statements
As is the case with other English tenses, questions and negative statements in the Present Perfect are formed using the auxiliary. In the case of the Present Perfect, the auxiliary is have or has.

a. Questions
In order to form a question, the auxiliary is placed before the subject of the verb. For example:

Affirmative Statement	Question
I have worked.	Have I worked?
You have worked.	Have you worked?
He has worked.	Has he worked?
She has worked.	Has she worked?
It has worked.	Has it worked?
We have worked.	Have we worked?
They have worked.	Have they worked?

b. Negative statements
In order to form a negative statement, the word not is placed after the auxiliary. For example:

Affirmative Statement	Negative Statement
I have worked.	I have not worked.
You have worked.	You have not worked.
He has worked.	He has not worked.
She has worked.	She has not worked.
It has worked.	It has not worked.
We have worked.	We have not worked.
They have worked.	They have not worked.

The following contractions are often used in spoken English:

Without Contractions	With Contractions
have not	haven't
has not	hasn't

c. Negative questions
In order to form a negative question, the auxiliary is placed before the subject, and the word not is placed after the subject. However, when contractions are used, the contracted form of not follows immediately after the auxiliary. For example:

Without Contractions	With Contractions
Have I not worked?	Haven't I worked?
Have you not worked?	Haven't you worked?
Has he not worked?	Hasn't he worked?
Has she not worked?	Hasn't she worked?
Has it not worked?	Hasn't it worked?
Have we not worked?	Haven't we worked?
Have they not worked?	Haven't they worked?

d. Tag questions
Tag questions are also formed using the auxiliary. In the following examples, the negative tag questions are underlined.

Affirmative Statement	Affirmative Statement with Tag Question
I have worked.	I have worked, haven't I?
You have worked.	You have worked, haven't you?
He has worked.	He has worked, hasn't he?
She has worked.	She has worked, hasn't she?
It has worked.	It has worked, hasn't it?
We have worked.	We have worked, haven't we?
They have worked.	They have worked, haven't they?

Exercise:
Following the model of the examples, rewrite the following affirmative statements as questions, negative statements, negative questions without contractions, negative questions with contractions, and affirmative statements followed by negative tag questions. 

For example:
      I have read this book.
      Have I read this book?
      I have not read this book.
      Have I not read this book?
      Haven't I read this book?
      I have read this book, haven't I?

      He has found the answer.
      Has he found the answer?
      He has not found the answer.
      Has he not found the answer?
      Hasn't he found the answer?
      He has found the answer, hasn't he? Answers: 
1. Have they eaten the cookies? They have not eaten the cookies. Have they not eaten the cookies? Haven't they eaten the cookies? They have eaten the cookies, haven't they? 

2. Has she told the truth? She has not told the truth. Has she not told the truth? Hasn't she told the truth? She has told the truth, hasn't she? 

3. Has he run fast? He has not run fast. Has he not run fast? Hasn't he run fast? He has run fast, hasn't he? 

4. Have we watered the plants? We have not watered the plants. Have we not watered the plants? Haven't we watered the plants? We have watered the plants, haven't we? 

5. Have you hurried? You have not hurried. Have you not hurried? Haven't you hurried? You have hurried, haven't you?

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Present Perfect: Past Participle of Irregular Verbs

Formation of the present perfect: Irregular verbs
In addition to regular English verbs, there are many irregular English verbs, which do not form the past participle with the ending ed. The English irregular verbs are related to the strong verbs of the German language. The following are examples of irregular English verbs. For example:

Bare Infinitive	Past Participle
begin	begun
find	found
go	gone
let	let
take	taken

The past participles of irregular English verbs are formed in an unpredictable manner, and must be memorized. A table of common English irregular verbs is provided.

Except for the irregularity of the past participle, the formation of the Present Perfect tense is the same for an irregular verb as for a regular verb. In both cases, the Simple Present of the auxiliary to have is followed by the past participle of the verb.

For instance, the irregular verb to take has the past participle taken. Thus, the Present Perfect of the irregular verb to take is conjugated as follows:

I have taken

you have taken

he has taken

she has taken

it has taken

we have taken

they have taken

Exercise:
Referring to the table of irregular verbs if necessary, fill in the blanks with the Present Perfect tense of the irregular verbs shown in brackets. 

For example:
      They _________ tall. (to grow)
      They have grown tall.

      He __________ it. (to choose)
      He has chosen it.

Answers:
1. have eaten   2. have swept   3. has sung   4. have gone   5. have lost   6. has risen   7. have spoken 8. have seen   9. have known   10. has flown   11. has been   12. have cut   13. have written   14. have won   15. has told   16. has taken   17. have forgotten   18. have heard   19. have left   20. has understood

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Present Perfect: Adding 'ed' to Verbs (Part 2)

Spelling rules for adding ed to form the past participle

Verbs ending in a single consonant preceded by a single vowel
The rules concerning the doubling of final consonants which apply when adding the ending ing to form the present participle also apply when adding the ending ed to form the past participle.

Thus, when a one-syllable verb ends in a single consonant other than w, x or y immediately preceded by a single vowel, the final consonant must be doubled before the ending ed is added to form the past participle. In the following examples, the consonants which have been doubled are underlined. For example:

Infinitive	Past Participle
to rub	rubbed
to trim	trimmed
to plan	planned
to stop	stopped

When a verb of more than one syllable ends in a single consonant other than w, x or y immediately preceded by a single vowel, the final consonant is doubled before the ending ed only when the last syllable of the verb is pronounced with the heaviest stress. In the following examples, the syllables pronounced with the heaviest stress are underlined. For example:

Infinitive	Past Participle
to control	controlled
to infer	inferred
to occur	occurred
to permit	permitted
to fasten	fastened
to order	ordered
to focus	focused
to limit	limited

In the first four examples, the last syllable of the verb is pronounced with the heaviest stress, and the final consonant is doubled before ed is added. In the last four examples, the first syllable of the verb is pronounced with the heaviest stress, and the final consonant is not doubled before ed is added.

The final consonants w, x and y are never doubled when the ending ed is added. For example:

Infinitive	Past Participle
to follow	followed
to box	boxed
to portray	portrayed

It should also be noted that final consonants immediately preceded by two vowels are not doubled when the ending ed is added. For example:

Infinitive	Past Participle
to greet	greeted
to rain	rained
to soak	soaked
to treat	treated

Exercise:
Paying attention to the spelling of the past participles, fill in the blanks using the Present Perfect tense of the regular verbs shown in brackets. 

For example: 
He __________ the child. (to scare) He has scared the child.
They ____________ the hillside. (to scar) They have scarred the hillside.




Answers:
1. has apologized     2. have stirred     3. has stopped     4. have explained     5. have planned     6. have wiped     7. have pinned     8. has joined     9. have spotted     10. has rained     11. have whipped   12. has arranged

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