Past simple tense - Irregular verbs

Hello there! Did you know that when we speak about actions which finished in the past, we are using the Past Simple tense? Here you have a little explanation about the grammar points that we use within this topic.

Many verbs are regular, which means they only need to have -ed at the end to be used in simple past tense. A lot of the verbs (actions) that we use are irregular. Its means that they do not follow clear rules, but you have to study and memorize them individually. 

Let's begin with the irregular verbs since you need them to express your ideas in this grammar.

 

Here you have two lists of common irregular verbs in Past Simple.

As you could see, there are a lot of verbs to memorize. This is a very famous tip to ease that process.

Create some groups of irregular verbs so it's easier to memorize. It can be on papers or digital images. Use the resources from the drive folder. Include simple past and past participle. Illustrations are strongly recommended. Thus, you can learn the different forms and the meaning.

Finally, the best technique is to practice a lot. These are some games to review irregular verbs in Past Simple tense.

  

https://www.gamestolearnenglish.com/past-tense-game/

https://wordwall.net/resource/15851278/

https://wordwall.net/resource/27700749

https://wordwall.net/resource/35158/

https://wordwall.net/resource/32356341

https://wordwall.net/resource/16678848

https://wordwall.net/resource/33350221

https://www.liveworksheets.com/ki872705hq
https://www.liveworksheets.com/ld32447cs
https://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/grammar/beginner-grammar/past-simple-irregular-verbs

After we have covered the irregular verbs, we may continue with the specific grammar for Simple past tense. Check the grammar rules for positive and negative sentences, and also questions.

Please watch the following short story so you can see this grammar in context. Note: the negative grammar form always includes "did + not", that can be contracted into didn't in informal contexts.

In those cases, the verb to be was not mentioned so much. The verb to be is stronger or more important, so you don't need the auxiliary "did" for its different uses. 

https://wordwall.net/es/resource/3604414/

The function of simple past is imperative to know. Take a moment to have clear the situations where it's correct to use this grammar.

Games  https://www.gamestolearnenglish.com/past-tense-game/

https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/grammar/english-grammar-reference/past-simple

https://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/grammar/a1-a2-grammar/past-simple-regular-verbs

https://www.eslgamesworld.com/members/games/grammar/New_Snakes_%20Ladders/Past_simple_tense.html

Questions https://wordwall.net/es/resource/3604414/

https://wordwall.net/es/resource/19648077/

Final -s pronunciation

Third Person in simple present: Final -s pronunciation

The conjugation of the verbs for he-she-it has a lot of extra requirements, right?! If you noticed, one particularity is that, in present simple, there are different posibilities when verbs are conjugated with those subjects (third person singular) and acquire an extra -s, -es or -ies at the end. 

                             Spelling rules. Exercise

When pronuncing the final -s sound in the previous cases, we have three options. Here we have general rules for this topic.

  Start at 1:01

After those general principles, you may want to know what are the specific sounds with vibration that make the final -s sound like a Z; the sounds without vibration that make the final -s sound like a S; as well as the repeated sounds that make the final -s sound like a IZ. 

Lets practice. Here you have some games to check if you got these pronunciation rules.    

https://es.educaplay.com/recursos-educativos/3672911-a1_l9_3rd_person_singular_pronunciation_part_1.html
https://wordwall.net/resource/658959/
https://es.liveworksheets.com/fy1063500lk
https://www.liveworksheets.com/bc2547085gj

Practice. Part 1. Choose one of these comics. Describe the actions of the story in simple present tense and with he, she or it. Send a recording to the group of you reading the comic.

For example: Jimmy always forgets (/s) his lunch. He remembers (/z/) at the bus stop.

Part 2. Choose one of these videos and watch it. Describe what happens in the story by using he-she-it in simple present tense. Send a recording of you reading your summary/sentences.

 

 

Skimming & Scanning

Reading Comprehension Strategies: Skimming & Scanning

How do we extract key information from a text? When we have a reading or a video, we may need to obtain specific information in a simple, quick manner. Sometimes we need to analyze a long portion of a text or its entirety. Howeverver, let's start by the beginning: the cases when we need specific information contained in the text. Two of the most popular techniques are skimming & scanning, and they are also highly effective in standarized English-language testing.
Firstly, why is it important to have a comprehensive reading?

