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Past Tense – A Complete Past Simple Lesson Plan

In this past tense lesson plan, students will learn simple past tense verbs and sentences while playing fun classroom games. Once students learn how to use the past tense then they can use this language to talk about themselves and what they did yesterday, before the lesson, at the weekend, during the vacation, etc. To help students use the past tense fluently, after teaching this lesson, talking about the past tense can become part of your classroom routine. 

This page is a complete ESL lesson plan to teach the simple past tense using both regular and irregular verbs. If you would rather focus on just regular verbs, then the activities in this lesson can be easily adapted for that. All the materials for the games and activities in this lesson can be found below. For more past tense lesson materials not included in this lesson plan check the section at the bottom of the page. 

Materials for this lesson:

  • Memory Game – Past Tense
  • Past Tense Guessing Game (YouTube)
  • Past Tense Mystery Box Game (YouTube)

Simple Past Tense Lesson Plan for Beginner ESL Students

Introducing the past tense.

Before teaching students the past tense form, it is important to put the lesson in context so that students can understand what it is they will learn. A great way to introduce the past tense is to draw a simple timeline on the board. In the middle of the timeline write ‘today’ and ask students what day it is today and write that day on the board. 

Next, ask students what day it was yesterday and write that day on the left side of the timeline. Do the same for tomorrow and write that day on the right side. Using this simple timeline, demonstrate the meaning of ‘past’ to students and elicit other times in the past ( last week, last year, last weekend, before class, winter vacation, etc). Once students understand what they are going to learn, it’s time to introduce some past tense verbs. 

Practice Key Words And Sentences

Tell students that in order to talk about the past, we need to change the verb into the past tense. Write some regular verbs on the board (watch, play, walk, talk, cook, etc.) and show students how to change into the past tense by adding ‘ed’. Ask students to repeat after you and practice saying each past tense verb. 

Next, explain to students that not all verbs follow this rule as there are many irregular verbs. Write some on the board and drill the past tense verbs with students. (Note: You may wish to teach the past tense over 2 or more lessons. If so, teach the simple past tense verbs first, and teach irregular verbs in the next lesson.) Once students are used to changing verbs into the past tense, it’s time to practice some more with a fun guessing game. 

Activity 1: Past Tense Guessing Game

This game is great to introduce the past tense to students and is a fun way to practice making past tense sentences. In this past tense game, students will see how to change a verb into the past tense. Then an image that is hidden behind some colored shapes is slowly revealed. Students must guess what the picture is of, and use that word to complete the past tense sentence. To play, simply play the above video in class and pause when students are ready to guess. 

Activity 2: Past Tense Memory Game

PowerPoint Memory Game

This past tense PowerPoint Game is a great activity to practice past tense verbs while testing students’ memories. In this game, students must try to find the matching present tense and past tense verbs. To play, divide the class into two teams. Then the teams will take turns in choosing two numbers.

Click on the numbered squares to reveal the verb below. If the two verbs are a matching pair (e.g. ‘go’ and ‘went’) then that team gets a point. If they are not matching (e.g. ‘go’ and ‘studied’) then click on the red circle to hide the word again. 

This past tense memory game becomes incredibly fun once students start to remember where the matching verbs are. For more free memory games like this, and for a blank editable template, visit out  PPT Games page . 

Activity 3: Mystery Box Game – Past Tense

This final game will encourage learners to make their own past tense sentences in a fun way. To play, divide the class into two teams. The teams will then take turns in answering the question (there are 10 questions). After each question, students must make their own past tense sentence using the verb provided. Then, the team must choose to keep the box, or give the box to the other team.

Inside the box is either plus points (e.g. +1000) or minus points (-1000). At the end of the game, the team with the most points is the winner. For more activity videos on many topics, check out our  ESL Game Videos page . 

Before finishing the class, review the past tense verbs and sentences from the lesson. A great way to do this is to ask students to ask their partner ‘What did you do (yesterday / last weekend)?’. Once students have asked their partner, then ask students to tell you what their partner did yesterday / at the weekend. 

In future lessons, this can become part of your classroom routine and this will help students to master the past tense and become more fluent. I hope you found this lesson plan useful. To see all our lesson plans on many topics, click the button below.

