Reading Comprehension: "Was-Were Story"
Last week, there was one really, really bad day. It was Monday. Usually, there are about 25 students
in my class, but that day, there were only 5 people! It wasn't warm. In fact, it was really cold. It was
raining a lot. It was dark and gray outside. There wasn't any sunshine. I think the students weren't at
school because they were sick. They were at home. Maybe they were in bed.
Mr. Jibbit is our teacher. He is always at school. He is never at home on a Monday. Last Monday was
no different. He was not in bed. He was in the classroom, and he was cold! Why was he so cold?
That's a very good question. He was cold because the heater in the school was broken. It was
freezing. The school was like a refrigerator. Our room was like a freezer! And poor Mr. Jibbit was like
ice! The small class was cold, cold, cold!
The next days were much warmer. The heater was fixed on Tuesday, so everything was ok. There
were 25 students, not only 5. But where was Mr. Jibbit? He wasn't there. He was at home, sick in
bed!
Exercise:
was
1. The weather___________cold and rainy.
a.was
b.wasn't
c.were
d.weren't
werent
weren´t
2. Many students________in class.
a.was
b.wasn't
c.were
d.weren't
were
3. A lot of students_________sick at home.
a.was
b.wasn't
c.were
d.weren't
wasn´t
4. The teacher________at home.
a.was
b.wasn't
c.were
d.weren't
were
5. The classrooms___________very cold!
a.was
b.wasn't
c.were
d.weren't
was
6. Our classroom_______freezing!
a.was
b.wasn't
c.were
d.weren't
wasnt
7. There______any heat!
a.was
b.wasn't
c.were
d.weren't
was
8. That day_________really horrible!
a.was
b.wasn't
c.were
d.weren't
were
9. The next days________better.
a.was
b.wasn't
c.were
d.weren't
was
10. The heat_______ok the next day.
a.was
b.wasn't
c.were
d.weren't
True or False?
1. There were 25 students in the class that Monday. true
2. It was warm that day. false
3. Mr. Jibbit was present that Monday. true
4. The heater in the school was working that day. false
5. Mr. Jibbit and the students felt cold that day. true
6. The heater was broken on Tuesday. false
7. The next days were warmer. true
8. Mr. Jibbit had to stay at home because he got sick. true
Past Simple Tense Exercises
1) Complete the sentences with the SIMPLE PAST of the verbs in parentheses:
a) watched
They ____________________ (watch) TV last night.
b) talked
Priscila ____________________ (talk) to her friends all day.
c) Had
I ___________________ (have) a terrible headache yesterday.
d) came
Bob _____________________ (come) home from school late.
e) Arrived
They ____________________ missed
(arrive) late and ___________________ (miss) the bus.
f) studied
She ____________________ passed
(study) hard and ___________________(pass) the exam.
g) called
He ____________________ (call) the office to tell them he was sick.
h) Spoke
I ___________________ (speak) to the director as he was leaving the room.
i) Got up
Dr. Johnson ______________________ (get up) early this morning.
j) did
Mary _____________________ Went
(do) her homework and ________________ (go) to
school.
k) Found
Chris ____________________ (find) a ten-dollar bill.
l) Followed
The dog ______________________ (follow) us down the road.
m) Worked
Those students _____________________ (work) hard last semester.
n) stopped
Lúcio ___________________ called
(stop) at the corner and __________________ (call) us.
o) Tried
I ___________________ (try) to talk to Helen last night.
p) paid
I ___________________ (pay) the phone bill yesterday.
q) caught
My dad ____________________ was
(catch) a cold when he ________________ (be) in
Canada.
r) left
She _____________________ (leave) home early yesterday.
s) Knew
They ____________________ (know) each other very well when they
were
________________ (be) kids.
t) Brought
The teacher _____________________ (bring) the exams corrected.
u) dropped
She was cleaning the vase when she ____________________ (drop) it.
v) jogged
We ___________________ (jog) in the park yesterday.
w) occurred
The fire ____________________ were
(occur) while we ___________________ (be) out.
x) met
I __________________ (meet) some nice people at the party last weekend.
y) slept
Carol _____________________ (sleep) until late on the weekend. Then, she
went
_______________ (go) out to lunch.
z) flew
We ______________________ (fly) to the USA on a great airplane.
2) Write questions or negatives sentences:
a) She visited her parents last weekend.
Did she visit her parents last weekend
Question: __________________________________________________________?
b) He cleaned his room before school.
Did he clean his room before school
Question: ___________________________________________________________?
c) The teacher found the missing exams.
the teacher did not find the missing exams
Negative: ____________________________________________________________?
d) Tom wanted to go to the movies alone.
did tom want to go to the movie alone
Question: ___________________________________________________________?
e) Helena offered Henrique a piece of cake.
Helena did not offer Henrique a piece of cake
Negative: ___________________________________________________________?
f) I knew what to do.
i did not know what to do
Negative: ____________________________________________________________?
g) Alexandre helped Anita with her homework.
Did she help Anita with her homework
Question: ___________________________________________________________?
h) You ate cookies after dinner.
you did not eat cookies after dinner
Negative: ____________________________________________________________?
i) You talked to her earlier.
did you talk to her earlier
Question: ___________________________________________________________?
j) We turned off the TV after the news.
Negative: ____________________________________________________________?
we did not turn off the tv after the news
k) He drank only a coke at the party.
did he drink only a coke at the party
Question: ___________________________________________________________?
l) Mom made breakfast early.
she did not make breakfast early
Negative: __________________________________________________________?
