A Short Past Tense Test

   Here are some sentences from the “Terrible Teacher“.  All should be in past tense. Two are correct, and the other six have a mistake. Can you find the mistakes?

  1. On the weekend, I payed five dollars for a soda.
  2. I fell happy on the weekend.
  3. My sister visited me at the hotel.
  4. There were a party last Saturday night at the hotel.
  5. The president of the association give a speech.
  6. We listen and smiled.
  7. The party was over before ten o’clock.
  8. The president leave the party at nine o’clock.

After you try to find the mistakes, you can look at the answers below…

 

The Answers

  1. Incorrect – payed should be paid. (The past tense of pay is paid.  It’s an irregular verb.)
  2. Incorrect – I felt happy on the weekend. (Fell and felt are often confused.  Fell is the past tense of fall.  Felt is the past tense of feel.)
  3. Correct
  4. Incorrect – There was a party (“party” is singular, so use “was“, not “were“.)
  5. Incorrect – gave a speech (The past tense of give is gave.)
  6. Incorrect – listened and smiled (Both verbs need to be past tense.)
  7. Correct
  8. Incorrect – The president left the party (The past tense of leave is left.)

There are many more tests like this that you can take on the Terrible Teacher web page.

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