Additional Resources

  • Past Tense Worksheets
  • Irregular Past Tense Game
  • 25 Past Tense Questions
  • List Of Past Tense Verbs
  • Past Tense Quiz

agendaweb.org

Regular verbs exercises

Affirmative: irregular verbs

Negative: irregular verbs

Questions: irregular verbs

Mixed forms - exercises

Intermediate level - 1

Intermediate level - 2

Past simple

Worksheets - pdf exercises.

  • Past simple - pdf exercises
  • Worksheet - crossword pdf
  • Worksheet : affirmative-negative forms
  • Past simple - exercises
  • Past simple tense - worksheet
  • Worksheet : simple past - interrogative
  • Past simple - worksheets
  • Past simple - negative
  • Past simple - questions
  • Irregular verbs - pdf exercises
  • Past simple - pdf handout
  • Simple past worksheet - > answers
  • Simple past - worksheet -> answers
  • Worksheets pdf - print
  • Grammar worksheets - handouts
  • Handout: Past - phonetic
  • Funny English - irregular verbs doc

Grammar lessons / notes

  • Handout: Irregular verbs list - pdf
  • Simple past - grammar rules
  • Irregular verbs - pdf list
  • Irregular verbs: audio + conjugation
  • Past tense - short answers
  • Video: pronunciation -ed
  • Video : final -ed
  • Verbos: lista English-Spanish pdf

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The Past Simple (Simple Past) with Other Verbs

The positive:

We usually make the positive by adding '-ed' to the infinitive. For example, 'play' becomes 'played'. However, there are some irregular verbs , for example 'go' becomes 'went' and 'run' becomes 'ran'.

(Here's some help if you are not sure how to pronounce '-ed' at the end of a verb).

Click here for a list of 50 common irregular verbs (PDF file)

Click here for an exercise about irregular verbs in this verb tense

Click here for another irregular verb exercise

In the negative there aren't any irregular verbs. All verbs use 'did not (didn't) + infinitive':

Here's an exercise about the negative form

Questions are also very easy. Just put 'did' before the subject, and the infinitive after it.

Here are the 'yes / no' questions:

And here's an exercise about 'yes / no' questions

To make a 'wh' question, of course, put the question word at the beginning of the sentence:

And here's an exercise about 'wh' questions

Here are some exercises about making all the forms: Mixed Exercise 1 Mixed Exercise 2 Mixed Exercise 3 Mixed Exercise 4

Click here to learn about when we use this tense

  • English Grammar

Past simple

Past simple

Level: beginner

With most verbs, the past tense is formed by adding –ed :

But there are a lot of irregular past tense forms in English. Here are the most common irregular verbs in English, with their past tense forms:

We use the past tense to talk about:

  • something that happened once in the past :

I met my wife in 1983. We went to Spain for our holidays. They got home very late last night.

  • something that happened several times in the past :

When I was a boy, I walked a mile to school every day. We swam a lot while we were on holiday. They always enjoyed visiting their friends.

  • something that was true for some time in the past :

I lived abroad for ten years. He enjoyed being a student. She played a lot of tennis when she was younger.

  • we often use expressions with ago with the past simple:

I met my wife a long time ago .

Past simple questions and negatives

We use did to make questions with the past simple:

Did she play tennis when she was younger? Did you live abroad? When did you meet your wife? Where did you go for your holidays?

But questions with who often don't use did :

Who discovered penicillin? Who wrote Don Quixote?

We use didn't ( did not ) to make negatives with the past simple:

They didn't go to Spain this year. We didn't get home until very late last night. I didn't see you yesterday.  

Level: intermediate

Past simple and hypotheses

We can also use the past simple to refer to the present or future in hypotheses (when we imagine something). See these pages:

  • Verbs in time clauses and conditionals
  • Wishes and hypotheses

About the use of the Past Simple, I wanted to relate a recent finding of mine on the Internet. I have read in an online newspaper the expression "It's time" followed by the subject and then the verb in present simple. At the best of my knowledge, I remember that the English grammar reports it's time+past simple or it's time + infinitive or it's time for+subject+infinitive. I was wondering whether it was a mistake or a particular context I didn't pay attention to. Thank you.

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Hi davidezizza,

Thanks for your question! Can you let us know the specific example that you found? That will be easier for us to discuss. 

LearnEnglish team

Hi Jonathan. Thanks for Your reply. Here is the link of the website in which You can read the headline news: "It's time Europe pays attention to Libya"

https://www.politico.eu/article/time-europe-pay-attention-libya/

Thank You Best regards

Hello davidezizza,

Thanks for sharing the context.

