Past simple

Use

1) past actions which happened one after the other

She sealed the letter, put a stamp on it and posted it

2) past habit or state

He used to go/went to school on foot

3) complete action or event which happened at a stated past time

She called an hour ago. (When? An hour ago.)

Action which happened at a definite past time although the time is not mentioned. This action is not connected with the present Shakespeare wrote a lot of plays. (Shakespeare is now dead; he won't write again. - period of time now finished)

Time expressions: yesterday, last week etc, (how long) ago, then, just now, when, in the 1945 etc.

9.1 Complete the sentence with the past simple form of the verb in brackets. Then decide if each sentence is True or False:

1. Greek actors (wear) wore masks and special boots. True

2. Spartan children (take) _______ baths only two or three times a year.

3. The philosopher Sуcrates (drink) _______ poison and died.

4. Alexander the Great's army (go) _______ as far as China.

5. Heron of Alexandria (make) _______ a kind of jet engine.

6. The Roman Emperor Caligula's name (mean) _______ 'Happy Soldier'.

7. Roman mathematics (have) _______ no zero.

8. Most Roman girls (get) _______ married at the age of 18.

9. Roman soldiers (pay) _______ for their own equipment and food.

10. The Romans (know) _______ how to make soap and cement.

9.2 Seven of the sentences (including the example) contain historical errors. Guess which ones are wrong and rewrite them with a negative past simple form:

1. Alexander the Great married Cleopatra. – Alexander the Great didn’t marry Cleopatra.

2. Nelson Mandela became President of South Africa in 1994.

3. Leonardo da Vinci invented the Internet.

4. Confucius the Chinese philosopher died in 1900.

5. Marco Polo stayed in China for five years.

6. The ancient Romans used steam engines in their battles.

7. Genghis Khan invaded Italy and captured Rome.

8. Christopher Columbus reached America by accident.

9. William Shakespeare wrote Don Quixote.

9.3 Rewrite each statement about the playwright William Shakespeare as a yes / no question:

1. He came from a rich family. Q Did he come from a rich family? – A No, not really. His father was a glove maker.

2. He grew up in London. Q ____________________________________?

A No, in Stratford upon Avon, a small town about 160 km from London.

3. He went to school. Q ________________________________________?

A Yes, we think so.

4. He knew Latin. Q __________________________________________?

A Yes, he learnt Latin at school, and some Greek as well.

5. He got married. Q __________________________________________?

A Yes, he was only 18 when he married Anne Hathaway, aged 26.

6. They had children. Q ________________________________________?

A Yes, a daughter Susanna, and twins, a boy Hamnet and a girl Judith.

7. He began writing plays in Stratford. Q ___________________________ _______________? A We don't really know. We only know that after 1592 he was an actor and writer in London.

8. He wrote 37 plays all by himself. Q ____________________________?

A Well, we know he wrote two plays together with John Fletcher. Some people think that all his plays were really written by somebody else.

9. He made up all the characters and plots of his plays. Q _____________ _______________________? A Actually no. He borrowed lots of ideas from other writers. This was quite usual in his time.

10. He became rich and famous. Q _______________________________?

A He certainly became quite rich, and his plays were popular. But he only became really famous in the 18th century and later.

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