Easy ESOL Grammar: Search results for past

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Thursday, October 20, 2016

Simple Past

Use past tense to talk about an action any time after you finished that action.

If you don't need an explanation or more examples, you can scroll down and try the links* to practice and quizzes.

J.J. English' Overview with examples:

For the verb, "to be," use was or were.

was for 1 I was we were
were for 2+ = you were you were
always were for you he,she,it was they were

Practice was vs. were

For regular verbs, add _ed to show past in a positive sentence. They listened to me.
Use Did and the base form to show past in a question. Did you listen to me?
Use didn't and the base form to show past in a negative sentence. He didn't listen to me.

When do you use simple past?

English Page Explanation

Children's Video: Great pronunciation of What did you do? uses childish imagery.
Real English -- What did you do yesterday?

Regular verbs end in ed. How do you pronounce -ed?

*My English Pages Online Grammar Practice

Press the little down arrow if you want to change the verb

Practice Making Questions

SXS Video Examples past tense

Ventures Online goes with our textbook, but I can't give you direct links to the exercises on past tense.

Note where to go before you click on the link.

Ventures Online -- Go to Level 1 (red) Unit 8 -- Lessons B -- Verb "to be"

Go to Level 1 (red) Unit 9-- Lessons B and C Past Tense

Go to Level 1 (red) Unit 10--Lessons B Past tense

Go to Level 2 (blue) Unit 3 Lessons B and C Past Tense

Go to Level 2 (blue) Unit 6 Lessons B and C Past Tense

Go to Level 2 (blue) Unit 8 Lessons B

Fill in the blank with past tense verbs

Verbs that don't use __ed to show past tense are called irregular verbs. There are many irregular verbs. ESOL students usually have to memorize them.

EASY ESOL IRREGULAR VERBS

Easy Fill in the Blank with irregular verbs

Mark's English School basketball game with regular and irregular verbs

Many Things Memory Game with irregular vebs

Jeapardy Style Memory Game

The ELF chants are easy, but at a good speed to practice listening and speaking.

ELF Past Chant 1

ELF Past Chant 2

ELF Past Chant 3

Since this next video -- with tons of clear examples of past tense -- is long, you may want to start at minute 1:50. I really want my students to make similar videos.

Just a song with some past tense verbs -- "Summer Nights" from Grease

Simple Past

For the verb, "to be," use was or were.

was for 1 I was we were
were for 2+ = you were you were
always were for you he,she,it was they were

Practice was vs. were

Another explanation and quiz from grammarbank.com

J.J. English' Overview with examples:

Most verbs add -ed to show that they are past.

They happened one time and it finished.

"Between the Lions" kids' song "It's over now" -- teaches to add ---ed only when something is finished

English Page Explanation

Real English -- What did you do yesterday?

I really like this next video except for two tiny points. I think we often put two verbs together in continuous and perfect tenses. In those cases, however, one of the verbs is always a form of be or have.

Also, when there are two syllables or more, we only double the final consonant before the ed if that syllable is stressed. For visit, we stress vis, so we don't double visited. Both the British and American versions of traveled are correct because British people stress the vel more than Americans do. Students shouldn't have to memorize long lists of which verbs double the final consonant before the ed.

Games to Learn Practice!

My English Pages Online Grammar Practice

Press the little down arrow if you want to change the verb

Practice Making Questions

SXS Video Examples past tense

Ventures Online goes with our textbook, but I can't give you direct links to the exercises on past tense.

Note where to go before you click on the link.

Ventures Online -- Go to Level 1 (red) Unit 8 -- Lessons B -- Verb "to be"

Go to Level 1 (red) Unit 9-- Lessons B and C Past Tense

Go to Level 1 (red) Unit 10--Lessons B Past tense

Go to Level 2 (blue) Unit 3 Lessons B and C Past Tense

Go to Level 2 (blue) Unit 6 Lessons B and C Past Tense

Go to Level 2 (blue) Unit 8 Lessons B

Fill in the blank with past tense verbs

Easy Fill in the Blank with irregular verbs

Many Things Memory Game with irregular vebs

Jeapardy Style Memory Game

Examples of answers to "Why did you leave your last job?"