I've checked three different grammars and they all say exactly what you explain in your first comment, i.e. that an infinitive or the past simple is used after 'It's time'. Presumably this is because we mean that we think the action should already have happened, i.e. in this case that Europe is overdue in paying attention to Libya.

I'm afraid I can't explain why this particular journal used the present simple here. It could be that it's a more international version of English, where perhaps it is acceptable. If I were asked to edit the text, I would suggest using the past simple.

I hope this helps you.

Best wishes, Kirk LearnEnglish team

Hello Kirk,

thank you very much for your answer. Apart from the chance about a probable international version, your explanation totally removed my doubts about the heading and I'm grateful for this. Very kind of you. Best regards Davide

Could you please help? I received this message from my colleague:

I'd like to share my experience with id 0129934. She was placed under my supervision. However, I saw that her skills have a lot of room for improvement. We have discussed the situation with her and she chose to stick with the General course.

1. I was a bit puzzled when I read the first sentence. I've always thought that 'share my experience with somebody' means that you want to give some information to that person.

As I understand, the noun 'experience' is usually used with 'in', 'with' or 'of': - experience in dealing with such clients or experience in this industry; - experience with different systems; - experience of this kind of work.

When we use the verb 'share' before the noun 'experience' the options are: - share my experience with you - I want you to know something I know; - share with you my experience of something or share my experience of something with you - I want you to know something I know + some information about the experience; - share my experience of - a good option if it's clear from the context whom the sharing is going to happen with; - share your experience in the comment section down below - just an example with 'in'.

In my colleague's email I would probably use 'share my experience of working with id 0129934' or 'share my experience of mentoring id 0129934', since it's clear that she wants to share this story with me.

​Are my examples correct? Would one of the variants with 'experience of' work better in the first sentence of my colleague's email?

2. I think that the sequence of tenses is incorrect: We have discussed the situation with her and she chose to stick with the general course.

They discussed/had discussed (the outcome had some relevance in the past), and then she chose (based on their discussion).

I don't see how 'have discussed' might have any relevance in the present moment.

Possible variants: - We discussed, and she chose - sounds simpler and better than the rest - We had discussed, and she chose - We discussed, and she has chosen (her choice is still with her now; she is still taking that course)

Are these combinations possible? Which one would you use?

Hello Tony_M,

(1) The original sentence is OK but it is a little clumsy because of the verb 'share'.

As you say, multiple prepositions are possible after 'experience'. For people, experience with is quite common and would be fine if the verb were not 'share'. The reason is that we also say share with , so you have a choice of using two withs , which is unfortunate in terms of style, or using one with and leaving some ambiguity as to the meaning. This problem disappears if other verbs are used:

I'd like to tell you about my experience with 0129934 I'd like to say a few words about my experience with 0129934 I'd like detail my experience with 0129934 etc

Your suggestions are better in the sense that they don't have this problem, but since the following sentences from your colleague make the situation clear I don't think it's a major problem.

(2) I agree that there is an inconsistency here. Presumably the first verb is in the present perfect as the information is perceived as news to you, but if this is true then the second verb is surely also news to you and so both verbs should be in the present perfect. I don't see any reason to use the past perfect here but the past simple is fine:

We discussed... she chose... [a sequence in the past] We have discussed... she has chosen... [actions with present relevance - given the context this would seem to be optimal] We discussed... she has chosen [the discussion was in the past and then after some time she made a decision which is news to you/a present and current change]

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello Peter,

Thank you for your detailed and clear explanation. It was very helpful and understandable.

Why is Past Perfect overkill?

I hope you don't mind me stepping in here. I just noticed that it's been awhile since you asked your question and Peter hasn't been able to answer.

The past perfect would be overkill here because the earlier past time it would imply wouldn't make much sense in this situation. For example, I would understand it to suggest that the discussion happened earlier than the speaker's observation of id 0129934's skills. As I understand it (perhaps I've missed something?), the discussion happened precisely due to the insufficient skills.

Does that make sense?

Hope this helps.

Hello Kirk, 

Thank you. It does make sense.

Could we use the past perfect for the first event in this sequence (was placed)? Or is it not a good idea unless we have some signal words like 'before', 'after', or 'by the time'?

Just to make it clear, you're asking if the following works or not:

I'd like to share my experience with id 0129934. She had been placed under my supervision. However, I saw that her skills have a lot of room for improvement. We have discussed the situation with her and she chose to stick with the General course.

