Past Tenses

Why A is correct:
"Last night" refers to the past, so you need the simple past tense. "I worked" correctly uses past tense.

Why the others are wrong:
- B (I study): Present tense—doesn't match "last night" (past time)
- C (I am playing): Present continuous—describes what's happening now, not what happened in the past
- D (I have been sleeping): Present perfect continuous—describes something that started in the past but is still happening now, which doesn't fit a completed action from last night

# Explanation

A. Yes, I did ✓
This is correct. The question uses simple past tense ("Did you work?"), so the answer must match with the same tense ("Yes, I did").

B. No, I did
Wrong because "I did" means you worked, which contradicts "No."

C. Yes, I have
Wrong tense. "I have" is present perfect, but the question asks about simple past. You need "did" to match the question.

D. No, I haven't
Wrong tense. Same issue—the question uses "did" (simple past), not "have" (present perfect).

Correct answer: She was

"Was" is the past simple form of "to be" used with singular pronouns like she, he, and I.

Why the others are wrong:
- She is – "is" is present simple, not past
- She were – "were" is only used with plural pronouns (they, we) or in conditional situations (if she were...)
- She been – "been" is the past participle and must be used with a helping verb (has been, was being), not alone

We were is correct because "were" is the past simple form of "to be" used with plural pronouns like "we."

• We are is present tense, not past
• We be is not a real verb form in English grammar
• We have been is present perfect tense, which combines "have" with a past participle

A. visited ✓

Regular verbs in English form the past simple by adding -ed to the base form. "Visit" + "ed" = "visited."

Why the others are wrong:
- B. visiting – This is the present participle (used with "is/are"), not past simple
- C. visitied – Misspelled; you don't double the final consonant with "visit" (only one 't')
- D. visit – This is the base/present form, not past tense

Correct answer: A. went

"Went" is the irregular past simple form of "go" — when we talk about something that already happened, we say "I went to the store yesterday."

Why the others are wrong:
- B. going — This is the present participle (used with "is/are"), not past simple
- C. gone — This is the past participle (used with "have/has"), not past simple
- D. goes — This is present simple (third person), not past simple

A is correct: "I was watching the game" uses past continuous tense (was + -ing), which is the right grammar for describing an action in progress at a specific time in the past.

B is wrong: "I am cooking" is present tense, but the question asks about last night (past).

C is wrong: "I have been sleeping" is present perfect continuous, which doesn't fit a specific past time like "8 PM last night."

D is wrong: "I am studying" is present tense, same problem as B—it doesn't describe the past.

A. I was playing basketball ✓

This uses past continuous tense (was + -ing), which is the correct grammar for describing an action that was happening at a specific moment in the past.

Why the others are wrong:

• B. "I am watching TV" uses present tense, but the phone rang in the past
• C. "We were reading" uses the correct tense but the wrong person (we/plural instead of I)
• D. "I have been sleeping" uses present perfect continuous, which doesn't fit a specific past moment

A. ate ✓
This is correct because "eat" is an irregular verb, and its past simple form is "ate" (not formed by adding -ed like regular verbs).

B. eating ✗
This is the present participle (used with "is/are"), not the past simple.

C. eated ✗
This looks like a regular past tense, but "eat" is irregular so we don't add -ed.

D. eaten ✗
This is the past participle, used with "have/has" (e.g., "I have eaten"), not the simple past.

• A. drank ✓ Correct. "Drank" is the simple past tense of "drink" — use it for completed actions (e.g., "I drank coffee this morning").

• B. drinking ✗ This is the present participle (used with "is/are" or as a gerund), not past tense.

• C. drunk ✗ This is the past participle — use it only with "have/has/had" (e.g., "I have drunk").

• D. drinked ✗ "Drink" is an irregular verb, so it doesn't follow the regular "-ed" pattern.

Correct answer: A. I was

"Was" is the past simple form of "to be" for first person singular (I). When talking about something that already happened, you say "I was at home yesterday," not in the present.

Why the others are wrong:
- B (I am) — This is present tense, not past
- C (I be) — This is the base form of the verb; it's not conjugated for any tense
- D (I were) — This is used with "I" only in conditional or subjunctive situations (like "If I were you..."), not for simple past statements

Correct answer: A. You were

• "Were" is the correct past simple form of "to be" when used with "you" (whether singular or plural in modern English).
• B is wrong: "Be" is the base/infinitive form, not past tense.
• C is wrong: "Are" is present tense, not past tense.
• D is wrong: "Was" is past tense, but only used with "I" and "he/she/it"—never with "you."

