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Past simple: ESL lesson plans and exercises

Levels A1 to B2 15 lesson plans · 7 drill lessons Exercises that check themselves

The past simple is the first past tense English learners meet, for actions and states that are over: we traveled, she went, Did you call? Here are 15 ready-made past simple lessons from the edio.ai library, levels A1 to B2, all interactive and in American English. Play some of their exercises, study each rule in the lessons' own grammar schemes, and pick a lesson by level, from was and were to irregular verbs and questions with did. Students do the drills in their own accounts, and every drill checks itself.

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Past simple lesson plans and drills

15 lesson plans and 7 drill lessons, A1 to B2. Lesson plans are whole lessons with reading, listening and speaking; drill lessons are 44 to 46 self-checking exercises with no new words.

Try the past simple exercises

One exercise from each of 6 lessons. These are the same exercises your students do in edio.

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Past simple explained

We use the past simple for finished actions and states, often with a time word such as yesterday, last summer or in 1903, and for stories told event by event. Each verb has one past form for every person, except be: was and were. Other verbs form negatives and questions with did + the base form.

Was and were: the past of be

Am and is both become was, and are becomes were. That gives I was, she was and it was, but you were, we were and they were: It was sunny, We were at the beach.

WhoNowIn the past
II am tired.I was tired.
youYou are at home.You were at home.
he, she, itShe is at the café. It is sunny.She was at the café. It was sunny.
weWe are at the beach.We were at the beach.
theyThey are sleepy.They were sleepy.

From the lesson Why do we have two days off? (English A1.2)

Regular verbs: -ed in writing and in speech

Most verbs add -ed, verbs ending in e add -d, and consonant + y becomes -ied: walked, arrived, carried. Short verbs like stop double the consonant, and American English writes traveled with one l. The ending sounds /t/, /d/ or /ɪd/.

Spelling: add -ed

The verbAddExamples
most verbs-edwalk → walked, visit → visited
ends in eonly -darrive → arrived, explore → explored
consonant + yy → -iedcarry → carried, study → studied, try → tried
vowel + y-edplay → played, stay → stayed
a short verb (one syllable): one vowel + one consonantdouble the consonant + -edstop → stopped, grab → grabbed, plan → planned
travel-ed, one ltravel → traveled

Say it: three endings

SoundWhen?Examples
/t/after p, k, s, sh, ch, f soundswalked, stopped, packed, crossed, watched
/d/after other sounds (b, l, m, n, r, v, vowels…)traveled, arrived, explored, played, grabbed
/ɪd/ (one more syllable)after t or dstarted, visited, wanted, waited, ended

From the lesson Around the world in 72 days (English A2.1)

Irregular verbs: a past form of their own

Many everyday verbs change instead of adding -ed: go → went, take → took, buy → bought. Each one has to be learned: went, never goed. Like all past forms, it fits every person, so he went, not he wents.

Base formPastExample
drivedroveJackson drove across America.
leaveleftThey left San Francisco in May.
taketookThe trip took 63 days.
breakbrokeBig Blue broke down.
getgotThey got lost.
gowentBud went to New York.
comecameA stranger came and helped.
havehadThe car had no roof.
seesawMarco saw the old car.
buyboughtJackson bought goggles for Bud.
eatateBiscuit ate Marco's sandwich.
findfoundNora found a mechanic.

From the lesson The first drive across America (English A2.1)

Negatives: didn't + the base form

Didn't already shows the past, so the verb after it goes back to the base form, regular or irregular: We didn't stop, They didn't have GPS. Watch for didn't stopped and didn't went.

The past simple: no

I / you / he / she / it / we / theydidn't (= did not)base form

We didn't stop for lunch.

Big Blue didn't break down.

In 1966, they didn't have GPS.

Regular and irregular: one rule

Regular verbs (-ed)

  • stopped → didn't stop
  • missed → didn't miss
  • rained → didn't rain

Irregular verbs

  • drove → didn't drive
  • had → didn't have
  • went → didn't go

From the lesson Get your kicks on Route 66 (English A2.1)

Questions: Did…? for most verbs, Was…? for be

Yes/no questions open with Did + the base form: Did Edison use the word “bug”? The short answer is just Yes, he did or No, he didn't. The verb be needs no did: Was it a real bug?

