Quality ESL grammar worksheets, quizzes and games - from A to Z - for teachers & learners
PAST SIMPLE
PAST SIMPLE
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Spelling Worksheet
Past Simple PAGE 1 15 question sentences with scrambled words PAGE 2 15 sentences (same as above) - listen to your teacher and write the missing words. Extend by using the question sentences as a Q&A pair work activity. With Notes and Answer Key on Page 3 Level: Elementary to Pre-Intermediate Total Time: Approx. 20 - 25 minutes (This activity was adapted from the 'Grammar Discussion' at bottom of page.) |
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Grammar & Writing
Past Simple Answer your friend on facebook. Remember to use past tense in your answer.
Choose either the woman's face version on Page 1 - or the man's face on Page 2 (or use both). Level: Elementary (CEFR A1 to A2) Time: Approx 10 - 15 minutes |
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Grammar Bingo
Past Simple Classic 'Grammar Bingo' game
Whole class activity With Activity Notes on Page 2 Level: Elementary (CEFR A1 to A2) Time: Approx. 15 - 20 minutes |
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Grammar Game
Past Simple Use the cue cards for a fun team
competition using the past simple. Two pages of cue cards With Activity Notes on Pages 1 and 2 Level: Elementary (CEFR A1 to A2) Time: Approx. 15 minutes |
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'Questions About You'
Grammar & Writing Practice Past Simple Answer the questions about you. Use the past simple in your answers.
One page worksheet with eight questions. Answers will vary. Level: Elementary (CEFR A1 to B1) Time: Approx. 15 minutes |
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'Find Someone Who'
Activity Past Simple Classic 'Find Someone Who' activity
Whole class activity Activity Notes on Page 2 (with Activity Version 1 and Version 2) Level: Elementary (CEFR A1 to A2) Time: Approx 15 - 20 minutes |
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Grammar Discussion Practice
Past Simple 16 Question strips adapted from the below (bottom of this page) Pair Work activity.
These questions can be used with students seated in pairs or in small groups, or with students standing. Activity Notes on Page 2 Level: Elementary (CEFR A1 to A2) |
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Conversation Practice Activity
PAST SIMPLE Use the cue cards and model dialog to practice speaking about the past.
With Activity Notes on Page 2 Level: Elementary (CEFR A1 to A2) Time: Approx. 15 minutes |
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Grammar Worksheet
Past Simple Use the past simple to complete the sentences.
With Answer Key on Page 2 Level: Elementary (CEFR A1 to A2) Time: Approx. 5 - 10 minutes |
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Grammar Worksheet
Past Simple and Spelling Practice Fill in the missing vowels.
With Answer Key on Page 2 Level: Elementary (CEFR A1 to A2) Time: Approx. 15 - 20 minutes
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Grammar Worksheet
Past Simple Grammar error correction: Find and correct the mistakes in the 16 sentences. Answer Key on Page 2 Level: Elementary (CEFR A1 to A2) Time: Approx. 10 - 15 minutes |
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Grammar Crossword
Crossword: Past Simple (Irregular) 31 word items; with Answer Key Level: Elementary (CEFR A1 to A2) Time: Approx. 20 minutes 
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Grammar Worksheet
Past Simple Write the sentences in the past simple.
20 sentences with Answer Key on Page 2 Level: Elementary (CEFR A1 to A2) Time: Approx. 15 minutes. |
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Grammar Game
Past Simple Use the letters to make Past Tense verbs.
For each word, you can only use each letter one time. 16 possible answers and suggested game ideas on page 2. Level: Elementary (CEFR A1 to A2) Time: Approx. 10 to 15 minutes. |
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Editing Practice
Past Simple 222-word paragraph
Correct the 30 grammar mistakes. The first one is done as an example; Answer Key attached Level: Elementary to Pre-Intermediate (CEFR A2 to B1) Time: Approx. 20 minutes. 
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Grammar
Reference Chart Past Simple Printable chart for students (or for teachers - use as a class teaching aid!)
