Past Simple And Past Perfect Exercises Worksheets

What is the Past Simple tense?

The Past Simple tense is used to talk about completed actions in the past. It is formed by adding “-ed” to regular verbs. For example, “I walked to school yesterday.”

What is the Past Perfect tense?

The Past Perfect tense is used to talk about an action that happened before another action in the past. It is formed by using “had” followed by the past participle of the verb. For example, “I had already eaten when she arrived.”

Exercise 1: Past Simple or Past Perfect?

In this exercise, you need to choose whether to use the Past Simple or the Past Perfect tense in the given sentences. Remember to consider the sequence of events.

1. She __________ (finish) her homework before she went to bed.
2. He __________ (arrive) at the party after everyone had left.
3. They __________ (watch) a movie before they had dinner.
4. I __________ (meet) him before he moved to another city.

Exercise 2: Fill in the Blanks

In this exercise, you need to fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verb in either Past Simple or Past Perfect tense.

1. She __________ (not, see) the movie before, so she decided to watch it.
2. We __________ (already, eat) dinner when they called us to join them.
3. He __________ (not, finish) his work on time, so he had to stay late.
4. They __________ (not, visit) that museum until last month.

Exercise 3: Rewrite the Sentences

In this exercise, you need to rewrite the sentences using either the Past Simple or the Past Perfect tense.

1. I studied French for three years, and then I traveled to France. (Past Perfect)
2. The train left the station before I arrived. (Past Simple)
3. They found the lost keys after they had searched everywhere. (Past Perfect)
4. She cooked dinner before her guests arrived. (Past Simple)

Practice these exercises to improve your understanding and usage of the Past Simple and Past Perfect tenses. Remember to pay attention to the sequence of events and use the correct tense accordingly.