The Simple Past

IN FLIGHT
 The airplane became the first World Wide Web, bringing
people, languages, ideas, and values together.
BILL GATES

An airplane flies over

a highway in Bangkok,
Thailand.
The WRIGHT BROTHERS
Read the following article. Pay special attention to the words in bold. 7.1

At one time, people only dreamed about flying. “Wright Flyer.” Only a few U.S. newspapers reported
The Wright brothers, Wilbur and Orville, were this historic moment. A New York newspaper wrote,
dreamers who changed the world. They were the “They are in fact either fliers or liars.”
inventors of the first successful airplane.
The Wright brothers continued to work on their
From a young age, the brothers were fascinated1 airplane. For the next two years, they didn’t fly at all.
with the idea of flying. When Wilbur was 11 and They needed a patent2 for their invention and customers
Orville was 7, their father gave them a flying toy. to buy it. They contacted the U.S. government, but the
government wasn’t interested. The government didn’t
When they were older, Wilbur and Orville opened
believe them. The brothers went to Europe in 1908.
a bicycle shop in Ohio, where they designed, sold,
There they made more than 200 flights. People were
and repaired bicycles. They used their bike shop to
amazed. The brothers became famous. News of their
design an airplane. The brothers didn’t go to college,
success was on the front page of newspapers. When they
but they studied a lot about aviation. They were
came back to America in 1909, they were heroes. They
interested in the way birds use their wings. They
sold the Wright Flyer to the U.S. Army in 1909.
studied three necessary things for flying: lift, control,
and power. Wilbur designed a small flyer with a Airplanes today use the same basic design
gasoline engine. The brothers flew it for the first time elements of the Wright Flyer.
on December 17, 1903. The airplane stayed in the air
1 fascinated: very interested
for 12 seconds. It traveled a distance of 120 feet. 2 patent: a government license that prevents others from selling
That day they made four short flights in their first the same item

Wilbur Wright stands and watches

Orville Wright’s first flight in 1903
at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, USA.
COMPREHENSION Based on the reading, write T for true or F for false.
1. The Wright brothers learned about aviation in college.
2. The U.S. government was immediately interested in the Wright brothers’ plane.
3. The Wright brothers became famous after they made flights in Europe.

THINK ABOUT IT Discuss the questions with a partner or in a small group.

1. Why do you think people didn't believe the Wright brothers after their first flight?
2. Why are patents important?

7.1 The Simple Past—Forms

EXAMPLES EXPLANATION
REGULAR VERBS Regular simple past verbs end in -ed.
They started a bicycle business. start g started
They repaired bicycles. repair g repaired
IRREGULAR VERBS Irregular simple past verbs do not end in -ed.*
They made four short flights in 1903. make g made
They sold the flyer to the U.S. Army. sell g sold
Wilbur Wright was born in 1867. The verb be is irregular. It has two forms
The Wright brothers were inventors. in the past: was and were.
Notes:
1. Except for the verb be, the simple past form is the same for all subjects.
They started a business. I started a business.
2. The verb after to does not use the past form.
The Wright brothers continued to work on their plane. (not: continued to worked)

*See Appendix C for a list of irregular verb forms.

EXERCISE 1 Write the base form of each verb. Write R for regular verb. Write I for irregular verb. Write B for the verb be.

1. rain rained R 9. worked

2. write wrote I 10. came

3. opened 11. gave

4. sold 12. flew

5. started 13. were

6. happened 14. needed

7. made 15. was

8. died 16. lived

7.2 The Simple Past—Uses
EXAMPLES USES
Their father gave them a toy. We use the simple past with single, short past actions.
The Wright family lived in Ohio. We use the simple past with longer past actions.
The Wright brothers made four short flights on We use the simple past with repeated past actions.
December 17, 1903.
Note:
We often use ago in sentences about the past. Ago means “before now.”
The first flight was over 100 years ago.

