Past simple: irregular verbs

Objective & content

This grammar sheet teaches the past simple of common irregular verbs (went, saw, had, made, took, got, came, bought) next to regular verbs in -ed, in positive sentences with yesterday, last Friday, two days ago and in 2019. Pupils read what Kwame and Phoebe tell their class about a school trip to a castle, find the missing verbs and read the rule, given in a box. By the end, they can use eighteen common irregular past forms and tell a friend about a day out.

Pedagogical guide

Page 1 is the text, with a picture of Kwame and of Phoebe: the class went by bus to an old castle, met a guide in a long dress like a queen, saw the sea from a tower, and Phoebe found an old coin in the garden. Pupils find eight missing verbs in sentences from the text. Then they read the rule, given in a box in short lines: many verbs add -ed, some are irregular and have a special past form, the past form is the same with every person, and past time words. Page 2 has a table of eighteen irregular verbs to learn (go, went; buy, bought; wear, wore), Yusuf's holiday message to his grandma with seven verbs to circle, and eight sentences to change from today to yesterday. Page 3 has twelve sentences with the verb in brackets to write in the past, some regular and some irregular, then a mystery word: pupils write seven past forms in the boxes and the shaded letters spell a word. Every exercise opens with a worked example, except the table and the mystery word. There are no questions or negatives on the sheet.

Suggested procedure

1. (5 min) Tell the class about a day out ("Last Sunday, I went to the sea and I saw a dolphin") and write the verbs on the board.
2. (10 min) Read the text aloud; pupils find the missing verbs.
3. (5 min) Read the rule in the box with the class; pupils find the irregular verbs in the text.
4. (10 min) Page 2: read the table together, then Yusuf's message and today and yesterday.
5. (10 min) Page 3: the verbs in brackets, then the mystery word.
6. (5 min) Check with the answer key on page 4.

Adaptations

[S] Pupils read the text aloud in pairs, one as Kwame and one as Phoebe, before the tasks.

[A] Pupils write four sentences about a school trip they remember.

Materials & prerequisites

One copy of pages 1 to 3 per pupil. Page 4 is the answer key and teacher notes: keep it. Pupils need the past simple of regular verbs (-ed), was and were, and the words for food, school and holidays. To take it further, pupils test each other on the table: one says go, the other says went.