Practice in Using the Past Forms of Verbs

In this two-part exercise in using the past forms of regular and irregular verbs, you or your students will first select the correct form of the verb in parentheses, and then combine the sentences in the exercise into a cohesive paragraph. This exercise can be combined with a lesson on sentence combining. Instructions For each of the following sentences, write the correct past or past-perfect form of the verb in parentheses.Combine and arrange the 31 sentences in the exercise into a paragraph of 11 or 12 new sentences. You may add, delete, or alter words in the interest of clarity, coherence, and cohesion. When you have completed both parts of the exercise, compare your work with the sample answers on page two. Exercise Questions Jughead (shut) himself up in his room last night.He (stay) there for seven hours.He (study) for the big test in history.All term he had not (open) his textbook.Often he had (forget) to go to class.Sometimes he (go) to class.He never (take) notes.So he (have) a lot of work to do.He (read) 14 chapters in his history book.He (write) dozens of pages of notes.He (draw) a time chart.The time chart (help) him to remember important dates.Then he (sleep) for one hour.The alarm (ring).Jughead (get) up to review his notes.He had (forget) a few things.But he (feel) confident.He (drink) a mug of coffee.He (eat) a candy bar.He (run) to the classroom.He had (bring) a rabbits foot for good luck.He (arrive) early at the classroom.Nobody else had (show) up yet.He (put) his head down on the desk.He never (mean) to fall asleep.He (fall) into a deep slumber.He (dream).In his dream he (pass) the test.Several hours later he (wake) up.The room had (grow) dark.Jughead had (sleep) through the big test. Correct Verb Forms Jughead shut himself up in his room last night.He stayed there for seven hours.He studied for the big test in history.All term he had not opened his textbook.Often he had forgotten to go to class.Sometimes he went to class.He never took notes.So he had a lot of work to do.He read 14 chapters in his history book.He wrote dozens of pages of notes.He drew a time chart.The time chart helped him to remember important dates.Then he slept for one hour.The alarm rang.Jughead got up to review his notes.He had forgotten a few things.But he felt confident.He drank a mug of coffee.He ate a candy bar.He ran to the classroom.He had brought a rabbits foot for good luck.He arrived early at the classroom.Nobody else had shown up yet.He put his head down on the desk.He never meant to fall asleep.He fell into a deep slumber.He dreamed (or dreamt).In his dream he passed the test.Several hours later he woke up.The room had grown dark.Jughead had slept through the big test. Sample Combinations Here is the original version of the paragraph The Big Test, which served as the model for the sentence-completion exercise on page one. Many variations are possible, of course, and so your paragraph may differ significantly from this version. The Big TestJughead shut himself up in his room last night for seven hours to study for the big test in history. He had not opened his textbook all term, and often he had forgotten to go to class. When he did go, he never took notes, and so he had a lot of work to do. He read 14 chapters in his history book, wrote dozens of pages of notes, and drew a time chart to help him remember important dates. Then he slept for just one hour. When the alarm rang, Jughead got up to review his notes, and although he had forgotten a few things, he felt confident. After drinking a mug of coffee and eating a candy bar, he picked up a rabbits foot for good luck and ran to the classroom. He arrived early; nobody else had shown up yet. And so he put his head down on the desk and, without meaning to, fell into a deep slumber. He dreamt that he had passed the test, but when he woke up several hours later, the room had grown dark. Jughead had slept through the big test.