Simple Past Tense Exercise for Class 9

We use the simple past tense to talk about short, quickly finished actions in the past. The simple past tense can also be used to talk about repeated events and longer situations.

Note that the simple past does not indicate continuity of any kind. It is only used to talk about finished actions or situations.

• He grew up in California.
• I met Rahul in the morning.
• She won the first prize in the competition.

The simple past tense is often used with time expressions referring to finished periods of time. Examples are: yesterday, last night, last week, two years ago, in the 19th century etc.

In the simple past tense, we make questions and negatives with did.

• I met Jane yesterday. (Affirmative)
• Did I meet Jane yesterday? (Question) (NOT Did I met Jane yesterday?)
• I did not meet Jane yesterday. (Negative) (NOT I did not met Jane yesterday.)

Simple Past Tense Exercise

Make interrogative and negative sentences in the simple past tense.

1. India defeated Australia to win the World Cup Cricket Championship.

2. Aruna went to the market to buy some flowers.

3. Ravi broke another window yesterday.

4. The cat drank the milk.

5. The girl spoke about her dreams.

6. He wrote a poem yesterday.

7. Rani applied for the job.

8. Meera spent her childhood in Kerala.

9. Vinayak won the first prize in the quiz competition.

10. The worker fell off the ladder.

Answers

1. India did not defeat Australia to win the World Cup Cricket Championship. / Did India defeat Australia to win the World Cup Cricket Championship?

2. Aruna did not go to the market to buy some flowers. / Did Aruna go to the market to buy some flowers?

3. Ravi did not break another window yesterday. / Did Ravi break another window yesterday?

4. The cat did not drink the milk. / Did the cat drink the milk?

5. The girl did not speak about her dreams. / Did the girl speak about her dreams?

6. He did not write a poem yesterday. / Did he write a poem yesterday?

7. Rani did not apply for the job. / Did Rani apply for the job?

8. Meera did not spend her childhood in Kerala. / Did Meera spend her childhood in Kerala?

9. Vinayak did not win the first prize in the quiz competition. (Negative) / Did Vinayak win the first prize in the competition? (Interrogative)

10. The worker did not fall off the ladder. (Negative) / Did the worker fall off the ladder? (Interrogative)