Exercise 1: Complete the sentences with there was or there were in affirmative, negative or question form.

1. ________________ a new student in your class last week? Yes, ________________.

2. ________________ any students in the library at 3 o'clock yesterday.

3. I think ________________ a boy waiting for you yesterday.

4. ________________ any chicken left when I arrived home at lunchtime.

5. ________________ any water in the fridge last night? I don't think so.

6. ________________ any people at the museum?

Exercise 2: Fill in the blanks with was, were, there was or there were.

1. William Shakespeare ________________ a famous poet and playwright.

2. ________________ some people waiting for you at the door.

3. How many apples ________________ in the cupboard?

4. We ________________ very tired when we finished the PE lesson.

5. Your sister ________________ at the cinema with her friends last Friday.

6. How much milk ________________ in the fridge yesterday?

7. Miguel de Cervantes ________________ born in 1920.

8. The police ________________ investigating a crime in my area.

9. ________________ a lot of people at the concert last night.

10. We ________________ happy with the exam results.

Exercise 3: Give the past form of the following verbs.

1. meet → __________

2. do → __________

3. laugh → __________

4. help → __________

5. cry → __________

6. try → __________

7. speak → __________

8. stand → __________

9. tidy → __________

10. live → __________

11. play → __________

12. enjoy → __________

13. write → __________

14. stay → __________

15. plan → __________

16. study → __________

17. ask → __________

18. drive → __________

19. put → __________

20. sing → __________

21. sit → __________

22. stop → __________

23. agree → __________

24. buy → __________

25. run → __________

26. break → __________

27. build → __________

28. begin → __________

29. bring → __________

30. be → __________

Exercise 4: Change the given sentences into affirmative (+), negative (-), and question (?) form.

1. (+) He wrote a book.

                  (-) ___________________________

                  (?) ___________________________

2. (+) She was my boss.

                  (-) ___________________________

                  (?) ___________________________

3. (+) ___________________________

                 (-) They didn’t build a new house.

                 (?) ___________________________

4. (+) ___________________________

                 (-) I wasn’t at the concert last Sunday.

                 (?) ___________________________

5. (+) ___________________________

                 (-) ___________________________

                 (?) Did you buy clothes in this clothes shop?

6. (+) ___________________________

                 (-) ___________________________

                 (?) Were they born in Korea?

7. (+) He swam in the lake.

                 (-) ___________________________

                 (?) ___________________________

8. (+) We were at the gym last week.

                 (-) ___________________________

                 (?) ___________________________

9. (+) ___________________________

                 (-) She didn’t go to her office by car.

                 (?) ___________________________

10. (+) ___________________________

                 (-) He wasn’t a good person.

                 (?) ___________________________

Exercise 5: Give the past form of the verb in brackets.

1. I knew Sarah was busy, so I (not disturb) ________________ her.

2. I was very tired, so I (leave) ________________ the party.

3. The bed was very uncomfortable. I (not sleep) __________ very well.

4. The window was open and a bird (fly) ________________ into the room.

5. The hotel wasn’t expensive. It (not cost) ________________ much.

6. I was in a hurry, so I (not have) ________________ time to phone you.

7. It was hard carrying the bags. They (be) ________________ very heavy.

8. Linda (buy) ________________ that car last week.

9. She (do) ________________ doing gymnastics when she was four.

10. Last winter my family (go) ________________ on a skiing holiday in France.

11. My dad (decide) ________________ to travel around the world after university.

12. I (compete) __________ in a skateboarding competition last week.

13. I haven’t got any homework this weekend because I (do) __________ it all last night!

14. There (not be) _______________ any money in my wallet.

15. Jennifer Lawrence (become) ________________ famous after The Hunger Games.

16. Tom Schaar (start) ________________ to skateboard when he was very young.

17. We (win) __________ the school basketball match last year!

18. They (live) __________ in Paris in 2010.

19. Yesterday there (be) __________ a fire in the town centre.

20. There (be not) _______________ any eggs for breakfast this morning.