Name: ______________________ Class: _________________ Date: _________

Great Writing 1: great Sentences for Great Paragraphs Unit 4: Writing about the Past

INSTRUCTIONS: Read the paragraph and answer the questions that follow.

Walter Elias Disney (1901–1966)

(1) Walt Disney was an incredibly creative and successful person. (2) When he was young, he
enjoyed drawing, painting, and photography. (3) Walt took art classes at the Chicago Art Institute,
but he never finished school there. (4) He had enough talent to find work without a college degree.
(5) Before he moved to Hollywood, he worked in advertising and also opened an animation business.
(6) In Hollywood, Walt founded Walt Disney Studios in 1923. (7) Five years later, he created
Mickey Mouse. (8) From that point on, he made one movie after another, including Snow White,
Bambi, and Mary Poppins. (9) Today, people still enjoy Walt Disney’s talent. (10) Families love to
watch the classic movies and visit Disney parks all over the world.

____ 1. How is the simple past used in the paragraph?

a. to write about a recent event
b. to describe the events in a person’s life
c. to report on the result of an experiment
____ 2. What is the simple past verb in sentence 4?
a. had
b. find
c. work
____ 3. How many simple past verbs are in sentence 5?
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
____ 4. What is a past time word or phrase in the paragraph?
a. In Hollywood
b. Five years later
c. Today
____ 5. Why is the simple present used in the two concluding sentences?
a. to describe a habit
b. to describe a fact
c. to describe a process

INSTRUCTIONS: Fill in each blank with the correct simple past form of the verb in
parentheses.

6. I ________________ in Peru for ten years. (live)

7. Serena and Erin ________________ at the mall yesterday. (be)

8. We ________________ him a new sweatshirt. (buy)

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Great Writing 1: Great Sentences for Great Paragraphs, Fifth Edition Unit 4 Test

Name: ______________________

INSTRUCTIONS: Change the underlined verb in each sentence to the negative simple past.

9. The candidate spoke about the economy. ________________

10. Minjun was very tired last night. ________________

11. They left for the theater an hour ago. ________________

12. Bea made three cakes for the bake sale. ________________

INSTRUCTIONS: Choose the best answer to complete each sentence.

____ 13. Elena ________________ two movies on Friday night.

a. was watched
b. watched
c. did watched

____ 14. We ________________ a new dishwasher.

a. didn’t bought
b. didn’t buy
c. don’t bought

____ 15. They ________________ fish and potatoes for dinner yesterday.
a. had
b. have
c. did had

INSTRUCTIONS: Fill in each blank with an adverb that describes the underlined verb or verb
phrase.

easily happily hard quietly suddenly

16. It ________________ started to rain when I went outside. Fortunately, I had my umbrella.

17. Yassin and I worked ________________ at the table in the library.

18. Aya found my house ________________ with the GPS.

19. My grandparents were ________________ married for sixty years.

20. The science exam was really ________________. Many students had to take it again.

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Great Writing 1: Great Sentences for Great Paragraphs, Fifth Edition Unit 4 Test

Name: ______________________

INSTRUCTIONS: Match the word to the correct definition. You will not use all the
definitions.
a. to go away
b. unusual
c. extremely good
d. to make better
e. difficult; complex
f. to pay someone to do a job
g. very bad; extremely unpleasant
____ 21. complicated
____ 22. disappear
____ 23. extraordinary
____ 24. hire
____ 25. horrible

INSTRUCTIONS: Complete the sentences with the best word in parentheses.

26. After Seoyeon ________________ (achieved / achievement) her goal, she made another one.

27. The new and ________________ (improve / improved) model of the car was very popular.

28. The company ________________ (suffered / suffering) several financial losses last year.

INSTRUCTIONS:
Rewrite the complex sentences. Change the order of the clauses. If the independent clause is
at the beginning of the sentence, rewrite it so the dependent clause comes first. If the
dependent clause is at the beginning of the sentence, rewrite it so the independent clause
comes first.

Examples:
I ordered my food as soon as I sat down.
As soon as I sat down, I ordered my food.

When Sandra went to Montreal, she stayed with her aunt.

Sandra stayed with her aunt when she went to Montreal.

29. When I was on vacation, I slept late every day.

_____________________________________________________________________

30. After we got the good news, we went out to celebrate.

_____________________________________________________________________

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Great Writing 1: Great Sentences for Great Paragraphs, Fifth Edition Unit 4 Test

Name: ______________________

31. My parents weren’t happy when the flight was canceled.

_____________________________________________________________________

32. Before she started painting, she prepared her materials.

_____________________________________________________________________

INSTRUCTIONS: Combine the two simple sentences into a complex sentence using the
connector in parentheses. Use pronouns when appropriate and the correct punctuation.

33. (after)
First: I wrote a letter to my uncle.
Second: I mailed the letter at the post office.

_____________________________________________________________________

34. (before)
First: Jack bought some snacks.
Second: Jack went to the party.

_____________________________________________________________________

35. (when)
First: Julia moved out of her parents’ home.
Second: Julia learned how to cook.

_____________________________________________________________________

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Great Writing 1: Great Sentences for Great Paragraphs, Fifth Edition Unit 4 Test

Name: ______________________

36. INSTRUCTIONS: Write a paragraph with 8–10 sentences about a favorite teacher from your
past. In the first sentence, write the name of your teacher and what subject this teacher
taught you. Then describe the teacher’s personality and why you liked him/her. In the last
sentence, summarize why this teacher is memorable for you. Use the simple past, at least
one complex sentence with a time clause, and at least two vocabulary words or phrases
presented in Unit 4.

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