A selection of English ESL past simple and continuous printables

Culture, intercultural communication, cross-cultural communication

Adjectives to describe feelings, emotions

Adjectives to describe personality and character

Adjectives: Gradable / Non-gradable adjectives

Articles: Definite or indefinite article (a, an or the)

BE + infinitive structures (e.g. he was to become famous)

Clauses of contrast (e.g.  although, while)

Clauses of purpose (e.g. in order to, so that, so as to)

Clauses of reason (e.g. because, because of, due to, as, since)

Cleft sentences (e.g. It's Joey we're looking for)

Comparison: Comparative adjectives and structures

Comparison: Superlative adjectives and structures

Conditional 2 (second conditional) - would

Conditionals: Conditional phrases (e.g. unless, provided that, as long as)

Conjunctions (aka connectives, e.g. and, but, or, so, then)

Contractions (shortened forms, e.g. don't, aren't, etc.)

Determiners (words that can come before nouns)

Formal and informal English (politeness or colloquial language)

Future perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Future perfect simple and continuous (progressive) tense

Future phrases (e.g. be about to, bound to, likely to, due to, set to + INF)

Homonyms (two words with the same pronunciation - homophones and homographs)

It as preparatory subject (e.g. it's raining, it's nice of you to)

Linking verbs (aka copulas, e.g. I am a student)

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how to accuse somebody of something in English

how to apologize, say sorry, forgive and express regret in English

how to ask for information and make inquiries in English

how to ask for something, make requests in English

how to blame somebody for something in English

how to defend yourself from criticism in English

how to deny or admit something in English

how to describe things or people in English

how to emphasize important things in English

how to encourage or discourage people in English

how to evaluate people or progress in English

how to express agreement /disagreement in English

how to express approval and disapproval  in English

how to express cause and effect in English

how to express interest in something in English

how to express likelihood, probability in English

how to express likes and dislikes in English

how to express sequence and chronology in English

how to express shock and disbelief in English

how to express sympathy and condolences in English

how to give permission, authorization in English

how to inform somebody about some news in English

how to interpret what was said in English

how to keep a conversation going in English

how to make guesses about something in English

how to make, accept and refuse offers in English

how to order or make a booking in English

how to persuade, convince people in English

how to praise people and express appreciation in English

how to reassure somebody of something in English

how to refuse and object to something in English

how to remind people of something in English

how to rephrase, paraphrase what was said in English

how to say thank you, express gratitude in English

Nouns: Collective nouns (team, class, family, committee)

Nouns: Proper nouns (names of people, cities, companies)

Oxymorons (phrases with words of contradictory meaning, e.g. living dead)

Participles: Past participle (e.g. HAVING DONE)

Participles: Present participle (e.g. DOING)

Parts of Speech (aka word classes, e.g. nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs)

Past perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Phonetics (pronunciation, IPA, phonetic symbols)

Plural nouns: regular plurals with S ending

Prefixes (e.g. A, UN, IM, DIS, MIS, EN, etc. )

Prepositions vs adverbs (e.g. before me, saw him before.)

Prepositions: Double prepositions (e.g. out of)

Prepositions: Participle prepositions (e.g. pending, concerning)

Prepositions: Phrase prepositions (e.g. by means of)

Present perfect continuous (progressive) tense

Present perfect simple or present continuous tense

Present simple tense: S for third person singular verbs

Present simple vs continuous (progressive) tense

Pronouns: EACH OTHER, ONE ANOTHER (reciprocal pronouns)

Pronouns: Possessive pronouns (e.g. my, mine)

Pronouns: Reflexive pronouns (e.g. myself, yourself))

Pronouns: SOMEBODY, ANYBODY, EVERYBODY, NO ONE, NOTHING, etc.

Pronouns: THIS, THAT, THESE, THOSE (demonstratives)

Pronouns: YOU and THEY to talk about people in general

Quantifiers (e.g. some, many, much, any, few, little)

Questions: WH questions (open-ended questions)

Reported speech: reported questions (indirect questions)

There is / there are / there was / there were / there will be, etc.