Other verbs: Did + base form

  • Did Edison use the word “bug”? – Yes, he did.
  • Did the Mark II stay at Harvard? – No, it didn't.

be: Was / Were, no did

  • Was it a real bug? – Yes, it was.
  • Were the engineers at Harvard? – Yes, they were.

From the lesson A real bug in the computer (English A2.1)

Past simple or present perfect?

A finished time, stated or obvious, takes the past simple: Claire set up Wrenfield in 2012. So does a story told step by step. The present perfect is for experience, present results and periods still going on: We've had a partner since last year.

UseTime wordsExample
Past simple: a finished time, said or clearin 2012, last year, three weeks ago, when I was…, yesterdayClaire set up Wrenfield in 2012.
Past simple: a story, step by stepthen, after that, soon, a year laterWe moved into the warehouse and started roasting.
Present perfect: experience up to now, no time givenever, never, beforeHave you ever worked with hotels?
Present perfect: a past action with a result nowjust, already, yetThe samples haven't arrived yet.
Present perfect: a period that is not oversince, for, so far, this week, How long…?We've had a partner in Hamburg since last year.

From the lesson Our Story: From Cart to Roastery (Business English B2)

Questions about the past simple

When do we use the past simple?
For actions and states that finished in the past. I called my sister last night, We were in Texas in May. Words like yesterday, ago and last week often signal it. It also carries a story forward, one event after another: She opened the door, saw the dog and laughed.
How do you form the past simple?
Regular verbs add -ed; irregular verbs have their own form. Either way, one form fits every person: I worked, she worked, they went. Negatives use didn't + the base form (She didn't go), and questions put did before the subject, as in Did she go? and Where did she go? Only be works differently, with was, were and no did.
How do you pronounce the -ed ending?
In three ways: /t/, /d/ or /ɪd/. After the sounds p, k, s, sh, ch and f, it is /t/: walked, watched. After t or d, it is /ɪd/, an extra syllable: visited, ended. After other sounds, vowels included, it is /d/: played, arrived. So walked has one syllable, not two.
What are irregular verbs in the past simple?
Verbs whose past form doesn't end in -ed. Go becomes went, eat becomes ate, buy becomes bought, and students learn each form by heart. The scheme of the English A2.1 lesson on irregular verbs lists twelve, from drive → drove to find → found. In negatives and questions, the base form comes back: We didn't eat, Did you buy it?
Is it the past simple or the simple past?
Both names mean the same tense. Some books call it the past simple, others the simple past or the simple past tense, but the forms are identical: worked, went, didn't go, Did you go? The lessons on this page use the name past simple.
What's the difference between the past simple and the present perfect?
Finished times take the past simple, not the present perfect. I went to the Grand Canyon last year gives the time; I've been to the Grand Canyon is an experience, with no time. Questions with When…? and words like yesterday, ago and in 2005 take the past simple too: When did you go? is right, and When have you been? is not.
How do I teach the past simple to A2 students?
Start with was and were, then one step per lesson. Learners meet was and were in English A1.2. English A2.1 opens with regular verbs, irregular verbs and didn't in lessons 1 to 3, then adds questions with did in lesson 6 and question words in lesson 7. English A2.2 sets the past simple against the present perfect and the past continuous.
What are good past simple games and activities?
Games that get students telling and checking real past events. Try Two truths and a lie about last weekend, a chain story where each student adds a sentence, or a race to call out irregular past forms. On top of that, every lesson here has a speaking chapter: a chat first, then Spin the wheel or Open the box.
Are there interactive past simple exercises?
Yes: try some above, no account needed. They come from the lessons below, and each lesson has more: drag-and-drop, gap-fills, tables to complete and quizzes on regular and irregular verbs, didn't and did. In their own edio.ai accounts, students see each answer checked as they work. A free trial gives you these lessons and the rest of the library.
Can I use these lessons one-to-one or for homework?
Yes, with one student live or as homework. Live, you and the student work in sync, each in your own account, and the chat and the speaking game need nobody else. As homework, the drills check themselves, while any writing or recording task waits for you to review it.

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