Grammar Games Speed Round
Past Simple Game
Turn yesterday's stories into a quick game of verbs, negatives and questions.
READY WHEN YOU ARE
Choose your run
No sign-up. Just a quick round and the corrections that matter.
Keep learning
Play first. Understand every answer.
The round is short; the corrections are the lesson. Use the guide below whenever you want a refresher.
How to play
- Choose Practice for an untimed round or Challenge for a timed round with three lives.
- Practice lets you choose a difficulty. Challenge mixes all three levels in a 12-question round.
- Read each correction, then replay the questions you missed or continue to the full Simple Past Exercises.
Grammar guide
Past Simple Game: rules and examples
Use the past simple to talk about actions and situations that finished at a finished time. This past simple game puts regular and irregular verbs, negatives, questions and was/were into short sentences, so you practise choosing the form that fits.
01
Affirmative: regular and irregular past forms
Regular verbs usually add -ed. Irregular verbs have special past forms to learn. Apart from be (was/were), the past form is the same for I, you, he, she, we and they.
We visited our friends yesterday.
Visit is regular: visited.She went home last night.
Go is irregular: went.
02
Negative: didn't plus the base verb
Put didn't before the base form of an action verb. The past marker is already in did, so the next verb does not change.
Incorrect
I didn't watched the film.Correct I didn't watch the film.
Use watch after didn't.Incorrect
She didn't went yesterday.Correct She didn't go yesterday.
Use go after didn't.
03
Questions: did before the subject
Start most past simple questions with Did. After the subject, keep the action verb in its base form. Put a question word before did when needed.
Did you visit them last week?
Did + you + visit.Incorrect
Where did she went?Correct Where did she go?
Use go, not went, after did.
04
Past be: was and were
Be follows a different pattern. Use was with I/he/she/it and were with you/we/they. For negatives and questions, do not add did.
He was at home yesterday.
Was matches he.Incorrect
Did they were late?Correct Were they late?
Move were before they.
05
Finished times and common mistakes
Yesterday, last week, two days ago and a finished year point to the past simple. In standard English, do not pair present perfect with a finished time such as yesterday.
Incorrect
I have seen her yesterday.Correct I saw her yesterday.
Yesterday calls for saw.Incorrect
They stoped for lunch last Friday.Correct They stopped for lunch last Friday.
Double p in stopped.
FAQ
Is this past simple game free?
Yes. Play as many rounds as you want without creating an account.
What does the past simple game practise?
It covers regular and irregular verbs, didn't + base verb, questions with did, was/were and common spelling changes.
What is the difference between past simple and present perfect?
Past simple often names a finished time: I saw her yesterday. Present perfect does not normally go with yesterday: I have seen her before.
Can I use this game in class?
Yes. Play a Practice round on a shared screen and discuss each correction, or use Challenge as a short group review. The linked exercises offer a longer follow-up activity.
Can I replay this past tense game or try other activities?
Yes. Replay missed questions, start another 12-question round or open the related Simple Past Exercises for more practice formats.
Does this game save my result?
Your best Challenge score is stored in this browser, not in your account.