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Do you call yourself a Grammar expert? How good is your knowledge of simple past forms of verbs? Try the quiz below and test your understanding of the past simple verb forms. The simple past (or past indefinite, sometimes called the preterite) is the basic form of the past tense in Modern English. It is used to describe the events that happened in the past. Do you think you can easily tell the past form of any verb? Here's a quick test to prove your knowledge.
Questions and Answers
1.
The simple past of Be is
A.
Beed
B.
Was / beed
C.
Was / were
D.
Being
Correct Answer
C. Was / were
Explanation The simple past of the verb "be" is "was" for singular subjects (I, he, she, it) and "were" for plural subjects (we, you, they). This is because "was" and "were" are the past tense forms of "be" in English.
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2.
The simple past of Give is
A.
Gave
B.
Given
C.
Giving
D.
Have given
Correct Answer
A. Gave
Explanation The simple past tense of the verb "give" is "gave." This form is used to describe an action that occurred in the past. For example, "She gave me a gift yesterday." The past participle of "give" is "given," which is used in combination with auxiliary verbs to form different tenses. "Giving" is the present participle form of the verb, and "have given" is the present perfect tense.
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3.
The simple past of Ask is
A.
Has asked
B.
Asking
C.
Asked
D.
None of these
Correct Answer
C. Asked
Explanation The simple past of the verb "ask" is "asked". This form is used to indicate that the action of asking occurred in the past.
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4.
The simple past of Have is
A.
Had
B.
Has
C.
Heal
D.
Has done
Correct Answer
A. Had
Explanation The simple past of "have" is "had." This is because "had" is the past tense form of the verb "have." In English grammar, the simple past tense is used to describe actions that happened and were completed in the past. Therefore, in this case, "had" is the correct answer as it correctly represents the past tense of "have."
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5.
The simple past of Say is
A.
See
B.
Saw
C.
Saying
D.
Said
Correct Answer
D. Said
Explanation The correct simple past form of the verb "say" is "said." This is the correct answer because "said" is the past tense form of the verb "say." It is used to indicate that someone spoke or expressed something in the past. The other options, "see," "saw," and "saying," are not the correct past forms of "say" and do not fit the context of the question.
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6.
The simple past of Want is
A.
Wait
B.
Wants
C.
Wanting
D.
Wanted
Correct Answer
D. Wanted
Explanation The correct answer is "wanted" because in the simple past tense, we use the past form of the verb. "Wanted" is the past form of "want".
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7.
The simple past of Die is
A.
Died
B.
Dies
C.
Dying
D.
Deed
Correct Answer
A. Died
Explanation The simple past of "die" is "died" because in English grammar, regular verbs form their past tense by adding "-ed" to the base form of the verb. "Die" is a regular verb, so it follows this pattern. Therefore, the correct answer is "died."
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8.
The simple past of Swim is
A.
Swimming
B.
Swam
C.
Saw
D.
None of these
Correct Answer
B. Swam
Explanation The simple past of "swim" is "swam". This is the correct answer because "swam" is the past tense form of the verb "swim". In English, the simple past tense is used to describe actions that happened in the past and are completed. Therefore, when referring to an action of swimming that occurred in the past, "swam" is the appropriate verb form to use.
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9.
Which one do you like?
A.
Option 1
B.
Option 2
C.
Option 3
D.
Option 4
Correct Answer
B. Option 2
10.
The simple past of Break is
A.
Broke
B.
Breaks
C.
Breaking
D.
Broken
Correct Answer
A. Broke
Explanation The simple past of the verb "break" is "broke." This form is used to indicate that the action of breaking occurred in the past. For example, "I broke my phone yesterday." The other options, "breaks," "breaking," and "broken," are not the simple past forms of the verb, but rather present tense, present participle, and past participle forms respectively.
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11.
The simple past of Cost is
A.
Costen
B.
Costs
C.
Cost
D.
None of these
Correct Answer
C. Cost
Explanation The simple past of "cost" is "cost". This is the correct answer because "cost" is the past tense form of the verb "cost". In English grammar, the simple past is used to describe actions or events that happened in the past and are no longer happening. Therefore, when referring to the past tense of "cost", we use "cost" as the correct form.
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12.
The simple past of Cut is
A.
Cutten
B.
Cutted
C.
Cutting
D.
Cut
Correct Answer
D. Cut
Explanation The simple past of the verb "cut" is "cut". In English, regular verbs usually form their past tense by adding "-ed" to the base form, but "cut" is an irregular verb. Therefore, it does not follow the regular pattern and remains the same in the simple past tense.
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13.
The simple past of Do is
A.
Did
B.
Does
C.
Done
D.
Doing
Correct Answer
A. Did
Explanation The simple past of "do" is "did." In English grammar, the simple past tense is used to describe an action that happened in the past and is now completed. "Did" is the past tense form of "do" and is used when referring to an action that was done in the past.
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14.
The simple past of Draw is
A.
Drawing
B.
Drawn
C.
Driven
D.
Drew
Correct Answer
D. Drew
Explanation The simple past of "draw" is "drew." This is the correct answer because "drew" is the past tense form of the verb "draw." In the simple past tense, we use "drew" to indicate that an action happened in the past. For example, "He drew a beautiful picture yesterday."
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15.
The simple past of Eat is
A.
Eaten
B.
Ate
C.
Eating
D.
Eats
Correct Answer
B. Ate
Explanation The simple past of the verb "eat" is "ate". This form is used to describe an action that occurred in the past.
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16.
The simple past of Fall is
A.
Fell
B.
Falled
C.
Fallen
D.