Reading Comprehension Strategies

In brief, people can learn from texts if they know how to analyze. At the same time, they need to organize in their heads the abstract information contained in the explicit and implicit text.

Moreover, there are general tips we can apply to start. After we become experienced, we can decide which one works best for each comprehension task.

   

After we digest a little of these principles, we can dive into the techniques we have for today.

  

 

These simple tips apply to a lot of situations so keep them in mind.

Let's practice 1. Play these games to test if you got the general concepts.

https://wordwall.net/resource/14912140/decide-whether-you-would-use-skimming-or-scanning-for-each

https://wordwall.net/resource/16944237/skimming-scanning

 

Let's practice 2. Here you have some texts and questions to answer. In a lot of cases, the text and questions include synonyms or some different word order. That is a way to increase a little the difficulty of the exercise, so take into account that you don't always have to look for an exact word or phrase from the question.

  

https://www.liveworksheets.com/pz2218655oh
https://www.liveworksheets.com/us1297859jr
https://www.liveworksheets.com/rp1663846gn

Additional resources

12 Infographics that will help improve your reading skills https://ebookfriendly.com/improve-reading-skills-infographics/

Reading Comprehension Skills and Learn 4 Key Strategies https://youtu.be/NqpbTN3diUc
Professional uses http://www.butte.edu/departments/cas/tipsheets/readingstrategies/skimming_scanning.html

Past Participle Irregular verbs

 We can tell actions that ocurred in the past and we don't want to specify the moment, or that they began in the past and continue in the present (moment of speaking). That is called present perfect. The following is an example of how to use it in real situations. Pay attention that the verbs are not in simple past form. 

We have regular verbs which only need to have -ed after the base form of the verb, but we also have a lot of cases we must memorize. Here we have two options for learning common verbs. It's better if you learn the three forms of the same verb + the meaning. For today, we are using the past participle form.
 

  

Let's practice 1. Play with this game; choose the correct verb and then its correct past participle form.

https://forms.gle/CfkW6mL2DePgWMCz5

Other games https://wordwall.net/es/resource/21258172/irregular-verbs-past-participle-form

https://www.liveworksheets.com/zj241196vs

https://wordwall.net/es/resource/3223111/irregular-verb-forms-grouped
https://wordwall.net/resource/1062774/angielski/past-simple-irregular-verbs-1
https://wordwall.net/resource/22000708/english/regular-or-irregular-verbs-past-simple
https://www.liveworksheets.com/qf834990zt

All these verbs are commonly used in the present perfect tense. Let's check that topic so you can practice the regular and irregular verbs in past participle in different situations.
Present perfect: Grammar                                             Present perfect: When to use

   

Games https://www.gamestolearnenglish.com/perfect-tense-game/
https://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/grammar-practice/present-perfect-experiences
https://www.mes-games.com/animals4.php

Let's practice 2. In the next games you have to choose between simple past and past participle forms. Watch this video first to refresh the functions of each tense so you can complete the game correctly.

 

 



  

Games. Simple past vs present perfect 

https://wordwall.net/resource/9764337/english/simple-past-or-past-participle

https://wordwall.net/resource/18813982/present-perfect-simple-and-past-simple
https://wordwall.net/resource/9870650/card-10-past-simple-and-present-perfect

https://wordwall.net/resource/26588827/english/past-simple-x-present-perfect

Final practice. Choose a common situation and send an audio to the WA group. The topic must be an every-day life situation like your personal information, work experience, traveling experience, etc. Tell your story about that topic with minimum 10 irregular verbs in past participle verbs, and 5 irregular verbs in simple past. Also use both simple past and present perfect in the correct situation.
For instance: I have lived in Costa Rica for 10 years. I moved with my family in 2012. We have bought a lot of plants for our house; those plants have grown so nice that I'm amazed.   

 

Pronunciation of verbs ending in -ed

Pronunciation of regular verbs in past simple (ending in -ed) 

To mention in English past actions that finished, we have irregular verbs and regular verbs. The second group is easier to study since they only need to receive "-ed" at the end. Maybe you have noticed that the -ed at the end of verbs doesn't keep the same pronunciation. For instance. The -ed at the end of "worked" is different from the -ed at the end of "lived" or "voted."