Perhaps in some very particular situation, it could work, but off the top of my head I can't think of one. The use of the present simple and present perfect later on are incongruous with a past perfect as far as I can tell.

To use a past perfect here, you'd have to shift the tenses in the following sentences towards the past. Even then, unless there's a particular reason to emphasize that her placement occurred before some other past point in time (which isn't mentioned in these sentences but perhaps was mentioned before), I wouldn't recommend it. This is because it would probably make the listener wonder what that other past time reference was; if there was no other past point in time that was relevant, it could be confusing.

You've understood me correctly. The explanation you've provided is excellent. It's shed a lot of light on the topic for me.

Thank you very much.

Dear teachers, In advanced thank you for helping us, I have an enquiry, in the question1, (What happened at school today?) Why didn't you use did in the question? And when should I use this form of question that is without did? Best regards Asala Mohammed

Hi Asala Mohammed,

This is a type of question called a subject question. These questions ask about the person or thing that did the action. They use the same word order as a normal sentence (Wh- question word + verb), without an auxiliary verb. For example:

  • Who wrote that book?
  • What caused the problem?
  • Which player scored the goal?

In the questions above, the wh- word is the subject of the verb. This may be easier to see if you compare it with the answer, e.g. Charles Dickens wrote that book . ("Charles Dickens" = subject).  Who wrote that book?  ("Who" = subject).

These are different from other questions, where the wh- word is the object of the verb. These questions need "did" (or another auxiliary verb). For example:

  • What did you think about the book? ("What" = object, "you" = subject)

I hope that helps.

Hello again, dear teachers and team!

Could you please help me with the following:

Which one (if any) is correct (I got the TV set yesterday and I still have it):

1. From yesterday, I have this TV set.

2. From yesterday, I have had this TV set.

It's hard to convey how grateful I am for your help and thank you for answering this comment beforehand!

Hello howtosay_,

The correct verb form here is 'have had'. You are describing a situation which began in the past and continues into the present, so the present perfect is appropriate.

'Yesterday' is a point in time rather than a period of time, so we would use 'since' rather than 'for'.

Hello, dear teachers and team!

So, I was late and rushed to catch the bus. Right after that, when I am on the bus, I have to say:

1. I was late, that's why I rushed to catch the bus. (As that very actions are finished)

2. I've been late, that's why I have rushed to catch the bus. (Now I am on the bus)

3. I was late, that's why I have rushed to catch the bus. (Because I have rushed to catch the bus, I am on it now).

I'm so much grateful for your help and thank you for answering my question beforehand!!!

The most natural thing to say here is 1 because the state of being late and the action of rushing are both finished now that you are on the bus. I imagine you being out of breath but probably happy to have caught it :-).

2 is incorrect because now that you are on the bus, you aren't late; if you used the present perfect, it would suggest you are still late. I suppose it's possible that you are still running late for your final destination, but if that's the case, you should say 'I'm late' or 'I'm running late' instead of 'I was late' since it is still true.

3 is unnatural because you've already finished the rushing to catch the bus. It could perhaps be used in some very particular situation (but I can't think of one). I'd recommend you regard it as incorrect too.

All the best, Kirk LearnEnglish team

Hello, Kirk!

Yes, that does make sense. That's very helpful, as usual.

And yes, I was happy to catch the bus. =)

Thank you so much for your help, which is very important to me!

Hello team! I have a question about using "when" with simple past. Can I use "when" with simple past in the two clauses: When I entered the room, my brother watched the movie. Do the two clauses happened at the same time or one clause happened before the other one?

Thank you in advance

Hello AbooodKh9,

Generally, 'when' in this kind of context indicates the moment that an action begins. For example:

She made a cup of coffee when I arrived - this means that the coffee making began only when I arrived.

When we want to show that an action was in progress at the time of another event, we use when or while with the past continuous:

She was making a cup of coffee when I arrived - this means that the coffee making began before I arrived and that she was in the middle of it.

Thus, I would say there are two possibilities for your example:

When I entered the room, my brother started to watch the movie - he began only once I was there. When I entered the room, my brother was watching the movie - he was in the middle of it at the time I arrived.

Hello Which sentence is correct? 1- After the plane had landed, we collected our luggage. 2- After the plane landed, we collected our luggage.