Falling
Correct Answer
A. Fell
Explanation The simple past of the verb "fall" is "fell". This is the correct answer because "fell" is the past tense form of "fall". It is used to indicate an action that happened in the past. The other options, "falled", "fallen", and "falling" are not the correct past tense forms of "fall". "Falled" is not a word, "fallen" is the past participle form, and "falling" is the present participle form. Therefore, "fell" is the only correct option.
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17.
The simple past of Forget is
A.
Forgotten
B.
Forgets
C.
Forgot
D.
Forgave
Correct Answer
C. Forgot
Explanation The simple past of "forget" is "forgot". This is the correct answer because "forgot" is the past tense form of the verb "forget". It is used to indicate an action or event that occurred in the past.
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18.
The simple past of Hurt is
A.
Hurt
B.
Hurten
C.
Hurted
D.
Hurting
Correct Answer
A. Hurt
Explanation The simple past of "hurt" is "hurt". This is the correct answer because "hurt" is the past tense form of the verb "hurt". In English grammar, the simple past is used to describe actions or events that occurred and were completed in the past. Therefore, when referring to the past tense of "hurt", we use "hurt" as the correct form.
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19.
The simple past of Ride is
A.
Rode
B.
Ridden
C.
Read
D.
Road
Correct Answer
A. Rode
Explanation The simple past of "ride" is "rode". This is the correct answer because "rode" is the past tense form of "ride" when referring to the action of sitting on and controlling a moving vehicle or animal. "Ridden" is the past participle form, not the simple past. "Read" and "road" are unrelated words and do not represent the past tense of "ride".
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20.
The simple past of Keep is
A.
Keeps
B.
Kept
C.
Keeped
D.
None of these
Correct Answer
B. Kept
Explanation The simple past of "keep" is "kept" because "kept" is the correct past tense form of the verb "keep". In English, regular verbs typically form their past tense by adding -ed to the base form of the verb. However, "keep" is an irregular verb, so it does not follow this pattern. Instead, it changes its form to "kept" in the simple past tense.
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21.
The simple past of Sing is
A.
Sings
B.
Sung
C.
Sang
D.
Singing
Correct Answer
C. Sang
Explanation The simple past of the verb "sing" is "sang". This form is used to indicate an action that occurred in the past and is no longer happening. For example, "She sang a beautiful song at the concert last night." The other options, "sings", "sung", and "singing", are not correct because they do not represent the simple past tense of the verb.
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22.
The simple past of Become is
A.
Became
B.
Becomed
C.
Become
D.
Becoming
Correct Answer
A. Became
Explanation The simple past of the verb "become" is "became." This form is used to indicate that something happened or someone changed in the past. For example, "He became a doctor after years of studying." The other options, "becomed," "become," and "becoming," are not correct because they do not represent the past tense of the verb.
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23.
The simple past of Begin is
A.
Begined
B.
Began
C.
Begin
D.
Beginning
Correct Answer
B. Began
Explanation The simple past of "begin" is "began" because it follows the standard pattern for forming the past tense of regular verbs in English. The -ed ending is added to the base form of the verb to indicate past tense. In this case, "begin" becomes "began" in the simple past tense.
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24.
The simple past of Bite is
A.
Bit
B.
Bited
C.
Bite
D.
Bitten
Correct Answer
A. Bit
Explanation The simple past of the verb "bite" is "bit." This is the correct answer because in English, regular verbs typically form their simple past tense by adding "-ed" to the base form. However, "bite" is an irregular verb, which means it does not follow this rule. Instead, it undergoes a vowel change from "i" to "i" in the simple past form. Therefore, the correct simple past form of "bite" is "bit."
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25.
The simple past of Blow is
A.
Blowed
B.
Blew
C.
Blow
D.
Blows
Correct Answer
B. Blew
Explanation The simple past of "blow" is "blew." This is the correct answer because "blew" is the past tense form of the verb "blow." In English, when we talk about an action that happened in the past, we use the simple past tense. Therefore, to correctly express that the action of blowing occurred in the past, we use the word "blew."
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26.
The simple past of Break is
A.
Break
B.
Breaked
C.
Broke
D.
Broken
Correct Answer
C. Broke
Explanation The simple past of the verb "break" is "broke". This is because in English, regular verbs typically form their past tense by adding "-ed" to the base form. However, "break" is an irregular verb, so it does not follow this pattern. Instead, it changes its form to "broke" in the simple past tense.
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27.
The simple past of Bring is
A.
Bring
B.
Brought
C.
Bringed
D.
Brouged
Correct Answer
B. Brought
Explanation The simple past of the verb "bring" is "brought". This is the correct answer because "brought" is the past tense form of "bring". In English grammar, the simple past tense is used to talk about completed actions in the past. Thus, when referring to a past event of bringing something, "brought" is the appropriate verb form to use.
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28.
The simple past of Build is
A.
Build
B.
Builded
C.
Built
D.
Builted
Correct Answer
C. Built
Explanation The correct answer is "built". In English, the simple past tense of the verb "build" is formed by adding "-ed" to the base form of the verb. Therefore, "built" is the correct past tense form of "build".
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29.
The simple past of Burn is
A.
Burnt
B.
Burn
C.
Burned
D.
Burnned
Correct Answer
A. Burnt
Explanation The correct answer is "burnt." "Burnt" is the correct past tense form of the verb "burn" in British English. In American English, the past tense can also be "burned." However, "burnt" is more commonly used in British English.
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30.
The simple past of Buy is
A.
Buyed
B.
Buy
C.
Bought
D.
Brought
Correct Answer
C. Bought
Explanation The simple past of "buy" is "bought." This is the correct answer because "bought" is the past tense form of the verb "buy." In English, when we want to talk about an action that happened in the past, we use the simple past tense. In this case, if someone bought something in the past, we would say "they bought it."
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