A. He was ✓

• "Was" is the correct past simple form of "to be" for third-person singular pronouns like "he," "she," and "it."
• B is wrong: "Is" is present simple, not past.
• C is wrong: "Were" is used with plural subjects (we, they) or in conditional sentences; it's never correct for "he."
• D is wrong: "Be" is the base form of the verb, not conjugated for any specific tense or pronoun.

Correct answer: It was
"Was" is the past simple form of "to be" for singular pronouns like "it" (also "I," "he," "she"). This is the standard past tense.

Why the others are wrong:
- It is — This is present tense, not past
- It were — "Were" is used only for plural subjects (they, we, you) or in hypothetical situations ("if it were..."); it's not the standard past form for "it"
- It be — This is the base form of the verb, not conjugated for any tense

A. We were ✓

• "Were" is the correct past simple form for plural subjects like "we" (e.g., "We were at the party yesterday").
• B is wrong: "Are" is present tense, not past tense.
• C is wrong: "Was" only goes with singular subjects (I, he, she, it)—never with "we."
• D is wrong: "Be" is the base form, not past tense.

Correct answer: They were

"Were" is the past simple form of "to be" used with plural pronouns like "they." When talking about something that already happened, you say "they were," not "they are" (present) or "they was" (incorrect—"was" only goes with singular "I/he/she/it").

Why the others are wrong:
- B. They are — This is present tense, not past
- C. They was — "Was" is only for singular pronouns (I, he, she, it); "they" is plural so it needs "were"
- D. They be — This is base form, not past tense

A. I visited London ✓

This is correct because the question asks about 1998 (past time), so you need the past tense. "Visited" is the past tense of "visit."

Why the others are wrong:
- B. "I do" – Incomplete and doesn't answer what you did; missing the action entirely.
- C. "I am going to London" – This is future tense ("am going to"), but 1998 is in the past.
- D. "I visit London" – This is present tense, describing something you do regularly now, not something that happened in 1998.

A. I went to see a film ✓

Why A is correct:
- Uses past tense "went" to describe yesterday (a past time)
- "See a film" is the correct collocation/phrase in English

Why the others are wrong:
- B. "I do" – Incomplete and doesn't answer the question; uses present tense
- C. "I visited a film" – Wrong verb; you "visit" places, not films
- D. "I see a film" – Present tense doesn't match "yesterday" (which is past)

A. She was working ✓

This uses the past continuous tense (was + -ing), which describes an action that continued for a period of time in the past—perfect for "for hours."

Why the others are wrong:
- B. She working — Missing the verb "was"; grammatically incomplete
- C. She did work — This is past simple, which shows a completed action, not an ongoing activity lasting for hours
- D. She is working — This is present continuous; it describes what's happening now, not what happened in the past

A. She was cooking ✓

This uses the past continuous tense (was + -ing), which describes an action that was already in progress when another past event happened. Since someone arrived and interrupted her cooking, she must have been in the middle of it.

B. She cooked ✗
Simple past suggests the cooking was finished before we arrived—doesn't show it was happening at that moment.

C. She did cook ✗
This emphasizes that cooking happened, but doesn't indicate it was ongoing when we came.

D. She is cooking ✗
Present tense is wrong; we need past tense since this already happened.

A. went ✓
"Went" is the correct past simple form of "go." It's an irregular verb, so it doesn't follow the standard -ed pattern.

B. goes ✗
This is third person present tense (he/she/it goes), not past tense.

C. goed ✗
This incorrectly applies the regular past tense ending. "Go" is irregular, so you can't just add -ed.

D. gone ✗
This is the past participle form, used with "have" (e.g., "I have gone"), not the past simple tense.

A. did ✓

"Did" is the correct past simple form of "do." It's an irregular verb, so it doesn't follow the standard "-ed" pattern.

Why the others are wrong:
- B. does — This is present simple (third person singular: "he/she does"), not past.
- C. done — This is the past participle, used with helping verbs like "have done" or "has done."
- D. doed — Not a real word; regular verbs add "-ed" to form the past, but "do" is irregular.

A. saw ✓
"Saw" is the past simple form—use it for completed actions in the past (e.g., "I saw a movie yesterday").

Why the others are wrong:
- B. sees – This is present simple, third person (e.g., "She sees a doctor").
- C. seen – This is the past participle; use it with "have/has/had" (e.g., "I have seen").
- D. seeing – This is the present participle; use it with "is/are/was/were" (e.g., "I am seeing").

A. had ✓

Why this is correct:
"Had" is the past simple form of "have." Use it for all subjects when talking about the past: "I had," "she had," "they had."

Why the others are wrong:
- B. has — This is present simple (third person singular), not past
- C. have — This is present simple (base form/plural), not past
- D. has had — This is present perfect, which combines present + past, not simple past