Hi KH_M_K,

They are both correct! Sentence 1 uses the past perfect, but people often simplify by just using the past simple. This happens especially if the order that the actions happened is already shown in some other way. Here, the word "after" shows this, as well as the order of mentioning the actions in the sentence (the first action is mentioned first, and the second action is mentioned second).

Hello everyone! I just want to ask a question about "when" Can I use any tense after when? I know that we can use it before(present simple and past simple) but I want to know If we can use it before the other tenses.

For example: 1) When I had arrived, I met my friend. OR When I had arrived, I had met my friend. 2) When I have studied English, I found many job opportunities. OR When I have studied English, I have found many job opportunities. And so on...

Thank you in advance.

Hello AboodKh9,

1) When I arrived is correct here. We could use the past perfect ( had arrived ) with 'once' or 'after', not 'when'.

2) I'm not sure what you mean here. When I studied (not have studied )... I found (not have found ) is correct in this context. You could use the present perfect to talk about repeated experiences, however, with the sense 'every time' or 'whenever'.

For example: I've visited Germany many times in my life and when (whenever/every time) I've been there, I've found the people to be very kind.

You can find a useful summary here:

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/when

Thank you so much for your response. But here I am asking in general (not just about the examples I typed above) about using "when as a conjunction" before the 12 tenses in English. For example:

When + present perfect When + present perfect continuous When + past perfect When + past perfect continuous When + simple future ...etc

I will be grateful for you Excuse me if I didn't get it very well.

There is no general rule here - it really depends on the context and what the speaker wants to say. While some forms are unusual ( will after when is very unusual, for example), they are not impossible. All of these, for example, are correct:

When I've finished, I'll come and help you.

When I've been working on this, I've generally found a small team better than a large one.

She had been talking when he had been talking, and that's why hadn't understood each other.

Why here we cannot use when with past perfect?

Hi yyyyyyyy7,

Are you asking about this sentence?

When I have studied English, I found many job opportunities.

Have studied  is the present perfect (not the past perfect, which would be  had studied ). The sentence is showing two things happening together and at the same time, so they should be in the same tense as each other. The sentence above is not correct, but these two sentences are.

When I studied English, I found many job opportunities . (past simple) When I have studied English, I have found many job opportunities .

I hope that helps to understand it.

When I arrived is correct here. We could use the past perfect (had arrived) with 'once' or 'after', not 'when'.

Why we can not use when with past perfect? And we dont use past perfect here?

Actually, we can use the past perfect with "when", e.g. When I'd finished studying, I went to sleep .

Peter's comment above is saying that the past perfect cannot be used here, in that particular sentence. It should be the past simple because the apparent meaning of using "when" is that the first action ( arrived ) leads into the second action ( met my friend ). In comparison, using the past perfect would make the two actions seem more separated and less connected (like finished studying  and went to sleep  in my example above). If the two actions really are separate, then using "once" or "after" + past perfect instead of "when" would make that meaning clearer.

I have several questions be I would be very grateful if you answer. 1) does it mean that when we talk about things which are connected than we use past simple in both clauses? And does it mean that we use past perfect for things which are not connected as in your example? 2) where I can find materials to learn all these details according to tenses? I understood that using of tenses require to pay attention on these details.

Hi yyyyyyyy7,

“When” + past simple action 1 + past simple action 2 shows actions that are connected in the sense that action 1 leads smoothly into action 2. Action 2 follows very shortly after action 1. The focus of the sentence is on both actions.

  • When I closed my eyes, I fell asleep.
  • I picked up the phone when it rang.

“When” + past perfect action 1 + past simple action 2 emphasises the completeness of action 1 before action 2 happened. Although the two actions may also be connected in the sense of having a cause-effect relationship, using the past perfect for action 1 makes it seem further back in time from action 2 (the past simple action), and like a preliminary stage to action 2, with action 2 (the past simple action) being the main focus of the sentence. As noted above, “once” and “after” are synonyms for “when” here.

  • When the cat had gone away, the mouse came out.
  • I folded the clothes when they’d dried.

Of course, how connected actions are is subjective, so sometimes both structures are possible, depending on the speaker’s intended meaning.

  • When the cat went away, the mouse came out . (one action follows soon after the other)
  • When the cat had gone away, the mouse came out . (emphasises the completeness of the first action, before the second one happened)

I’m afraid I can’t really recommend particular learning materials to learn more about this grammar point, but I suggest having a look for advanced-level grammar books since this is quite a specific point and it may not be covered in general textbooks. Best of luck!