Pronouncing the -ed at the end of past tense forms

Just a song with some past tense verbs -- "Summer Nights" from Grease

More Irregular Past Tense Practice

Monday, October 26, 2015

Learn and Practice Irregular Verbs

University of Victoria Explanation and Practice

Verbs from page 5 in Ventures

Verbs from Unit 3 p. 34 in Ventures,

Verbs from Unit 8 p. 98 in Ventures

Practice with Quizlet-- The "common irregular verbs" are the ones you need the most often. The order of the sets is based on a German website that measured "frequency of use" and says these verbs are in order from most often used to less used. These verbs include all the verbs in the back of Ventures 2.

You don't need any past participles (third form) to pass my level, but if you learn them now, the next level will be easier for you.

Common Irregular Verbs set 1,

Common Irregular Verbs set 2

Common Irregular Verbs set 3

Common Irregular Verbs set 4

Common Irregular Verbs set 5

Common Irregular Verbs set 6

Same sets on Studystack - more practice activities!!

80 Verbs to study on Quizlet

Flashcards and Activities on Substack

Irregular Verbs by sound

Irregular Verbs with past forms that rhyme with olive sock and are the same as the past participle

Irregular Verbs with past forms that rhyme with red pepper (Past=past participle form)

Irregular verbs with past forms that rhyme with a cup of mustard (past = past participle form)

Irregular Verbs (base rhymes with white tie) to (Past rhymes with brown cow)

Irregular Verbs with the same past and past participle form

Word wall game -- what's the verb?

Listen to a song to remember irregular verbs by pattern.

Quizlet Set: verbs with the same past and past participle

Listen to a LOT!

Listen to Irregular Verbs by group

Listen to another list of irregular verbs

Listen to some real conversational ways to hear irregular verbs. This video uses advanced tenses.

Bradley's English School IV group 1
Bradley's School of English match the pair Group 1

Bradley's school concentration group 2
Bradleys SE IV group 2 match the pair

Bradley's English School IV group 3
Bradley's School of English Group 3 match the pair

Bradley's School of English IV group 4
Bradley's School of English matching pairs group 4

Bradley's English School IV group 5
Bradley's School of English matching pairs group 5

GAMES

Irregular verb basketball

Irregular Verbs Monkey Game (Scroll down and click on play)

Irregular Verb Jeopardy

Irregular Verb Hangman

Boomerang Game--Drag and Drop the correct missing word (Hold the word with the mouse, move it to the sentences, and let go)

Remember and match the forms

drag and drop in the irregular verb

Learn English feel good practice quiz 1

http://www.learnenglishfeelgood.com/simple-past-tense2.html

Past Tense Game

Monday, March 3, 2014

Past Continuous

This exercise reviews simple past "was" or "were" -- the hardest part of correctly using past continuous

Simple Past Was vs. Were

University of Victoria Explanation and Practice

English Grammar to go for you Past Progressive Explanation and Practice

Some people may have learned not to use "to have" in a progressive or continuous tense. That's true, but only when "have" means possess. It's OK to say, "I was having my lunch," but not "I ~~was having~~ a car."

This next one has a british accent and advertising for a grammar book, but I like her explanation.

Past Continuous quiz from www.englishclub.com

Learn English Feel Good Past Continuous Quiz 1

Exercise from "TolearnEnglish.com

Learn English Feel Good Past Continuous Quiz 2

We often mix past continuous with simple past when we tell a story in the past.

Past with Past Progressive Practice

5 minute English Practice Past vs. Past Continuous

Recent Vocabulary

Monday, May 30, 2016

Present Perfect (high intermediate/advanced)

We form present perfect with

have in present tense + a past participle verb.

(past participle --ends in ed for regular verbs, column to the right for irregular)

We use present perfect for:

unspecified time in the past (When you specify the exact time the finished event occurred, use simple past)

----I have ridden on an elephant.
----They haven't studied their irregular verbs
----She has grown taller.
----Have you ever flown an airplane?
----Has he ever gone to Egypt?
With "just" for something recently finished
----I've just made dinner.

----She has just come home.

things repeated in the past
----He has gone skiing four times
----How many times has she gone on a cruise?

for events that occured within a range of time:
----I have jogged six times in the past month
----She has gotten dizzy twice in the past year
--- He has only gone to the gym once since he joined it.
----We haven't gone on a date in the past six months
with "already" for things completed before expected (Usually positive statements)
----She has already completed that worksheet.
----We have already finished three chapters.
with "yet" in negative sentences and questions for things that were expected to be completed earlier. Although they aren't complete, they will be.
----We haven't studied passive voice yet
----She hasn't heard the important news yet.
with "since" and "for" for things that started in the past and continued until now
----I have lived in Northern Virginia since 1990.
----She has swum competitively for eight years.
----He hasn't done laundry since he got married.

