Past Simple activities

Title separator

Grammar - Past Simple

Past Simple activities

LESSON OVERVIEW

The main objectives of this lesson with Past Simple activities are to:

  • practise the pronunciation of verb endings in the past;
  • revise regular and irregular past verb forms in both positive and negative statements, as well as in questions;
  • talk about past situations and events.

With this lesson, students review regular and irregular past verbs. They explore the pronunciation of verb endings (/d/, /t/ and /ɪd/), ask yes and no questions using the verb ‘be’, and complete sentences with irregular verbs (e.g. sent, brought, ate, etc.). Students discuss daily activities (e.g. run in the park, drive to the office, buy some clothes, etc.) and talk about themselves and the people they know. They also play a guessing game and complete short stories using the past form of verbs.

A2 / Pre‐Intermediate60 minStandard LessonUnlimited Plan

SHORT STORIES (REGULAR VERBS)

In this activity, students listen to some verbs (e.g. cleaned, cooked and decided). They pay attention to how the word endings are pronounced (/d/, /t/ or /ɪd/). Then, students read sets of verbs (e.g. watched, opened, invited) and choose the correct word ending pronunciation for each. Then, they choose three sets and create short stories using the verbs. 

WHERE WERE THEY? (VERB ‘BE’)

Students also practise the verb ‘be’ with this Past Simple activities lesson. They receive different sets of photos with and without names of people. Students guess the names by asking yes or no questions. They use was or were and ask about the places and the people’s feelings. 

WHEN I CAME HOME… (IRREGULAR VERBS)

In this exercise, students complete gaps in statements about past actions and events. They use the correct past forms of irregular verbs (e.g. felt, took, make, etc.). Then, they complete the sentences (e.g. When I came home, I felt really tired so…) with their own ideas. 

HE HAD SOME FREE TIME (IRREGULAR VERBS)

In this activity, students revise the Past Simple forms of verbs in phrases about daily activities and tasks (e.g. see three films, drink a lot of coffee, write and send emails, etc.). After that, they read about Jay and Ana’s week and choose four activities each person probably did last week (e.g. Jay didn’t go to work and he had some free time so he probably made dinner for his family.). They also explain their answers.

YESTERDAY AFTERNOON (REGULAR AND IRREGULAR VERBS)

In one of the Past Simple activities, students use sentence beginnings (e.g. Yesterday afternoon, …) and negative or positive forms of verbs (e.g. answer, borrow, break, etc.) to create sentences. They talk about themselves, their friends, family and colleagues.

GUESS THE PERSON (REGULAR AND IRREGULAR VERBS)

In this exercise, students play a game where they read clues about a famous person to their partner. Before reading each clue, they must put the verb in the correct form (e.g. He ___ (come) from Germany.). Their partner tries to guess who the person is and earn points.

STORIES (REGULAR AND IRREGULAR VERBS)

In this activity, students read story beginnings and complete gaps with the negative and positive past forms of verbs (e.g. Rafi had a big dog called Bear. One day, his dog got ill so he brought him to the office…). Then, they choose three icons for each story and complete them with their ideas.

WHAT DID YOU DO? (QUESTIONS)

In this activity, students get cards with some activities to imagine what they did yesterday. They ask their partner questions about their activities, answer their partner’s questions and find three activities which they both did yesterday. Students also ask their partners about some activities they really did yesterday and add follow-up questions

WHAT IS THE STORY ABOUT? (QUESTIONS)

In this task, students receive two stories. One story is complete and one has gaps. They ask each other questions to complete their stories.

WORKSHEETS

Comments

Title separator

Leave a Reply

  1. TeacherLu

    Great activities. I’m definitely using those.

    1. Justa

      We hope your students will enjoy practising Past Simple with them 🙂

Browse other materials recommended for you

Title separator
phrases to express frequency
A2 / Pre‐Intermediate
Standard Lesson 60 min
Loading

Meeting a celebrity

General Grammar

With this lesson, students talk about celebrities and work with grammar! They watch a funny ad, discuss situations related to fame and practise words and phrases to express frequency. Students also do a role play task in which they throw a celebrity party.

sharing experiences using Present Perfect and Past Simple
A2 / Pre‐Intermediate | B1 / Intermediate
Standard Lesson 60 min
Loading

Sharing experiences (Present Perfect and Past Simple)

Grammar Lifestyle

With this lesson, students discuss the topics people talk about when they first meet. They also practise Present Perfect and Past Simple, watch a video about people who have just met and do a role play activity.

practise advice structures
A2 / Pre‐Intermediate
Standard Lesson 60 min
Loading

What to do when you’re stressed

Grammar Lifestyle

Talk about how to stop worrying about a problem with this lesson! Students discuss stress issues, watch a short video on tips about how to take your mind off problems and practise advice structures.

practise will and won’t
A2 / Pre‐Intermediate
Standard Lesson 45 min
Loading

I’ll do it better next time!

General Grammar

Practise will and won’t with this lesson! Students talk about everyday life situations and use will and won’t to express promises, offers and decisions. They also examine situations and create dialogues based on pictures.

structures with so and such
A2 / Pre‐Intermediate | B1 / Intermediate
Flipped Lesson 60 min
Loading

It’s such a lovely place! (so and such)

Grammar Lifestyle

With this lesson, students talk about travel experiences, watch a short video about the capital city of Ghana and practise ‘so’ and ‘such’ structures. They also share their personal experiences and discuss the advantages of different travel options.

Present Perfect activities
A2 / Pre‐Intermediate | B1 / Intermediate
Standard Lesson 60 min
Loading

Present Perfect activities

Grammar

With this lesson, students practise Present Perfect in various ways. They apply the tense to tell the news, discuss experiences and talk about life stories. Students also practise applying Present Perfect and Past Simple depending on the context.

Past Simple and Continuous practice
A2 / Pre‐Intermediate
Standard Lesson 60 min
Loading

Posh and fancy (Past Simple and Continuous practice)

Grammar Lifestyle

Engage in revising Past Simple and Continuous and discussing fancy experiences with this lesson! Students explore vocabulary to talk about the topic, watch a humorous ad for a ketchup brand and create interesting stories.

make + object + adjective (exercises)
A2 / Pre‐Intermediate
Flipped Lesson 60 min
Loading

My pet makes me happy

Grammar Lifestyle

Engage students in fascinating discussions as they explore how pets influence our lives, master the structure ‘make + object + adjective’ and dive into a news story video on pets in the workplace in this flipped classroom lesson!

ESL lesson about coffee
A2 / Pre‐Intermediate
Standard Lesson 60 min
Loading

Food culture, coffee culture

Grammar Lifestyle

In this ESL lesson about coffee and food culture students have a lot of discussion, watch a video, study nouns that can be both countable and uncountable, and have a lot of fun practice.

Show more lessons

Questions

Title separator

Is there a minimum subscription period if I choose a monthly subscription?

No, there's no minimum required number of subscription months. You can cancel any time you want. Basically, you can sign up and then cancel your subscription the next day, which will mean you have access for 1 month and won't be charged again.

What currencies can I pay in for my subscription?

Our default currency is USD (American dollar), but you can also pay in EUR (euro), GBP (British pound sterling) or PLN (Polish zloty). You can change the currency you want to pay in at the Pricing page before selecting a subscription plan.

How can I edit an e-lesson plan?

You can get your own editable copy of an e-lesson plan and make changes to it. To do so, either (1) make a copy of it on your Google Drive (preferable method) or (2) download it in a Powerpoint format (but formatting might be a bit off so we can’t guarantee that it will work well).
Read more FAQ
Title separator

ESL Brains

Forgot password?
or continue with