Past Simple Tense Stories with Exercises and Answers – PDF

A lost wallet, a rainy beach trip, and a surprise party: these three past simple tense stories show how we describe completed events. Read each story, notice the bold past-tense verbs, and try the exercises before checking your answers.

Best for: adult English learners who know basic sentence patterns. Estimated level: A2–B1, based on an editorial review rather than a formal assessment.

Story 1: The Lost Wallet

Yesterday evening, John walked home from work. As he crossed the street, he noticed a small wallet on the ground. He picked it up and opened it. Inside, he found an identification card with a familiar name: Mrs. Brown, his neighbor.

John decided to return the wallet immediately. He went to Mrs. Brown’s house and knocked on the door.

After a few seconds, she answered. John held up the wallet.

“Is this yours?” he asked.

Mrs. Brown looked at it and smiled with relief.

“Yes! Thank you. I looked everywhere for it. Where did you find it?”

“On the ground, near the crossing,” John said.

She checked inside. Her money and cards were still there. She thanked him again, and they talked for a few minutes before he went home.

That night, John thought about her smile. Returning the wallet only took a few minutes, but it made a real difference to her evening.

Reading Questions

1. Where did John find the wallet?
2. How did he know who owned it?
3. What did Mrs. Brown find when she checked inside?
4. What suggests that returning the wallet mattered to Mrs. Brown?

Grammar Practice: Complete the Past Simple Forms

Write the past simple form of each verb in brackets.

1. John __________ (find) a wallet on his way home.
2. He __________ (decide) to return it immediately.
3. Mrs. Brown __________ (smile) when she saw it.
4. They __________ (talk) for a few minutes.
5. John __________ (go) home after returning the wallet.

Check Your Answers: The Lost Wallet

Reading Answers

1. He found it on the ground near the crossing.
2. He found an identification card with Mrs. Brown’s name inside.
3. Her money and cards were still there.
4. Suggested answer: She smiled with relief and thanked John more than once. She also said she looked everywhere for the wallet.

Grammar Answers

1. found
2. decided
3. smiled
4. talked
5. went

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Story 2: A Day at the Beach

Last Saturday, Emma and her friends decided to spend the day at the beach. They packed snacks, sunscreen, and towels. Then they left early to avoid the traffic.

When they arrived, the sky was clear and the water looked inviting. They put their bags beside a beach umbrella and ran toward the ocean.

During the morning, they swam, played beach volleyball, and built sandcastles. At lunchtime, they ate their sandwiches under the umbrella and watched the waves.

Later, Emma noticed dark clouds over the water.

“Did anyone check the weather?” she asked.

Her friends looked at one another. Nobody answered.

A few minutes later, heavy rain started. They grabbed their bags and ran to the car. By the time they reached it, their clothes were wet.

“Well, we came here to get wet,” Emma said.

Everyone laughed. The rain ended their beach visit early, but it did not spoil the whole day. On the drive home, they agreed to return another weekend—and check the forecast first.

Reading Questions

1. Why did Emma and her friends leave early?
2. What three activities did they do during the morning?
3. What made them leave the beach?
4. Did they consider the whole day a failure? Explain your answer.

Grammar Practice: Choose the Correct Form

1. They (leave / left) early on Saturday.
2. Emma and her friends (swim / swam) in the ocean.
3. They (eat / ate) sandwiches for lunch.
4. Did anyone (check / checked) the weather?
5. The rain did not (spoil / spoiled) the whole day.

Check Your Answers: A Day at the Beach

Reading Answers

1. They left early to avoid the traffic.
2. They swam, played beach volleyball, and built sandcastles.
3. Heavy rain made them leave.
4. Suggested answer: No. They laughed about getting wet and agreed to visit again. The rain ended the trip early, but they still enjoyed the day.

Grammar Answers

1. left
2. swam
3. ate
4. check
5. spoil

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Story 3: The Surprise Party

Last Friday, Sarah’s friends threw her a surprise birthday party. They planned it for weeks and kept every detail secret.

On Friday afternoon, they decorated her living room with balloons and banners. They also prepared her favorite cake and put it on the table.

