Simple Past/ Past Perfect

Verb Tense Worksheet 1

Simple Past / Past Perfect 

Using the verbs in brackets, complete the sentences with the correct past tense.

1. When I (wake up) ______ this morning, the sun (rise) ______ already.

2. She (finish) ______ her homework before she (go) ______ to bed.

3. By the time we (arrive) ______ at the theater, the movie (start) ______ already.

4. They (eat) ______ dinner before they (watch) ______ the movie.

5. After he (complete) ______ his project, he (submit) ______ it to the teacher.

6. I (forget) ______ my keys after I (lock) ______ the door.

7. She (read) ______ the book before she (see) ______ the movie.

8. We (miss) ______ the bus because we (leave) ______ the house too late.

9. He (lose) ______ his wallet before he (reach) ______ the station.

10. They (clean) ______ the house before their parents (return) ______.

11. The teacher (grade) ______ all the papers before she (go) ______ home.

12. After we (finish) ______ our dinner, we (decide) ______ to go for a walk.

13. The children (play) ______ in the park after they (finish) ______ their homework.

14. I (hear) ______ the news after I (wake up) ______ in the morning.

15. She (pack) ______ her bags before she (leave) ______ for the trip.

16. We (complete) ______ the project before the deadline (pass) ______.

17. He (tell) ______ me that he (see) ______ the movie before.

18. By the time I (get) ______ to the store, it (close) ______ already.

19. The team (celebrate) ______ their victory after they (win) ______ the game.

20. She (arrive) ______ at the party after everyone (eat) ______ dinner.

Verb Tense Exercise 2

Simple Past / Past Perfect

Using the words in parentheses, complete the text below with the appropriate tenses.

I can't believe I (get) ______ that new puppy. I (visit) ______ the animal shelter last week, but I didn't think I would actually be able to adopt one. When I (arrive) ______ at the shelter, there were at least ten other people who (come) ______ before me. Most of them (choose, already) ______ their pets and were filling out the adoption papers. The staff said I could still look around, so I did.

I (try) ______ to choose a puppy, but I couldn't decide because they were all so cute. They (ask) ______ me to fill out an adoption form, but I didn't have all the information they needed. They (want) ______ me to include references, but I didn't want to list my neighbor because we (have) ______ some disagreements in the past and I knew she wouldn't recommend me. I (end) ______ up listing my teacher as a reference.

It was total luck that they (decide) ______ to let me adopt the puppy. It turns out that one of the staff members and my teacher (work) ______ together at the same school. She decided that I could have the puppy before they (check) ______ all my references. I really lucked out!

Answer to Verb Tense Worksheet 1

1. When I (wake up) woke up this morning, the sun (rise) had risen already.

2. She (finish) had finished her homework before she (go) went to bed.

3. By the time we (arrive) arrived at the theater, the movie (start) had started already.

4. They (eat) had eaten dinner before they (watch) watched the movie.

5. After he (complete) had completed his project, he (submit) submitted it to the teacher.

6. I (forget) had forgotten my keys after I (lock) locked the door.

7. She (read) had read the book before she (see) saw the movie.

8. We (miss) missed the bus because we (leave) had left the house too late.

9. He (lose) had lost his wallet before he (reach) reached the station.

10. They (clean) had cleaned the house before their parents (return) returned.

11. The teacher (grade) had graded all the papers before she (go) went home.

12. After we (finish) had finished our dinner, we (decide) decided to go for a walk.

13. The children (play) played in the park after they (finish) had finished their homework.

14. I (hear) heard the news after I (wake up) woke up in the morning.

15. She (pack) had packed her bags before she (leave) left for the trip.

16. We (complete) had completed the project before the deadline (pass) passed.

17. He (tell) told me that he (see) had seen the movie before.

18. By the time I (get) got to the store, it (close) had closed already.

19. The team (celebrate) celebrated their victory after they (win) had won the game.

20. She (arrive) arrived at the party after everyone (eat) had eaten dinner.

Answer to Verb Tense Worksheet 2

I can't believe I (get) got that new puppy. I (visit) had visited the animal shelter last week, but I didn't think I would actually be able to adopt one. When I (arrive) arrived at the shelter, there were at least ten other people who (come) had come before me. Most of them (choose, already) had already chosen their pets and were filling out the adoption papers. The staff said I could still look around, so I did.

I (try) tried to choose a puppy, but I couldn't decide because they were all so cute. They (ask) had asked me to fill out an adoption form, but I didn't have all the information they needed. They (want) wanted me to include references, but I didn't want to list my neighbor because we (have) had had some disagreements in the past and I knew she wouldn't recommend me. I (end) ended up listing my teacher as a reference.

It was total luck that they (decide) decided to let me adopt the puppy. It turns out that one of the staff members and my teacher (work) had worked together at the same school. She decided that I could have the puppy before they (check) had checked all my references. I really lucked out!