Casa ESL · A1 Beginner · Unit 17 of 20 · Step 2

The Past

Past Events

✓Use the simple past of regular verbs
✓Talk about what happened yesterday and last week
✓Ask and answer questions about the past

Name

Date

Vocabulary

yesterday

adverb

The day before today.

"I worked late yesterday."

last week

phrase

The week before this one.

"I visited my parents last week."

worked

verb

Past tense of work — did the job of working.

"She worked all day yesterday."

visited

verb

Past tense of visit — went to see a place or person.

"We visited Rome last year."

cooked

verb

Past tense of cook — prepared food.

"He cooked dinner last night."

travelled

verb

Past tense of travel — went on a journey.

"They travelled to Portugal last summer."

watched

verb

Past tense of watch — looked at something.

"I watched a great film last night."

finished

verb

Past tense of finish — completed something.

"She finished her report yesterday."

Grammar Focus

Simple past — regular verbs (-ed)

To form the simple past of regular verbs, add -ed. For verbs ending in -e, add -d. Use 'did not' for negatives.

I worked from home yesterday.

She cooked pasta for dinner last night.

They visited the museum last Saturday.

I did not watch TV last night.

Exercises

Exercise 1

Write the past tense form of the verb in brackets.

1. I (watch) a film last night.

2. She (cook) lunch yesterday.

3. They (visit) their grandparents last week.

4. He (finish) his homework at 9 o'clock.

5. We (travel) to Paris last summer.

Exercise 2

Match the present verb to its past tense form.

1. workworked
2. visitvisited
3. cookcooked
4. watchwatched
5. traveltravelled

Reading

A Great Weekend

Last weekend, Rosa and her friends had a great time. On Saturday, they travelled to the coast by train. They walked on the beach and watched the sunset. Rosa cooked dinner at the beach house. They talked and laughed all evening. On Sunday, Rosa visited a small market in the town. She bought some fresh fruit and a beautiful scarf. In the evening, she watched a film and relaxed. She finished the weekend feeling very happy.

1. How did Rosa and her friends travel to the coast?

2. What did Rosa buy at the market?

Speaking

Discuss these questions with a partner or your teacher.

1Tell your partner what you did last weekend. Use the simple past.
2Ask your partner three questions about their last holiday. Where did they go? What did they do?

Writing

Write 3–5 sentences about what you did last week. Use the simple past.

Example: Last week I worked a lot. On Friday evening I cooked dinner for my family. On Saturday I visited my friend and we watched a film.

Answer Key — For Teacher Use

Exercise 1

1. watched · 2. cooked · 3. visited · 4. finished · 5. travelled

Exercise 2

1. work → worked · 2. visit → visited · 3. cook → cooked · 4. watch → watched · 5. travel → travelled

Reading Comprehension

1. They travelled by train. · 2. Rosa bought fresh fruit and a beautiful scarf.

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