Level: Elementary (CEFR A1 to A2) SUGGESTION E-mail this grammar reference chart to your students if you know their e-mail addresses, or post it on your class website.
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Grammar
Reference Chart Past Simple 64 commonly used past simple irregular verbs Print in b/w; or color for projectors or laminated prints Level: Elementary (CEFR A1 to A2) SUGGESTION E-mail this grammar reference chart to your students if you know their e-mail addresses, or post it on your class website.
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PRESENT
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PAST
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PRESENT
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PAST
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be
become begin bite blow break bring build buy can catch choose come cost cut do draw drink drive eat fall feed feel find fly forget freeze get give go have hear |
was / were
became began bit blew broke brought built bought could caught chose came cost cut did drew drank drove ate fell fed felt found flew forgot froze got gave went had heard |
hit
hold hurt keep know leave lose make meet pay put read ride run say see sell sing sit spend stand steal swim take teach tell think throw understand wear win write |
hit
held hurt kept knew left lost made met paid put read rode ran said saw sold sang sat spent stood stole swam took taught told thought threw understood wore won wrote |
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Grammar
Reference Chart / Quiz Past Simple Follow-up to above chart of 64 commonly used past simple irregular verbs Print in b/w; or color for projectors or laminated prints Level: Elementary (CEFR A1 to A2) ACTIVITY SUGGESTION
Use this quiz either as a pre-activity diagnostic tool, and/or as a post-activity evaluative assessment (either before they have studied the above grammar reference chart and/or after they have studied it). Have your students correct their own papers (or consider having students swap papers and correct a classmate's paper). |
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Grammar Dictation
Past Simple Listen to your teacher and complete the sentences with the past tense forms of the verbs you hear.
Level: Elementary (CEFR A1 to A2) Time: Approx. 10 - 15 minutes ACTIVITY SUGGESTION 1
If your classroom has Internet capabilities, consider having your learners listen to the adjective prompts by playing the audio file below. ACTIVITY SUGGESTION 2
Once your learners have checked their answers, consider extending the activity by having them change the sentences into questions, or into negative statements. |
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Grammar Quiz Past Simple
(with Regular Verbs only) 16 multiple-choice questions; with ANSWER KEY and percentage conversion chart
Level: Elementary (CEFR A1 to A2) Time: Approx. 15 minutes ACTIVITY SUGGESTION
Use this quiz either as a pre-activity diagnostic tool, or as a post-activity evaluative assessment. Consider saving time marking papers by having one or two students come to the board to write their answers. Wrap-up by correcting and discussing any mistakes. (Add 5 to 10 minutes.) |
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Grammar Quiz
Past Simple (with both Regular & Irregular Verbs) 16 multiple-choice questions; with ANSWER KEY and percentage conversion chart Level: Elementary to Upper-Intermediate Time: Approx. 15 minutes ACTIVITY SUGGESTION
Use this quiz either as a pre-activity diagnostic tool, or as a post-activity evaluative assessment. Consider saving time marking papers by having one or two students come to the board to write their answers. Wrap-up by correcting and discussing any mistakes. (Add 5 to 10 minutes.) |
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Grammar Quiz
(Short Version of Above Quiz) Past Simple (with both Regular & Irregular Verbs) 12 multiple-choice questions Shorter version of the above quiz with slightly larger font size With ANSWER KEY and percentage conversion chart Level: Elementary to Upper-Intermediate Time: Approx. 15 minutes |
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Grammar Worksheet Past Simple: Regular
15 sentences (fill in the gaps to complete each sentence); with ANSWER KEY and percentage conversion chart Level: Elementary (CEFR A1 to A2) Time: Approx. 15 minutes ACTIVITY SUGGESTION
Before giving this worksheet to your students, review and discuss the fact that we use Past Simple for actions that began and finished in the past. Have your students complete this worksheet before moving on to Irregular Verbs. Wrap-up by having students compare answers with classmates, and then choose one or two students to write their answers on the board: (1) waited; (2) didn't walk, etc. Correct and discuss any mistakes. (Add 5 to 10 minutes.) |
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Grammar Worksheet Past Simple: Irregular
15 sentences (fill in the gaps to complete each sentence); with ANSWER KEY and percentage conversion chart Level: Elementary (CEFR A1 to A2) Time: Approx. 15 minutes ACTIVITY SUGGESTION
See above activity suggestions (Past Simple: Regular). Also, make sure your students have studied the grammar reference chart above (or one like it) for a list of common irregular verbs. |
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Grammar Crossword Crossword: Past Simple (Irregular)
32 clues; with ANSWER KEY Level: Elementary (A1 to A2) Time: Approx. 20 minutes 
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Grammar Word Search Past Simple: Irregular
18 word items; with ANSWER KEY Level: Elementary (CEFR A1 to A2) Time: Approx. 15 minutes ACTIVITY SUGGESTION
I find that Grammar Word Searches work best as a simple warm-up at the beginning of a lesson. A great idea is to follow-up this activity by using some (or all) of the words in a writing activity, or perhaps a board game (see 'Chalk Talk' on page below for an example). |
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Grammar Board Game Past Simple
30 squares, each asking for a different comparison (speak for at least 1 minute per roll) Pair work or small groups Dice required Level: Elementary (CEFR A1 to A2) Time: Approx. 20 minutes |
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Grammar Lesson Past Simple
(with prepositions of Location) 8 pages; with NOTES and ANSWER KEY Level: Elementary (CEFR A1 to A2) Time: Approx. 2 - 3 hours ACTIVITY SUGGESTION
Consider breaking this lesson up into two or three parts, spread over two or three days of teaching. Alternatively, take a look at what best suits your class and use only those pages. |
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Grammar Discussion Past Simple
Student 'A' version and Student 'B' version, each with 10 different discussion questions. Level: Elementary (CEFR A1 to A2) Time: Approx. 20 minutes ACTIVITY SUGGESTION
Have your learners seated in pairs and make sure that they don't look at each others papers. After they finish, have them switch papers and continue one more time; then, stand up and talk to two or three classmates and ask two questions: (1) Who did you talk to? (2) What interesting things did you find out about him/her? |
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Grammar Game +
Worksheet Past Simple 11 Past Tense sentences that, when joined together, create a story about what happened to Sue last week. Students each memorize one sentence strip before standing and working together with classmates to re-create the story. NOTES and ANSWER KEY are provided. The Grammar Worksheet (attached on page 2 of the file) can be used to follow up this activity, or it can be used on its own. Level: Elementary (CEFR A1 to A2) Time: Grammar Game: Approx. 20 minutes Time: Grammar Worksheet: Approx. 10 - 15 minutes. ACTIVITY SUGGESTION
For weaker students, consider the possibility of using the worksheet on its own (without the cut-up sentences). For a stronger class, consider the possibility of having your students memorize the sentence strips before handing them back to you (or perhaps folding the paper strips and putting them in their pockets - to be referred to only if truly needed!) |
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Grammar in Writing Past Simple
First, complete the sentences by writing the correct past tense forms of the words in parentheses. Then, finish the story by using the past tense ... and your imaginaation. Level: Elementary (CEFR A1 to A2) Time: Approx. 30 to 40 minutes ACTIVITY SUGGESTION
If your class is outgoing, consider the possibility of having your students write the stories in groups of three, and then turning their stories into plays! Have one student be a narrator, while the other two students act out the story for their classmates! |
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ACTIVITY IDEAS
FOR YOUR BLACKBOARD OR WHITEBOARD A very simple, but fun and effective grammar board game: First, divide your class into two teams, and have two volunteers (one from each team) come to the board. Choose one of the word items they have learned recently - for example, 'drive' - and shout it aloud. The two students should then compete to write a complete sentence with the past simple form of that verb - 'I drove to a park.' To be awarded one point, the sentence must be at least 5 words in length (use a longer word length for more advanced classes) and contain no spelling, punctuation, capitalization or grammar mistakes. Encourage their seated teammates to yell suggestions. Repeat this procedure using randomly selected words, and new volunteers for each round. Continue for six or seven rounds, and then applaud the winning team with the most points. |