Listen to the story in Kung Fu Panda. Even if it's in past, do the verbs ending in -ed have the same pronunciation at the "-ed" final section?

Let's practice. 

Part 1. https://www.grammar.cl/english-games/pronounce-ed-ending.htm

https://wordwall.net/es/resource/4487537/pronunciation-of-ed

https://wordwall.net/es/resource/17051480/pronunciation-of-ed-ending

You can also create some physical games such as bingos, memory cards, etc.

  

Is this pronunciation difficult for you? Do you have issues in words like "talked," "moved" and similar ones when they are in a sentence such as "Fran talked very fast"? Listen to the pronunciation of each word and of the complete sentence.

Don't worry. Native English speakers also have issues with this pronunciation. That's why they have principles to eliminate or reduce the pronunciation of the last -d or -t sounds. 

Watch from 1:30 to 6:20

Watch from 0:20 to 2:21

Let's practice. Part 2. 

Create a little explanation of the 2 situations where you can eliminate the -t or -d at the end of words. Make an infographic or power point presentation to show to your classmates & teacher. This is the original video. Use paint, canva.com, genial.ly or another software to create the graphic (include rules, points that you pay attention to and pictures) and give examples.

This pronunciation principles apply to simple past and past participle forms. It means that this topic is useful in different tenses like simple past and perfect present.

 

 

Final practice. 

Part 1. Read the lyrics of Losing My Religion. Record an audio so you can check if you are pronouncing correcly the final sounds -t, d-, -ed. Send it when you believe you got the correct pronunciation. Please listen to the song so you get an idea of a natural pronunciation.

 

Part 2. Record an audio telling the story of what you did last month. Use simple past. Use also past participle in the story only if we studied that previously. Try to use only regular verbs (minimum 10 ending in -ed) and the correct pronunciation according to today's content. You can use also irregular verbs if your story needs them.

Overcoming your Fear of Speaking English

Do you want to develop confidence so you can use all the grammar, vocabulary and other resources you have studied about a second language like English?

 

Source: Own elaboration

Here are some tips to get over your fear of speaking in a second language.

Source: Adapted from Clark, 2020

Let's do some practice. Choose one object you know and like. It can be anything. Describe it using all the vocabulary and grammar you can. Use ALL the sentences you can... Just keep talking. 

In your free time and while practicing with classmates, use these materials during all your learning process. The manner and frequency depends on our individual capabilities, so think and choose how to use them. 

Source: Adapted from Dodds, 2021

Activity 3. Combining grammar and speaking practice.

Follow the same instruction of playing the game and then telling your opinion or personal information by using the same grammar or vocabulary. 
.
Source: Own elaboration

More games https://wordwall.net/resource/541276/english/random-questions 
https://wordwall.net/resource/752861/what-would-you-do 
https://wordwall.net/resource/17370729/activities-4th-grade
House and furniture https://es.educaplay.com/recursos-educativos/9288811-house_and_furniture.html
Do you go to these places? If not, where do you go? https://wordwall.net/resource/28235827/english/go-activities 
Can you play these sports? https://wordwall.net/resource/16978168/activities-4th-grade

Activity 4: Summary from Ted Talk. Listen to this oral presentation. Analyze it and comment it by using the same & differente grammar/vocabulary. Mention parts that you believe are important and not important/ new concepts for you / points where you agree or disagree. Record an audio or video with your answer and sent it to your teacher and classmates' group.

Source: Own elaboration

References

(2017). 7 Ways to Conquer Your Fear of Speaking English and Communicate with Courage. RealLife English. https://reallifeglobal.com/conquerfear/

Clark, G. (2020, 20 april). Afraid of speaking English? Read this! Clark and Miller. https://www.clarkandmiller.com/afraid-of-speaking-english/

Dodds, E. (2021). Speak Up! How to Improve Your Confidence in English. Leonardo English. https://www.leonardoenglish.com/blog/how-to-improve-your-confidence-in-english#toc-2