Most Common Tasks on Past Simple and Present Simple

Learning English requires a lot of practice: both colloquial and grammar exercises. This will allow us not only to follow the jagged rules, but also to understand what is the correct order in the sentence, add the necessary endings, speak intuitively, and not think, translating every word spoken. A variety of tasks on Present Simple and Past Simple allows you to carefully check and apply all the learned rules.

Grammar Types

There are many different tests and exams to test the level of knowledge of tenses in the English language:

• choose the right option from the proposed;
• change the form of the verb (assignments in English to Past Simple and other tenses);
• put the whole offer at the specified time;
• choose the correct word order.

Above are just some of the most common types of exercises.

Tips for passing tests successfully

To get the highest grades, you can practice grammar and speech by doing small tests at least once a day. For their successful passage, you should adhere to several rules:

• Always re-read the sentence several times, preferably aloud. Sometimes, even at the level of intuition, you can understand where the error is, if you do not remember the right rule.
• When choosing from several options, you should not only answer the question of why A (for example) is correct, but also why the remaining ones are wrong.
• Tests often offer very similar or confusing options. Do not rush to see the first answer that suits your opinion.
• Read the instructions for the tasks carefully.

• When learning grammar, remember important nuances. For example: nouns often end in -ment, -ion, -ness, -ity.
• In tasks on Past Simple to change the form for the verb in quotation marks, ask yourself leading questions: is there a question or negation in the sentence, is the verb correct or not, is a passive form needed and the like.
• Recheck the work.

Simple present

Present and Past Simple are some of the easiest to learn. Present Simple is used in English for the following purposes:

• Repeating actions - this time is often used for continuous actions, words indicate this: always, never, often, every day (I often go home late).
• Simple statements of fact - when you need to state a fact or ask a question without reference to time (She speaks five languages).
• World truths - the laws of nature and the world are always spoken in Present Simple (Leaves fall in autumn).
• With verbs of feelings and mental processes, the most common: love, like, smell, know and others.

• In jokes and stories, the present simple time is very often used as a joke and when the story is told to make the story more direct. This use of the present tense is sometimes called visual presence. Also, time is used to retell events in a book or film.
• To turn to the future that is planned, or to events that are beyond our control (Hurry up, please! The bus departs in 15 minutes!).

Sample tasks on Present Simple

Fill in the table using the proposals already set:

From Past Simple, make Present Simple:

1. He wrote a story about animals. 2. Did you like that ice-cream? 3. The tree was huge and had green leafs. 4. She didn't want to go there. 5. Jane wanted to go to France on holiday. 6. Where was your jacket? 7. The bus came in time. 8. The weather was strangely fine. 9. He could do this task by himself. 10. I read that book too fast.

Put the words in the sentence in the correct order:

1. likes / Nancy / to / games / play.
2. so Candies tasty are.
3. have I of lot toys a.
4. about What know do stars you?
5. school doesn't to Steve go.

Past simple time

The past simple time is most often used:

• For actions that happened in the past - Past Simple is used for processes that have already happened; in the sentence this is often indicated by an auxiliary word indicating the elapsed time (last year, yesterday, ago).
• In a direct speech - if you were told something in the present tense, you will inform this information already in the past (She said she lived in London).
• In conditional sentences (If i knew it i would tell you).

The most difficult tasks on Past Simple are irregular verbs. These are words that in the past tense change their form (spelling or sound). Often used should be learned by memory, and for the rest have a special table with all the irregular verbs (send-sent-sent).

Past Simple Quests

Write the second form of the irregular verb: run, lose, lie, buy, put, meet, speak, know, hold.

Put past proposals:

1. They move to a new town.
2. She sells toys.
3. Do you go there?
4. I don't play chess.
5. He fights for freedom.

Task on Past Simple - choose a word from brackets:

1. I visited my aunt (yesterday / tommorrow).
2. He (selled / sold) all his cars.
3. Did they (payed / pay) for a bill?
4. (Did / Does) she go there last night?
5. Students (was / were) very noisy.