When Sarah came home from work, the house seemed unusually quiet. She left her bag by the door and called out, “Hello?”

No one replied.

She opened the living room door. Her friends jumped out and shouted, “Surprise!”

Sarah stood still for a moment. Then she laughed and started to cry tears of joy.

“How did you keep this a secret?” she asked.

“With great difficulty,” one friend said.

Sarah hugged everyone and thanked them. They spent the evening eating cake, laughing, and sharing their favorite memories.

Before her friends left, Sarah took a photo of everyone beside the birthday cake. She wanted something to remember the evening by.

Reading Questions

1. What did Sarah’s friends do to prepare for the party?
2. What did Sarah notice when she came home?
3. How did she react to the surprise?
4. Why do you think Sarah wanted a photo of everyone?

Grammar Practice: Make Past Simple Questions

Put the words in order. Begin each question with Did.

1. her friends / plan / the party for weeks / ?
2. they / decorate / the living room / ?
3. Sarah / come / home from work / ?
4. she / thank / her friends / ?

Check Your Answers: The Surprise Party

Reading Answers

1. They planned the party, kept it secret, decorated the room, and prepared her favorite cake.
2. She noticed that the house seemed unusually quiet.
3. She stood still, then laughed and cried tears of joy. She also hugged and thanked her friends.
4. Suggested answer: The evening was special to her, and she wanted to remember celebrating with her friends. The final sentence supports this.

Grammar Answers

1. Did her friends plan the party for weeks?
2. Did they decorate the living room?
3. Did Sarah come home from work?
4. Did she thank her friends?

Past Simple Grammar: What to Notice

The past simple, also called the simple past, describes completed past events. A time expression can tell us when something happened, but it is not required in every sentence when the context is clear.

In these stories, phrases such as yesterday evening, last Saturday, and last Friday establish the time. The following past-tense verbs move the story forward.

Regular and Irregular Verbs

Many regular verbs end in -ed in the past simple. Irregular verbs have forms you need to learn.

Base Form	Past Simple	Type
open	opened	Regular
decide	decided	Regular
plan	planned	Regular
find	found	Irregular
go	went	Irregular
swim	swam	Irregular
build	built	Irregular
take	took	Irregular

Use the Base Verb After Did and Didn’t

• Statement: They checked the weather.
• Question: Did they check the weather?
• Negative: They didn’t check the weather.

Write “Did Sarah come home?” rather than “Did Sarah came home?” The word did already marks the past.

Was and Were Work Differently

• Statement: The sky was clear.
• Question: Was the sky clear?
• Negative: The sky wasn’t clear.

Do not add did to questions with past-tense be. For more models, explore these simple past example sentences.

Useful Vocabulary from the Stories

• Relief: the feeling when a worry ends. I felt relief when I found my missing keys.
• Crossing: a place where people cross a road. We waited at the crossing before walking across.
• Avoid: to keep away from something. We took a different road to avoid the traffic.
• Forecast: a report of what the weather is expected to be like. The forecast said it would rain on Sunday.
• Spoil: to make something less pleasant or enjoyable. The cold food did not spoil our evening together.
• Secret: something that is kept hidden from others. We kept the birthday gift a secret.

Write Your Own Past Simple Story

Write five to eight sentences about a day when something unexpected happened. It could be a lost item, a change of plans, or a surprise.

1. Start with a time expression, such as yesterday or last weekend.
2. Explain who was there and what happened.
3. Use at least three irregular past-tense verbs.
4. Finish by describing how someone felt or what happened next.

Check your work: Did you use the correct past forms? If you used did or didn’t, did you follow it with the base verb?

Partner activity: Tell a partner your story. Ask each other two follow-up questions beginning with What did…?, Where did…?, or Why did…?

Download the Past Simple Stories PDF

The PDF below contains the pst simple tense stories with worksheets.

Download A4 Worksheet + Answers (PDF)

Download US Letter Worksheet + Answers (PDF)

Download the Original Past Simple Stories (PDF)

Practice Another Tense

Next, read our simple present tense stories. Choose three sentences about a daily routine and rewrite them as completed actions from yesterday.