This exercise will give you practice in using the correct past forms of regular verbs and irregular verbs. Before attempting the exercise, you may find it helpful to review these two short articles:

• Forming the Past Tense of Regular Verbs
• Introduction to Irregular Verbs in English

Instructions:
The paragraph below has been adapted from the opening chapter of Black Boy, an autobiography by Richard Wright.

Complete each sentence correctly by changing the verbs in brackets from the present tense to the simple past tense. For example, the verb tell in the first sentence should be changed to told.

When you have completed the exercise, compare your answers with those on page two.

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From Black Boy, by Richard Wright

One evening my mother [tell] _____ me that thereafter I would have to do the shopping for food. She [take] _____ me to the corner store to show me the way. I was proud; I [feel] _____ like a grownup. The next afternoon I looped the basket over my arm and [go] _____ down the pavement toward the store. When I [reach] _____ the corner, a gang of boys [grab] _____ me, [knock] _____ me down, [snatch] _____ the basket, [take] _____ the money, and [send] _____ me running home in panic. That evening I [tell] _____ my mother what had happened, but she [make] _____ no comment; she [sit] _____ down at once, [write] _____ another note, [give] _____ me more money, and [send] _____ me out to the grocery again.

I crept down the steps and [see] _____ the same gang of boys playing down the street. I [run] _____ back into the house.

Also see:
Practice in Using the Past Forms of Verbs