Hello, I have one more question. Your example above about phone remind me another example. Here you have used past simple: I picked up the phone when it rang. I have come across to another example: I couldn’t answer when my phone rang as I was in the shower. Why in both sentences are used past simple instead of past continuous?

The past continuous ( was ringing ) is also possible in both sentences. Using the past continuous emphasises the duration of the activity, i.e. the fact that the ringing went on for some time. You may say this if your aim is to describe what was happening at that particular moment that you picked up the phone.

Using the past simple presents the actions in a step-by-step way: one thing happened, then another thing. You may say this if you are telling a story, for example, as it's common to use the past simple to tell the main sequence of story events.

Do studying English and finding job opportunities mean that they are happening at the same time? Doesn’t mean that after he had studied English he found new job opportunities?

The original commenter's sentence has an unclear meaning. It may show actions happening at the same time, or one after the other. Both of these meanings make sense. Yes, it is also possible that the person studied English first, and then found new opportunities after that, as you say. But in that case, the earlier action should either be in the past simple or the past perfect. For greater clarity, I would also recommend using "Once" or "After" instead of "When", to show that the actions happen one after the other. However, the original sentence seemed to me to indicate two actions happening at the same time because of the use of the present perfect with "when", which has the meaning of "every time" or "whenever".

Hello! Could you please clarify the use of Past Simple in this sentence: 'The project was started maybe a year ago'. Is it acceptable to use Present Perfect here meaning that the project is still ongoing, or Past Simple is referred to just one completed past action -- started? Or it's better to rephrase the whole sentence -- 'It's been a year since the project has (been) started'? Is it acceptable or are there any exceptions for using 'ago' with Present Perfect? The main emphasis is that the project is not finished yet. Thank you in advance!

Hello Gulnara_BC,

The present perfect is not correct in either of these sentences. 'a year ago' suggests a past time that isn't closely connected with the present and so the past simple is the best choice here.

There may exist some situations where it's possible to use the present perfect with 'ago', but I can't think of one off the top of my head.

The past simple does not imply that the project is finished. The action of starting is an action that we generally think of as taking a relatively short time, and then of course the project can continue for an indefinite length.

All the best, Kirk The LearnEnglish Team

Hello Team. Is there any difference between "How long ago" and "When" to ask about past events? For example, in the following question, which one is correct? Why? - (How long ago - When) did you start studying English? Thank you.

Hello Ahmed Imam,

'how long ago' asks for a specific kind of answer, i.e. an expression with 'ago', whereas 'when' is a bit more general.

In practice, though, the person who answers is free to answer as they wish. In other words, they could just as easily say 'when I was ten years old' or 'last summer' or 'ten years ago' in response to 'how long ago' as 'when'.

Hello again Kirk. So, I understand that they are equally-correct in my question, right? Thank you

Yes, that's right: both of those formulations are correct.

Hi Jonathan, Thanks so much for your prompt reply. So, in informal speaking, we could ask questions such as: - How's the film yesterday? - Why's he angry last night? - What's he doing when you called him? - When's the next train arrive? - What's it mean? - How's he look?

[1] Is this kind of contraction also used by educated people in daily conversations?

[2] Could we use this kind of contraction ('s) of "was" and "does" in daily communication with our coworkers or boss?

Your remarks would be highly appreciated.

Best regards,

Hi melvinthio,

[1] Yes, if they are in informal situations. I don't think the education level is relevant here.

[2] Potentially, yes, but I can't really say more than that. It depends on the expectations about formality, clarity and interpersonal communication that people in your particular workplace have.

Hi Jonathan, Merriam Webster's online dictionary cites that the past tense "was" can also be contracted to ('s). E.g. : When's the last time you ate? [1] Can we use the contraction in general or it's only used in the fixed phrase of "When's the last time......?"

The dictionary also cites that ('s) is also the contraction of "does". E.g. : What's he want ? [2] Can we use this contraction in general with other question words (where, why, who, how) as well ?

You can find these contractions in other sentences too, not just these ones. However, it's important to know that these contractions are normally used (1) in informal speaking, and (2) in questions. Because of their use in informal speaking, some people may consider them incorrect. It's also good to be aware of the potential for confusion (e.g. "What's" might be initially understood as "What is" or "What has").

Hi In this following sentence "I took care that he should not hear me " Does here "he should not hear me " refer to past ?Can we use "should" in past tense?What about if we use "would not" instead of "should not" here ?

