Grammar - Past Tense

Fill in the blank: "She ___ to the store yesterday."

• goed

• had gone

• went

• goes

Answer explanation

"She ___ to the store yesterday."

Ans: went

"yesterday" is in the past.

Tags

CCSS.L.3.1D

CCSS.L.4.1B

CCSS.L.5.1.B-D

CCSS.L.5.1C

CCSS.L.5.1D

Fill in the blank: "He ___ the dog to the vet last week."

• took

• takes

• taken

• take

Answer explanation

"He ___ the dog to the vet last week."

Ans: took

"last week" implies that it happened in the past, so we have to use the past tense here.

Tags

CCSS.L.3.1D

CCSS.L.4.1B

CCSS.L.5.1.B-D

CCSS.L.5.1C

CCSS.L.5.1D

Fill in the blank: "I just ___ the bus when you called me."

• miss

• missing

• missed

• had missed

Answer explanation

"I just ___ the bus when you called me."

Ans: missed

"called" is in the past tense.

The event, "I missed the bus", happened around the same time as the other event, "you called me", so we can follow the same tense as "called", which is the past tense.

Tags

CCSS.L.4.1B

CCSS.L.5.1.B-D

CCSS.L.5.1B

CCSS.L.5.1C

CCSS.L.5.1D

Fill in the blank: "Dan ___ chicken rice when the phone rang."

• eat

• ate

• eats

• was eating

Answer explanation

"Dan ___ chicken rice when the phone rang."

Ans: was eating

"ate" would imply that Dan finished eating chicken rice when the phone rang. However, since the action is ongoing at the time the phone rang, "was eating" is more appropriate.

Tags

CCSS.L.3.1D

CCSS.L.4.1B

CCSS.L.5.1.B-D

CCSS.L.5.1C

CCSS.L.5.1D

Tim ___ to read in the library when he was younger. (like)

Tags

CCSS.L.3.1D

CCSS.L.4.1B

CCSS.L.5.1.B-D

CCSS.L.5.1C

CCSS.L.5.1D

Fill in the blank: "The cat ___ on the sofa."

• sleep

• sleeps

• sleeping

Answer explanation

"The cat ___ on the sofa."

Ans: sleeps

Present tense. "The cat" is singular.

Tags

CCSS.L.3.1E

CCSS.L.4.1B

CCSS.L.5.1.B-D

CCSS.L.5.1C

CCSS.L.5.1D

Fill in the blank: "The students ___ the exam last month."

• will take

• taking

• taken

• took

Answer explanation

"The students ___ the exam last month."

Ans: took

"last month" is in the past, so we have to use the past tense.

Tags

CCSS.L.3.1E

CCSS.L.4.1B

CCSS.L.5.1.B-D

CCSS.L.5.1C

CCSS.L.5.1D

Fill in the blank: "The concert had started before we ___ the venue."

• had reached

• reached

• reaching

• reach

Answer explanation

"The concert had started before we ___ the venue."

Ans: reached

Event 1: The concert started.

Event 2: We reached the venue.

Event 1 happened before Event 2 and Event 1 uses the past perfect tense, so Event 2 has to use the simple past tense.

Tags

CCSS.L.4.1B

CCSS.L.5.1.B-D

CCSS.L.5.1B

CCSS.L.5.1C

CCSS.L.5.1D

Fill in the blank: "By the time she arrived at the party, everyone ___."

• left

• leaves

• had left

• leaving

Answer explanation

"By the time she arrived at the party, everyone ___."

Ans: had left

Event 1: She arrived at the party

Event 2: Everyone left

Event 1 happened after Event 2, and Event 1 uses the past tense, so Event 2 has to use the past perfect tense.

Tags

CCSS.L.4.1B

CCSS.L.5.1.B-D

CCSS.L.5.1B

CCSS.L.5.1C

CCSS.L.5.1D

Fill in the blank: "The children ___ playing in the park when it started raining."

• was

• is

• were

• are

Answer explanation

"The children ___ playing in the park when it started raining."

Ans: were

Event 1: The children were playing in the park

Event 2: It started raining

Since Event 1 happened before Event 2 started, and Event 1 continued to happen, Event 1 uses the past continuous tense.

Tags

CCSS.L.3.1D

CCSS.L.4.1B

CCSS.L.5.1.B-D

CCSS.L.5.1C

CCSS.L.5.1D