Exercises with the Simple Past Tense
I. Complete the following texts with the appropriate past forms of the verbs in parentheses.
The First Born
Lily _______________ (be) Bob and Dorothy’s first child. When Dorothy _______________ (become) pregnant, the couple immediately _______________ (begin) to prepare for the baby. They _______________ (go) shopping for baby furniture and _______________ (buy) toys and playthings. Dorothy _______________ (make) little clothes and blankets. And when Baby Lily _______________ (come / finally) into the world, the happy parents _______________ (fall) in love with their precious child. They _______________ (take) pictures of Baby Lily’s first smile, step, and birthday party. At bedtime, they _______________ (sit) and _______________ (hold) her and _______________ (tell) her little stories and _______________ (read) her books and _______________ (sing) her lullabies. They _______________ (wake) up in an instant if they _______________ (hear) her cry during the night. They _______________ (write) letters and _______________ (send) cards to friends and relatives detailing every little thing Lily _______________ (do). In fact, her parents _______________ (give) Lily their complete attention. That is, until her sister, Cathy, _______________ (be) born two years later.
Youngest Children
Jane _______________ (be) the youngest of Dorothy and Bob’s children. Because of her special position as the “baby of the family,” Jane _______________ (get / always) lots of attention. Her mother _______________ (carry) her often, her father _______________ (hold) her on his lap, and her brothers and sisters _______________ (take) turns watching her. All the neighborhood children _______________ (play) with her and _______________ (teach) her games and songs and stories. Everyone _______________ (spoil) her.
As parents, Dorothy and Bob _______________ (be) more relaxed and experienced by that time, so they _______________ (not worry) so much about every sniffle and whimper. Because of this, Jane _______________ (grow) up in a freer, more easy-going environment with fewer rules. Jane’s parents _______________ (permit) her to do many things at a younger age, but at the same time, they _______________ (not demand) as much help from her. This _______________ (cause / often) problems between Jane and her siblings. “When I _______________ (be) her age, I _______________ (clean) the house, I _______________ (wash) the dishes, I _______________ (sweep) the floor, I _______________ (scrub) the bathtub, and I _______________ (iron) clothes.” These _______________ (be) common complaints in their household.
Jane _______________ (develop) all the characteristics of youngest children. She _______________ (become) an optimist and _______________ (expect) good things form life. She _______________ (think / frequently) rules _______________ (be) for other people, though –not for her. Sometimes, she _______________ (doubt) her own intellect and _______________ (go) to other people for help or advice. Of all the siblings, Jane _______________ (be) the most lighthearted and playful.
Twins
Mary and Daisy _______________ (be) born only moments apart. The twin girls _______________ (show) both great similarities and great differences from the moment of birth. Mary and Daisy _______________ (weight) about the same at birth. They _______________ (eat) about the same amount, and they _______________ (have) similar sleep patterns, and they _______________ (cry) at about the same time. But that’s where many of the similarities _______________ (end). As babies, Mary _______________ (want / always) attention, but Daisy _______________ (enjoy) sitting or lying quietly. Mary _______________ (need) to move a lot and play, but Daisy _______________ (prefer) to be held. Mary _______________ (insist) on being active. Daisy _______________ (seem / usually) happiest in quiet times. At birth, Mary and Daisy _______________ (share) many characteristics, but the two girls _______________ (develop) very different personalities.
Respuestas a la pregunta
Respuesta:
Lily __was___ (be) Bob and Dorothy’s first child. When Dorothy __became_____ (become) pregnant, the couple immediately __began____ (begin) to prepare for the baby. They _went___ (go) shopping for baby furniture and ___bought___ (buy) toys and playthings. Dorothy __made__ (make) little clothes and blankets. And when Baby Lily _came__ (come / finally) into the world, the happy parents fell__ (fall) in love with their precious child. They _took__ (take) pictures of Baby Lily’s first smile, step, and birthday party. At bedtime, they _sat (sit) and ___held___ (hold) her and __told_____ (tell) her little stories and _read_____ (read) her books and sang___ (sing) her lullabies. They woke___ (wake) up in an instant if they __heard__ (hear) her cry during the night. They _wrote______ (write) letters and _sent___ (send) cards to friends and relatives detailing every little thing Lily _did____ (do). In fact, her parents __gave___ (give) Lily their complete attention. That is, until her sister, Cathy, _was_____ (be) born two years later.
Youngest Children
Jane __was___ (be) the youngest of Dorothy and Bob’s children. Because of her special position as the “baby of the family,” Jane __got__ (get / always) lots of attention. Her mother __carried___ (carry) her often, her father _held___ (hold) her on his lap, and her brothers and sisters __took___ (take) turns watching her. All the neighborhood children __played_ (play) with her and __taught___ (teach) her games and songs and stories. Everyone _spoiled___ (spoil) her.
As parents, Dorothy and Bob _were____ (be) more relaxed and experienced by that time, so they _didn't worry__ (not worry) so much about every sniffle and whimper. Because of this, Jane _grew_ (grow) up in a freer, more easy-going environment with fewer rules. Jane’s parents _permited__ (permit) her to do many things at a younger age, but at the same time, they _didn't demand___ (not demand) as much help from her. This _caused___ (cause / often) problems between Jane and her siblings. “When I _was___ (be) her age, I _cleaned_ (clean) the house, I _washed___ (wash) the dishes, I _swept__ (sweep) the floor, I __scrubbed____ (scrub) the bathtub, and I __ironed_____ (iron) clothes.” These _were___ (be) common complaints in their household.
Jane ____developed_ (develop) all the characteristics of youngest children. She __became_ (become) an optimist and _expexct__ (expect) good things form life. She _thought___ (think / frequently) rules were__ (be) for other people, though –not for her. Sometimes, she _doubted____ (doubt) her own intellect and _went___ (go) to other people for help or advice. Of all the siblings, Jane __was_ (be) the most lighthearted and playful.
Twins
Mary and Daisy __were_ (be) born only moments apart. The twin girls _showered___ (show) both great similarities and great differences from the moment of birth. Mary and Daisy ____weighed (weight) about the same at birth. They __ate_______ (eat) about the same amount, and they ___had___ (have) similar sleep patterns, and they __cried_ (cry) at about the same time. But that’s where many of the similarities__ended__ (end). As babies, Mary __wanted__ (want / always) attention, but Daisy _enjoyed____ (enjoy) sitting or lying quietly. Mary ___needed___ (need) to move a lot and play, but Daisy ___prefered__ (prefer) to be held. Mary ____insisted_ (insist) on being active. Daisy ______seemed___ (seem / usually) happiest in quiet times. At birth, Mary and Daisy ____shared__ (share) many characteristics, but the two girls ____were___ (develop) very different personalities.