Yes, it does. (If referring to the future, "shall" can replace "should".) In this sentence, "would" and "should" have the same meaning but "should" is a bit more formal in style.

Hi To know about someone's food hobby we ask What's your favourite food? if someone ask me " What was your favourite food?" , is it different from "What is your favourite food?"

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Past Simple PowerPoint Presentation

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the past simple

THE PAST SIMPLE

Jul 13, 2014

15.3k likes | 28.81k Views

THE PAST SIMPLE. How do we form the simple past tense?. English has two types of verbs in the past: REGULAR IRREGULAR. Regular verbs form. -ed for all persons Play  play ed Work  work ed Stay  stay ed Listen  listen ed. Spelling.

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  • certain change patterns
  • past simple use
  • irregular verbs

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Presentation Transcript

How do we form the simple past tense? • English has two types of verbs in the past: • REGULAR • IRREGULAR

Regular verbs form • -edfor all persons Play  played Work  worked Stay  stayed Listen  listened

Spelling • 1) Double the consonant if the consonant is stressedstop – stoppedswap - swapped • 2)Add only –d, when the verb ends with –e love – lovedsave – saved • 3)Verbs ending in 'y' preceded by a consonant: Change 'y' to 'i' Then add -ed. hurry - he hurried (watch out!play – played)

Irregular verbs form • The form CHANGES from infinitives, usually with a vowel change. • Can be grouped according to certain change patterns, which helps to memorize them.

Certain change patterns • speak  spoke • eat  ate • see  saw • fly  flew • think  thought

I he she it you we they Verb TO BE • were was

Past Simple Use • Actions that started and finished in the past • I went to the beach last Sunday • I bought a new car yesterday.

Past Simple Use • Actions that happened one after the other in the past (like in a story) • He came in, took off his coat and sat down. • I went into the disco and I saw my favourite girl, then I asked her to dance,...

Negative Sentences DID NOT + VERB (base form) Example: I did not work yesterday or I didn’t work yesterday INCORRECT: I didn’t worked

More examples: - I didn’t go on holiday last year • - I didn’t went on holiday last year

Negative SentencesverbTO BE WAS / WERE + NOT Examples: I was not at school yesterday afternoon or I wasn’t at school yesterday afternoon They were not at home last weekend or They weren’tat home last weekend

Yes /No Questions DID + subject + main verb + rest of sentence + ? Example: Did you work yesterday? - Yes, I did. - No, I didn’t.

Yes /No Questionsverb TO BE WAS / WERE + subject + rest of sentence + ? Example: Were you at home last weekend? - Yes, I was. - No, I wasn’t.

REMEMBER!! • Positive sentences: • I played football yesterday • I went home early on Saturday • Negative sentences: • I didn’t play football yesterday • I didn’t go home early on Saturday • Yes/No questions: • Did you play football yesterday? • Did you go home early in Saturday?

REMEMBER!!Verb TO BE • Positive sentences: • I was in London last year • Negative sentences: -They weren’tat home last weekend • Yes/No questions: • Were you ill yesterday?

WELL DONE!! Your teacher :WalaaAwad

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IMAGES

  1. Past Simple

    past simple presentation pdf

  2. PPT

    past simple presentation pdf

  3. PPT

    past simple presentation pdf

  4. The past-simple-ppt

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  5. Using the Past Simple (or Simple Past) Tense

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  6. Verb To Be: Past Simple PowerPoint Presentation

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VIDEO

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COMMENTS

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  2. The Simple Past Presentation

    The past-simple-presentation The future with be going to Present perfect continuous part 1 Present Perfect vs Past Simple : English Language The verb get Common time expressions in the past simple Have to, don't have to, must, mustn't Present Perfect with Already, Yet, & Still Present perfect tense

  3. PDF Teaching English

    past simple, past continuous and past perfect. Working together on these presentations requires them to take notes, of course, but more importantly, to discuss the facts and in turn, the grammar they are going to use in the presentation. It's a very free stage but takes up to half an hour to do effectively, even for a

  4. Past Tense

    Activity 1: Past Tense Guessing Game. This game is great to introduce the past tense to students and is a fun way to practice making past tense sentences. In this past tense game, students will see how to change a verb into the past tense. Then an image that is hidden behind some colored shapes is slowly revealed.

