Past Indefinite / Simple Tense Quiz, Test, Exercise

Past Indefinite Tense — Exercise 1 (Q&A with Full Explanation and Vocabulary Builder (Simple Past Tense)

This practice test trains you to recognize and use the Simple Past Tense (did / verb-ed / verb 2nd form / irregular past forms) across real contexts. Each question includes the correct past form, a short verb definition, which helps building your Vocabulary, & POS notes, and concise explanations for every correct & incorrect choice so you learn both grammar and word meaning. Practice, Prepare with English Quiz and Vocabulary Builder.

English Grammar Definition: Past Indefinite Tense ( V 2nd form / Did + verb 1st form)

  • Form: Verb 2nd form / Did + verb 1st form.
  • Examples: I worked; She tested; Did they wait?
  • Main uses:
  • Actions that started in the past.
  • Actions that happened in past repeatedly with or without present result.
  • Simple Past = completed actions at a specific past time.
  • Signal words: yesterday, last week, ago, in 2024, when.
  • Negatives/Questions: did not (didn’t) and did + subject + (not) + verb 1st form + …?
  • To learn more about it – Visit Here

Quiz Instructions

  1. Read each question and choose the best answer out of four given options.
  2. On top, header section of the quiz, you will see the “title of the quiz,’ ‘spending-time,’ ‘value of question in points,’ and ‘number of questions.”
  3. Below on footer, you will see Full Screen mode. As the name suggests, it covers the whole screen. It will save a lot of your time attempting the quiz.
  4. You can zoom the images given in the questions.
  5. After submitting the quiz, you can see your score and compare with other users.
  6. The Full Leaderboard link will take you to a page, where you can see all users attempts.
  7. Below the quiz box, there are explanation of each options. You can study and try again.
  8. Best of Luck!
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Quiz Question, Answer and Explanation

Note: Do remember in the quiz box above, the questions and options will shuffle, so they won’t have the same sequence like 1, 2, 3, or A, B, C as below.

1. She __ the minutes and emailed them to the board yesterday.

A) typed B) types C) has typed D) typing

Verb (POS & meaning): typeverb. To produce text with keys or a device; typist (noun).

Correct: A) typed
A) Correct: Simple past — completed action yesterday. Choosing it says the typing happened then.

B) Wrong: Present simple — would mean she habitually types (not that she did it yesterday).
C) Wrong: Present perfect — implies present relevance (e.g., they are available now), not the single past moment.
D) Wrong: -ing form — grammatically incomplete here; would read as a fragment.

2. They __ the contract before the meeting started.

A) signed B) sign C) have signed D) signing

Verb: signverb. To write one’s name to agree to a document; signature (noun).

Correct: A) signed
A) Correct: Past tense — action completed before another past event.

B) Wrong: Present — would state a general truth/habit (they sign contracts), not this event.
C) Wrong: Present perfect — would emphasize present result (it is signed now) rather than sequence with the meeting.
D) Wrong: -ing form — incomplete; would need auxiliary.

3. I __ her suggestion and the team adopted it.

A) rejected B) reject C) have rejected D) rejecting

Verb: rejectverb. To refuse to accept; rejection (noun).

Correct: A) rejected
A) Correct: Simple past — one-time past decision that allowed adoption.

B) Wrong: Present — suggests habitual refusal, not a past decision.
C) Wrong: Present perfect — implies present relevance, e.g., still not accepted now; not fitting the past sequence.
D) Wrong: -ing form — incomplete without auxiliary.

4. He __ the update log carefully an hour ago.

A) reviewed B) reviews C) has reviewed D) reviewing

Verb: reviewverb. To examine or assess something.

Correct: A) reviewed
A) Correct: Past simple — denotes a completed check a specific time ago.

B) Wrong: Present — means he habitually reviews, not that he did it an hour ago.
C) Wrong: Present perfect — would imply relevance to now, but the precise time (“an hour ago”) favors past simple.
D) Wrong: -ing form — incomplete phrase.

5. The board __ the proposal unanimously last Tuesday.

A) approved B) approves C) has approved D) approving

Verb: approveverb. To officially accept or agree; approval (noun).

Correct: A) approved
A) Correct: Past action at specified time.

B) Wrong: Present — indicates a general or habitual approval.
C) Wrong: Present perfect — signals present consequence; less appropriate when time is specified.
D) Wrong: -ing form — not a finite past verb.

6. We __ the legacy data into the new schema last month.

A) migrated B) migrate C) have migrated D) migrating

Verb: migrateverb. To move data or systems from one place to another; migration (noun).

Correct: A) migrated
A) Correct: Completed migration at a past time.

B) Wrong: Present — habitual or scheduled migrations, not the past event.
C) Wrong: Present perfect — could work but clashes with explicit past time phrase “last month.”
D) Wrong: -ing participle — incomplete.

7. She __ the anomaly after running the diagnostics.

A) discovered B) discovers C) has discovered D) discovering

Verb: discoververb. To find or detect something previously unknown; discovery (noun).

Correct: A) discovered
A) Correct: Indicates the one-time finding after diagnostics.

B) Wrong: Present — describes a habitual discovery.
C) Wrong: Present perfect — focuses on present relevance, less natural with the past sequence.
D) Wrong: -ing.

8. The team __ the outage quickly and restored service.

A) resolved B) resolve C) have resolved D) resolving

Verb: resolveverb. To solve or settle an issue; resolution (noun).

Correct: A) resolved
A) Correct: Past completion of fixing the outage.

B) Wrong: Present — describes habitual action.
C) Wrong: Present perfect — would stress present relevance; past simple fits better with narrative.
D) Wrong: -ing.

9. I __ the final figures and sent the invoice.

A) compiled B) compile C) have compiled D) compiling

Verb: compileverb. To collect and assemble information; compilation (noun).

Correct: A) compiled
A) Correct: Completed past task before sending invoice.

B) Wrong: Present — a habitual action.
C) Wrong: Present perfect — emphasizes current relevance rather than past sequence.
D) Wrong: -ing.

10. They __ the roadmap during the workshop last week.

A) drafted B) draft C) have drafted D) drafting

Verb: draftverb / noun. To prepare a preliminary version.

Correct: A) drafted
A) Correct: Past action at specified event/time.

B) Wrong: Present — general behavior.
C) Wrong: Present perfect — could be possible but less natural with “last week.”
D) Wrong: -ing.

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