Simple Past Tense

1
The Simple Past Tense
Lesson Plan

The Simple Past Tense and The Negative Simple
Past Tense of Regular Verbs

Spelling of The Simple Past Tense Verbs

Pronunciation of The Simple Past Tense Verbs
2
Grammar in Content
Read about Arthur and Karen.
Hey! How was your
summer?
It was great! I was at a business
seminar in Florida. Bill Gates
was there! I talked to him for a
few minutes. I also dropped in
on a friend for lunch. We didn’t
cook anything. Instead, we
walked to a café near his house.
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The Simple Past Tense
Complete the chart with positive and negative
statements.
Subject verb
I in Tokyo last
night.
He
She

It
hard yesterday.
You*
We
They
Denise last
week.
arrived
did not arrive
worked
did not work
called
did not call
What about Contractions?
didn’t
didn’t
didn’t
*You is either singular or plural.
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Notes
We use the simple past to talk about events that happened
and are now finished.
today
last night
last week
yesterday
I studied.
I worked.
I called.
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Exercise A
Raise your hand if the statement is false.
1. Arthur’s summer wasn’t good.
2. Bill Gates was there.
3. Arthur didn’t drop in on his friend.
4. Arthur and his friend cooked lunch.
5. Arthur’s friend drove them to lunch.
Answers:
1. False
2. True
3. False
4. False
5. False
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Spelling Verbs in the –ed Form
Look at the chart.
Base
form
-ing form Rules
work
walk
worked
walked
For most verbs: add ed.
live
dance
lived
danced
For verbs ending in a consonant + e: add d only.
study

cry
studied
cried
For verbs that end in a consonant +y: change y to i
and add ed.
play
enjoy
played
enjoyed
For verbs that end in a vowel +y: add ed.
Continued on next slide.
7
Spelling Verbs in the –ed Form
Look at the chart.
Base
form
-ing form Rules
drop
hug
dropped
hugged
For one-syllable verbs that end in a consonant +
vowel + consonant: double the final consonant and
add ed.
show
relax
showed
relaxed
For verbs ending w or x: do not double the final
consonant. Just add ed.

happe
n
open
distract
happened
opened
distracted
For two-syllable verbs that end in a consonant +
vowel + consonant: if the first syllable is stressed,
add ed. Do not double the consonant.
prefer
admit
commit
preferred
admitted
committed
For two-syllable verbs that end in a consonant +
vowel + consonant: if the second syllable is
stressed, double the consonant and add ed.
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Exercise B
Raise your hand if the statement is in the present
progressive tense.
1. I walkt 12 miles yesterday.
2. He cryed at the end of the movie.
3. She danced when she was
younger.
4. They plaid with the children.
Answers:
1. walked

2. cried
3. Correct
4. played
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Grammar in Content
Read about Arthur and Karen.
Hey! How was your
summer?
It was great! I was at a business
seminar in Florida. Bill Gates
was there! I talked to him for a
few minutes. I also dropped in
on a friend for lunch. We didn’t
cook anything. Instead, we
walked to a café near his house.
This time, try saying these verbs:
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Pronunciation Notes
Complete the chart.
Verbs that end in Pronounce the third person -s
the sounds f, k, p, s, ch, or sh
the sounds b, g, j, l, m, n, ng, r,
th, v, z, or zh
d or t
/t/ as in “cooked” and “helped”
/d/ as in “played” and “used”
/id/ as in “wanted” and “needed”
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Exercise C
Practice aloud with a partner. Use these verbs in a past

tense sentence. Help and correct each other.
1. walk
2. cook
3. admit
4. work
5. cry
6. play
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Grammar in Content
Read about Alison.
Let’s see… what did I do
yesterday? I took a test in
English. I ate dinner. I bought
a new computer. I needed
toothpaste, so I went to the
convenience store. I called my
house, but I didn’t speak to
my sister.
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Irregular Verbs
Complete the chart with positive and negative
statements.
Subject verb
I
in a restaurant
last night.
He
She
It
You*

We
They
ate
did not eat
didn’t eat
*You is either singular or plural.
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Notes
Irregular verbs do not have the –ed ending in the past tense.
Here are some common irregular verbs and their past tense
forms.
be / was, were
buy / bought
come / came
do / did
get / got
give / gave
go / went
have / had
leave / left
make / made
sell / sold
speak / spoke
meet / made
pay / paid
put / put
see / saw
take / took
write / wrote
See appendix 4 on page 232 for more irregular verbs and their

simple past forms.
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Exercise D
Ask a partner the question. Next, answer for yourself.
1. last night?
2. last Thursday?
3. this morning?
4. yesterday?
5. last Summer?
today
last night
last week
yesterday
?
What did you do
When did you
1. eat breakfast?
2. study?
3. write a letter?
4. shop?
5. meet your friend?
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Review
Subject verb
I in Tokyo last
night.
He
She
It
hard yesterday.

You*
We
They
Denise last
week.
arrived
did not arrive
worked
did not work
called
did not call
*You is either singular or plural.