  5. PDF The Past Tense

    1) Simple past = action 2) Past progressive 3) Past perfect (simple and progressive) _____ The simple past tense is used to describe: 1. an action that happened in the past 2. a truth about a time in the past • Add " ed" or " ied" to regular verb endings in simple past tense when used to describe

  6. Past simple: worksheets pdf, printable exercises, lessons

    Worksheet : affirmative-negative forms Past simple - exercises Past simple tense - worksheet Worksheet : simple past - interrogative Past simple - worksheets Past simple - negative Past simple - questions Irregular verbs - pdf exercises Past simple - pdf handout Simple past worksheet - > answers Simple past - worksheet -> answers

  7. The Past Simple (or Simple Past) Tense

    The Past Simple Tense (also called the simple past tense) Click here to download this explanation as a pdf. Click here to learn about how to USE the past simple. It's similar to the present simple because it has different rules for the verb 'be', which becomes 'was' or 'were': The Past Simple with 'be' Here's how to make the positive:

  8. SIMPLE PAST grammar guide: English ESL powerpoints

    SIMPLE PAST. Conchimena. 35348. 262. 101. 0. 1/10. Let's do English ESL grammar guide. A POWERPOINT TO INTRODUCE VERBS IN THE SIMPLS PAST.

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    Level: beginner With most verbs, the past tense is formed by adding -ed: called liked wanted worked But there are a lot of irregular past tense forms in English. Here are the most common irregular verbs in English, with their past tense forms: We use the past tense to talk about: something that happened once in the past: I met my wife in 1983.

  10. Past Simple

    41496 373 125 0 1/10 Let's do English ESL grammar guide. This is a presentation, suitable also for interactive white boards, which covers a whole lesson. It begins with a little gra…

  11. Past simple tense

    Present perfect continuous part 1 PAST SIMPLE POWER POINT Simple past tense by Mikaela Crisostomo Past simple and past continuous Past perfect tense x past perfect continuous Viewers also liked (20) The Past Simple ppt Regular Past Tense For Kids English modal verbs Past simple ppt mercedes Simple Past Tense Be

  12. The Past Simple

    The Past Simple Ppt - Free download as Powerpoint Presentation (.ppt), PDF File (.pdf), Text File (.txt) or view presentation slides online. The Past Simple Ppt

  13. A Comprehensive Guide to Forming and Using the Simple Past Tense

    Simple Past - Free download as Powerpoint Presentation (.ppt), PDF File (.pdf), Text File (.txt) or view presentation slides online. The document discusses the simple past tense, including its meaning and use to express actions that started and finished in the past.

  14. PDF Simple Past Grammar Practice Worksheets ESL Library

    A common way to form the simple past is to add -ed to the end of a verb. These verbs are called "regular verbs.". Other verbs have many kinds of changes. They are called "irregular verbs.". The Be verb is a special kind of irregular verb. It has two forms (was and were). It also has diferent sentence patterns.

  15. Past Simple PowerPoint Presentation

    Past Simple PowerPoint Presentation. Found a mistake? This ppt will help your students to practise regular verbs with different endings- t, d, id and irregular verbs. The pictures will help to remember the verbs better. You can answer the questions with these vebs or ask the questions. You can use this ppt for revision with senior students.

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  17. 57 Past simple vs continuous tense English ESL powerpoints

    AlexandraR. Past Simple vs Past Continuous. Jeopardy game is used to see whether your students are able to make questions in these two forms. 15260 uses. MisterBOBON. TINTIN: Past Continuous VS Past Simple. In this slide show with Tintin characters, students have to conjugate the verbs using the good tenses.

  18. PDF 04 ppt pastsimple

    PAST SIMPLE. Il Past simple si usa per descrivere azioni compiute nel passato, quando nella frase c'è un'espressione di tempo che indica un momento del passato o quando è chiaro (anche in assenza di espressioni di tempo) che l'azione ha avuto luogo nel passato ed è ora terminata. Si riferisce a un periodo di tempo passato.

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    Presentation Transcript. How do we form the simple past tense? • English has two types of verbs in the past: • REGULAR • IRREGULAR. Spelling • 1) Double the consonant if the consonant is stressedstop - stoppedswap - swapped • 2)Add only -d, when the verb ends with -e love - lovedsave - saved • 3)Verbs ending in 'y ...

  20. Power Point Past Simple

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  21. The past-simple-presentation

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  23. 30 Past perfect simple tense English ESL powerpoints

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