EXERCISE 2 Listen to the article. Then write T for true, F for false, or NS for not stated. 7.2

1. The copy of the original plane was expensive to make.

2. The president came for the celebration.

3. The celebration was a great success.

EXERCISE 3 Listen again. Fill in the blanks with the verbs in the box. You can use some verbs more than once. 7.2

came flew hoped rained waited

cost got included repaired was
failed hit needed stopped were

December 17, 2003, was the 100th anniversary of the Wright brothers’ first flight.
1.
There a six-day celebration at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, the location of the first
2.
flight. A crowd of 35,000 people to see the flight of a model of the first airplane. The
3.
audience some famous people, such as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. They
4.
the first men to walk on the moon.
5.
It $1.2 million to make a copy of the original plane. People to
6. 7.
see the Flyer go up in the air. The weather bad that day. It hard.
8. 9.
The crowd with excitement in the rain. But the Flyer to fly. A
10. 11.
wing the ground, and the plane . Mechanics
12. 13. 14.
the engine and wing. The crowd again for a second try. The plane
15. 16.
wind to lift off, but the winds very calm that day. The Flyer for
17. 18.
12 seconds in 1903. It never off the ground at all in 2003.
19.
AMAZING
AVIATORS
Read the following article. Pay special attention to the words in bold. 7.3

At the beginning of the 20th century, flight was new. It was not
for everyone. It was only for adventurous people. Two adventurous
aviators were Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart.
Charles Lindbergh was born in 1902, a year before the Wright
brothers’ historic flight. In 1927, a man offered a $25,000 reward
Charles Lindbergh
for the first person to fly from New York to Paris. Lindbergh was a
pilot for the U.S. Mail Service at that time. He wanted to win the
prize. He decided to try, and he won. He was the first person to
fly across the Atlantic Ocean alone. His plane was in the air for
33 hours. The flight was 3,600 miles. There were thousands of
people in New York to welcome him home. He was an American
hero. He was only 25 years old.
Another famous American aviator was Amelia Earhart. In 1920,
when she was 23 years old, she rode in a plane for the first time. As
soon as the plane was in the air, she was sure that she wanted to be
a pilot. She took flying lessons and soon bought her own plane. In
1932, she was the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean alone.
Americans were in love with Earhart. In 1937, she was ready for a
bigger challenge. She wanted to fly around the world. She wasn’t
alone; she was with a navigator1. They disappeared somewhere in the
Pacific Ocean. Maybe there wasn’t enough fuel2. Maybe the weather
conditions were bad. No one knows what happened to Earhart. It is
still a mystery today.

1 navigator: someone who guides a plane in the right direction

2 fuel: gasoline
Amelia Earhart

COMPREHENSION Based on the reading, write T for true or F for false.

1. Charles Lindbergh was successful in his attempt to cross the Atlantic Ocean.
2. Amelia Earhart was the first person to fly across the Atlantic Ocean.
3. A navigator was with Earhart when she disappeared.
THINK ABOUT IT Discuss the questions with a partner or in a small group.
1. What are other possible explanations for the disappearance of Amelia Earhart?
2. Would you like to fly a plane? Why or why not?

7.3 The Simple Past of Be—Forms

AFFIRMATIVE STATEMENTS NEGATIVE STATEMENTS
SUBJECT WAS/WERE SUBJECT WAS/WERE + NOT
I I
was not
He/She/It was He/She/It
wasn’t
Lindbergh Earhart
We in New York. We alone.
You You were not
were
They They weren’t
People People

YES/NO QUESTIONS AND SHORT ANSWERS

WAS/WERE SUBJECT SHORT ANSWER
I Yes, you were.
he Yes, he was.
Was
she No, she wasn’t.
it on an airplane? Yes, it was.
we No, we weren’t.
Were you Yes, I was.
they Yes, they were.

WH- QUESTIONS
WAS/WERE
WH- WORD SUBJECT
WASN’T/WEREN’T
was I
wasn’t he/she/it
Why we on an airplane?
were
you
weren’t
they

SUBJECT WH- QUESTIONS

WH- WORD WAS/WERE
Who was on the airplane?
How many people were on the airplane?
What was wrong with Earhart’s airplane?
STATEMENTS, YES/NO QUESTIONS, AND WH- QUESTIONS
STATEMENT YES/NO QUESTION WH- QUESTION
Earhart was famous. Was Earhart an inventor? Why was Earhart famous?
The Wright brothers were Americans. Were they from North Carolina? Where were the Wright
brothers from?
Newspapers weren’t interested in the Were newspapers interested in airplanes Why weren’t they interested
first airplanes. in 1909? in airplanes in 1903?
Lindbergh was born in the 20th Was Earhart born in the 20th century? When was Earhart born?
century.
Someone was with Earhart in 1937. Was Lindbergh with Earhart? Who was with Earhart?

