Practise key vocabulary, past tenses, and descriptive writing about the past.
Free Year 7 English practice: past tense vocabulary and descriptive writing about how things used to be. Instant marking, no sign-up.
Choose the correct word to complete each sentence. Use the word bank to help you.
1. The castle walls were very old — archaeologists said they were from an civilisation.
2. After the fire, the old church was carefully using original materials.
3. Scientists found of a Viking settlement near the coast.
4. Nobody knows exactly what happened — the disappearance remains completely .
5. The spent years studying records from the medieval .
6. The old city walls had fallen apart over the , leaving only behind.
Rewrite each sentence using the past perfect for the earlier action. Keep both actions in your new sentence.
Use the past perfect (had + past participle) for the action that happened first.
Use the simple past for the action that happened second.
Example: We arrived. The film started. → When we arrived, the film had already started.
Write a short description (80–120 words) of a historical place you have visited or read about. Use the past tenses and vocabulary from this unit.
Try to include:
✔ At least one sentence with the past perfect (e.g. "By the time we arrived, the guide had already started the tour.")
✔ At least two vocabulary words from Exercise A (e.g. ruins, ancient, mysterious)
✔ A sentence describing how the place made you feel
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