Discovering the Simple Past Tense
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Discovering the Simple Past Tense
minute
second
What do you already know about the simple past tense?
Learning Objective
At the end of the lesson you will confidently use the simple past tense to talk about actions in the past.
What Is the Simple Past?
The simple past describes actions that happened and finished at a specific time in the past.
Forming the Simple Past
Irregular Verbs
Add '-ed' to most verbs: play → played.
Regular Verbs
The spelling changes: go → went, have → had.
Simple Past Sentence Structure
Positive: Subject + past verb (+ object) Example: She visited the museum.
Negative and Question Forms
Negative: use 'did not' + base verb. Example: He did not play. Question: Did + subject + base verb? Example: Did they arrive?
Time Expressions
The simple past often uses words like yesterday, last week, in 2005, or ago to show when something happened.
Let's Practise!
Write two sentences using the simple past. Share with the class!
Reflect and Recap
What did you learn about the simple past tense today? Why is it useful when talking about what happened before now?
Write down 3 things you learned in this lesson.
Write down 2 things you want to know more about.
Ask 1 question about something you haven't quite understood yet.