EXERCISE 4 Complete the conversation between two friends with was, wasn’t, were, or weren’t.

A: Were you interested in the article about Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart?
1.

B: Yes, I . They very brave people.

2. 3.

A: I agree. At that time women involved in professions like aviation.

4.

Many professions only for men. But she believed that women and men
5.

able to do the same things.

6.

B: she married?
7.

A: Yes, she .
8.

B: her husband a pilot, too?

9.

A: No, he .
10.

B: I sad to read about her disappearance.

11.

A: I , too. But she happy in her profession. In fact,

12. 13.

she told her husband, “I want to do it because I want to do it.”

B: What the problem with her last flight?

14.

A: They in the air for such a long time. Maybe there

15. 16.

enough fuel.

B: Why there enough fuel?

17.

A: I’m not really sure.

7.4 The Simple Past of Be—Uses
EXAMPLES EXPLANATION
Lindbergh was brave. We use be with a description of the subject.
Lindbergh was an aviator. We use be when we define or classify the subject or
say what the subject is.
Lindbergh was in Paris. We use be with the location of the subject.
Earhart was from Kansas. We use be with the place of origin of the subject.
Earhart was born in 1897. We use be with born.
Lindbergh was 25 years old in 1927. We use be with ages.
There was a celebration of the 100th anniversary We use there was to talk about the existence of a
of flight in 2003. singular noun/noun phrase.
There were thousands of people in New York to We use there were to talk about the existence of a
welcome Lindbergh. plural noun/noun phrase.

EXERCISE 5 Complete the statements with was, wasn’t, were, or weren’t.

1. Lindbergh and Earhart were famous.

2. Lindbergh an inventor.

3. The first airplane in the air for 12 minutes.

4. Lindbergh and Earhart American heroes.

5. Earhart’s last flight successful.

6. She alone when her plane disappeared.

7. Earhart the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean.

8. She born in the 20th century.

9. Lindbergh 25 years old when he made his flight across the Atlantic.

10. There any successful airplanes before the Wright Flyer.

EXERCISE 6 Read each statement. Then use the word(s) given to write a negative statement in the
simple past.

1. The Wright brothers were inventors.

(Earhart and Lindbergh) Earhart and Lindbergh weren’t inventors.

2. The train was a method of transportation in the early 1900s.

(the airplane)
3. Earhart was from Kansas.

(Lindbergh)

4. Lindbergh was the first person to fly across the Atlantic Ocean alone.

(Earhart)

5. There were a lot of reporters at Kitty Hawk in 2003.

(in 1903)

6. Lindbergh was born in the 20th century.

(the Wright brothers)

EXERCISE 7 Read each statement. Then use the word(s) given to write a yes/no question in the
simple past. Write a short answer for each question.

1. The Wright brothers were inventors.

(Lindbergh) Was Lindbergh an inventor? No, he wasn’t.

2. The airplane was an important invention.

(the telephone)

3. There were telephones 100 years ago.

(airplanes)

4. Charles Lindbergh was adventurous.

(the Wright brothers)

5. Amelia Earhart was American.

(Lindbergh)

6. Travel by plane is common now.

(100 years ago)

7. I was interested in the story about the aviators.

(you)
EXERCISE 8 Read each statement. Write a wh- question in the simple past using the word(s) given.
Then find a partner and ask and answer your questions.

1. Charles Lindbergh was famous. (why)

A: Why was Charles Lindbergh famous?

B: He was one of the first aviators.
2. Lindbergh was a hero. (why)

A:

B:

3. Lindbergh was American. (what nationality/Earhart)

A:

B:

4. Earhart was 34 years old when she crossed the ocean. (how old/Lindbergh)

A:

B:

5. Lindbergh was a famous aviator. (who/the Wright brothers)

A:

B:

6. Lindbergh was born in 1902. (when/Earhart)

A:

B:

7. The flight at Kitty Hawk in 2003 wasn’t successful. (why)

A:

B: