How to Teach the Past Simple to ESL

Students
Kenneth Beare
Updated August 23, 2019

Teaching the English past simple verb tense to ELL or ESL students is rather
straightforward after you've taught the present simple. Students will be
familiar with the idea of auxiliary verbs in the question and negative but not in
the positive form.

They will be able to convert to past simple using helping verbs as in:

Does she play tennis? -> Did she play tennis?

We don't drive to work. -> They didn't drive to work.

They'll also be happy to know that the verb conjugation always remains the
same, no matter the subject of the sentence.

I
You
He
She played tennis last week.
It
We
You
They

Of course, there's the issue of irregular verbs, which can be frustrating because
they just have to be memorized and reinforced through practice. A sampling of
these:

 be—was/were
 catch—caught
 speak—spoke
 understand—understood

Past Time Expressions

The key to teaching the past simple effectively is making it clear from the
beginning that the past simple is used when something begins and ends in the
past. The use of appropriate time expressions will help:

 last: last week, last month, last year

 ago: two weeks ago, three days ago, two years ago
  when + past: when I was a child when she worked in New York

Start by Modeling the Past Simple

Begin teaching the past simple by speaking about some of your past
experiences. If possible, use a mix of regular and irregular past verbs. Use time
expressions to provide context. It's also a good idea to mix in some other
subjects such as "my friend" or "my wife" to signal that there is no change in
the conjugation of the past simple other than putting the verb into the past.

I visited my parents in Olympia last weekend.

My wife cooked a wonderful dinner yesterday.
We went to a movie yesterday evening.

Continue modeling by asking yourself a question and providing the answer.

Where did you go last week? I went to Portland yesterday.

When did you have lunch yesterday? I had lunch at 1 o'clock yesterday.
Which level did you teach last month? I taught beginner- and intermediate-
level classes.

Next, ask students similar questions. It's a good idea to use the same verbs—
for example: went, had, played, watched, ate—when asking questions. Students
will be able to follow your lead and answer appropriately.

Introduce Regular and Irregular Verbs

Using the verbs you've introduced, quickly ask students the infinitive form for
each verb.

Which verb is went? go

Which verb is cooked? cook
Which verb is visited? visit

Which verb is had? have

Which verb is taught? teach

Ask students if they notice any patterns. Usually, a few students will recognize
that many past regular verbs end in -ed. Introduce the idea that some verbs are
irregular and must be learned individually. It's a good idea to provide an
irregular verb sheet for their study and future reference. Quick drills, such as a
past simple grammar chant, will help students learn irregular forms.

When discussing past regular verbs, make sure that students understand that
the final e in -ed is generally silent:

 listened -> /lisnd/

  watched -> /wacht/

BUT:

 visited -> /vIzIted/

Introduce Negative Forms

Finally, introduce the negative form of the past simple through modeling.
Model the form to the students and immediately encourage a similar answer.
You can do this by asking a student a question, then modeling a negative and a
positive sentence.

When did you have dinner yesterday? (student) I had dinner at 7 o'clock.
Did he/she have dinner at 8 o'clock? No, he/she didn't have dinner at 8
o'clock. He/she had dinner at 7 o'clock.

Resources and Lesson Plans to Practice the Past Simple

Explaining the Past Simple on the Board

Use a past tense timeline to visualize the idea that the past simple is used to
express something that began and ended in the past. Review time expressions
that are used in the past, including last week, last month, and last year; in +
dates; and yesterday.

Comprehension Activities

After students are familiar with the form, continue expanding their
understanding of it, as well as irregular verbs, with comprehension activities.
Using stories of vacations, listening to descriptions of something
that happened, or reading news stories will help underline when the past
simple is used.

Pronunciation Challenges

Another challenge for students will be understanding the pronunciation of

the past forms of regular verbs. Explaining the idea of voiced and voiceless
pronunciation patterns will help students understand this pronunciation
pattern.