English Page explanation and exercises. (Note: These exercises are hard. I recommend reading the explanation, doing other practice, then doing these exercises.)

Still, already, just --How do I use these words? How do they change the meaning?

Some students find present perfect difficult because

They don't remember when to use have vs. has Practice "have" in simple present,
They don't know many Irregular Verbs
It's illogical to use a tense called "present" for the past. The "have" we use in present perfect is the present form of have, but we usually use present perfect to refer to a past time or to a time that started in the past.

Past or Present Perfect? Remember within the timeframe, use present perfect. At a certain time, use simple past.

Saturday, March 30, 2019

Practice Using Irregular Verbs

Practice Irregular Verbs

Common Irregular Verbs Set 1 on Quizlet

80 Irregular Verbs on Quizlet

In Low Intermediate, we use some irregular verbs in simple past. Simple past is usually the second column of an irregular verbs list.

Do not use "was" or "were" before another verb when you use simple past.

Use the past form in positive sentences. Do not use it in negative sentences or questions

Examples: I drove to school. She didn't drive to school. Did you drive to school?

Use base form with Did or didn't Use the past form in positive sentences.

Examples: Did you go to school? He didn't go to school. We went to school.

Sometimes we use the third column or an -ed form of a verb as an adjective in low intermediate.

She is tired. I am bored. The window is broken. The table leg is bent.

In high intermediate, we need a lot of irregular verbs. We use have or has + a past participle for the present perfect tense. The past participle is usually in the third column.
Many online exercises that practice irregular verbs mix up simple past and present perfect.

If there's a have or a has, use the third column word. I have driven. He has driven.

If there's no have or has, use the second column. I drove. He drove too.

Video songs for memorizing lists: (Scroll down for exercises to practice)

The British accent doesn't change the words...

ISL Collective Video Quiz

Easy Fill in the Blank with irregular verbs

Many Things Memory Game with irregular verbs

ELF Past Chant 1

ELF Past Chant 2

ELF Past Chant 3

Chomp Chomp- practice using irregular verbs

Language Guide-- Irregular Verbs

Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Past Perfect (Advanced)

Past perfect is used to show a time that is earlier than another past time. I use the past perfect when I talk about the past of the past.

She had brushed her teeth before she went to bed.

He had taken English 25 years before he took my class, but he couldn't remember his verb tenses.

Had you ever ridden a horse before you went to that camp?

I have never gone to Switzerland before that trip.

She said that she had never understood English until she took my class.

www.englishpage.com explanation and practice

The next video is mostly present progressive for the future, but there's a couple past perfect lyrics early in the song.

Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Past Modals (Low Advanced Level)

Explanation and practice from www.english-at-home.com

Catapult Quiz Game from www.eslgamesplus.com

Pick a past modal -- quiz from autoenglish.org

Basketball Game from eslgamesworld.com -- the questions are easier than shooting the basket!

Fill in the blank with a past model from speakspeak.com

could have or might have + past participle practice

University of Victoria Study Zone: Past Modals

LEFG -- Pick the Modal

Explanation and practice for modals of past probability/past possibility from University of Victoria

Mixed Modal Practice from UsingEnglish

Friday, November 8, 2024

Passive Causative (Get it DONE)

When Kim heard, "do your nails" today, she said that she often heard, "get" not "do" at work. She is correct. We often use get with a past participle form of a verb (regular ---ed/irregular-3rd column) to say that someone else is doing something for us. People at nail salons get their nails done. They don't do their nails by themselves.

(Official grammar name for this word pattern is passive causative. You can officially use have instead of get, but using have for passive causative is a bad pattern to practice before you are good at ALL the verb tenses. Anyway, get is more common for speaking in this area.)

My daughter gets her nails done for all the holidays. I only got my nails done for my wedding.

I don't fix my car. I get my car fixed by Backlick Road Service Station or Community Car Care.

I don't cut my hair. I get my hair cut at a beautician.

My mother doesn't clean her house. She gets it cleaned.

I don't repair watches. I get my watch repaired at Silver Dolphin.

The past participle verbs in these examples do NOT show time. The form of get shows the verb tense.

Examples: I am getting my car fixed now. I will get my car washed tomorrow. My dad gets his shoes shined every month. Mark gets his car serviced four times a year. We got the kitchen floor replaced last month. My mother never goes to Zales Jewelers because when she got her engagement ring cleaned there, they lost her diamond and tried to give her a different stone.