Past tense 101 (Beginner)

By the end of the lesson, you will be able to:

• Recognise when a sentence refers to the past.
• Understand the basic structure and purpose of the simple past tense.
• Use common regular past-tense verbs, such as play → played and watch → watched.
• Use common irregular past-tense verbs, such as go → went and eat → ate.
• Make simple spoken and written sentences about completed past actions.

Lesson Structure

0–5 minutes: Warm-up
Introduce the topic through simple questions about yesterday, such as “What did you do yesterday?” Encourage students to share familiar actions or activities.

5–10 minutes: Introduction to the Past Tense
Explain the difference between the present and the past using simple examples, such as: “I play football” → “I played football yesterday.” Introduce common past-time expressions such as yesterday and last weekend.

10–17 minutes: Grammar Focus
Introduce the basic structure of the simple past tense. Present common regular verbs ending in -ed and a small selection of frequently used irregular verbs.

17–24 minutes: Guided Practice
Students practise changing simple present-tense sentences into the past tense. Provide examples and support as students work through the activity.

25–35 minutes: Independent Practice
Students write three to five simple sentences about what they did yesterday, using a combination of regular and irregular past-tense verbs.

35–40 minutes: Review and Exit Check
Review the key concepts from the lesson. Students complete a short exercise or answer a few questions to demonstrate their understanding of the past tense.