Verbs: Transitive or intransitive verbs (words that can or cannot stand with objects)

Working with Paragraphs: ordering, titling

Role play, miming, drama activity or improv game

Pictionary (picture dictionary) or picture matching

Writing an opinion essay (persuasive essay)

Learners who are Pre-A1 have just begun learning English and will first learn how to:<ul><li>Say the letters in the alphabet and numbers</li><li>Say hello, talk about names and age</li><li>Name the colors and dates, express likes and dislikes</li></ul>

Absolute beginners who have begun to learn the letters and numbers

Learners taking the A1 Elementary exam should be able to:<ul><li>Introduce themselves and ask and answer questions about personal details such as where he/she lives, things he/she has, people he/she knows.</li><li>Communicate using very basic phrases as long as the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: common adjectives & adverbs of frequency, going to, how much/how many, imperatives, I'd like, 's – possessive, common prepositions of place and time, present simple & continuous, there is/are</li></ul>

A very basic tourist level, which is enough for buying food and a bus ticket

Learners taking the A2 Pre-intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand sentences and frequently used expressions (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment).</li><li>Complete tasks that are routine and exchange information about familiar matters.</li><li>Describe matters of immediate need in simple terms.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: countable/uncountable nouns, adverbs of frequency, future will/going to, much/many, present perfect, past simple, past continuous, common phrasal verbs, common modals: can/should</li></ul>

A tourist who can do basic conversations about the past, present and future

Learners taking the B1 Intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand points regarding family, work, school or leisure-related topics.</li><li>Deal with most travel situations in areas where the language is spoken.</li><li>Create simple texts on topics of personal interest.</li><li>Describe experiences, events, dreams, and ambitions, as well as opinions or plans in brief.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: question tags, intensifiers: too/enough, future tenses, past tenses, modals, conditionals, wh-questions in the past</li></ul>

Learners who can deal with both familiar and routine situations, in friendly and work contexts

Learners taking the B2 Upper-intermediate exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in his/her field of specialization.</li><li>Interact with fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible without difficulty for either party.</li><li>Produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain an opinion on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.</li><li>Main grammar points to know: perfect tenses, mixed conditionals, modals in the present, phrasal verbs, reported speech, wish, relative clauses</li></ul>

The level where you can be a tour guide for your foreign friends and talk about a lot of topics, even abstract ones, with ease and fluency

Learners taking the C1 Advanced exam should be able to: Express ideas fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions. Use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes. Understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts. Produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, using linking phrases (=words that connect ideas between sentences). Main grammar points to know: inversion, mixed conditionals, modals in the past, all passive forms, phrasal verbs (all patterns), wish/if only for regrets

Learners who can smoothly communicate in every walk of life, read long texts and write well

Learners taking the C2 Proficient exam should be able to:<ul><li>Understand almost everything read or heard with ease.</li><li>Summarize information from a variety of sources into a coherent presentation.</li><li>Express themselves using precise meaning in complex scenarios.</li><li>Can express him/herself spontaneously, very fluently and precisely, differentiating finer shades of meaning even in the most complex situations</li></ul>

Get here and you are ready to study in English at university

Lesson plan based on reading Alice in Wonderland. Aim: To revise how to create past simple and past continuous tenses and how to use them correctly, how to use these past tenses in the description of an event that happened during another event



Alice in Wonderland

This lesson is designed for upper-intermediate learners (CEFR B2 level) who already have a solid foundation in English but are working on refining their grammatical accuracy and fluency, particularly with more advanced tenses like Present Perfect Simple and Present Perfect Continuous. At this level, students are familiar with English verb forms but may struggle to apply them correctly, especially when distinguishing between results and processes, or completed versus ongoing actions.


The vocabulary used in the lesson draws from both conversational English and more academic language (e.g., "cheat code," "minefield," "pronunciation"), making it suitable for learners who are comfortable with abstract concepts and complex sentence structures. Additionally, the article itself incorporates humor and a light, relatable tone to engage students and help them digest the grammar points more easily.


In terms of skills development, the lesson focuses primarily on reading comprehension, grammar accuracy, and writing, with opportunities for speaking practice through partner discussions. The inductive grammar approach aligns well with the language level, encouraging learners to analyze examples and figure out the rules themselves before confirming their understanding through explicit teaching. By combining both controlled and free practice exercises, students are able to gradually build confidence with these two tenses and use them more effectively in real-life situations.


This level of detail and structured learning is ideal for teenagers or young adults who are motivated to move beyond basic grammar and want to polish their ability to express nuanced ideas in English.











How Hard Is It to Learn English?: Present Perfect Simple and Present Perfect Continuous.

This is an easy RC and picture description exercise. Students read a short passage, then they do a true or false exercise. They must correct the false statements. The worksheet helps students revise basic vocabulary, the present continuous tense and the past simple of BE.

Picture description - At Home

In this activity students listen to the song, complete the gaps with verbs in the Past Simple or Past Continuous, choose the right word, and number the lines. It's a good opportunity to practice the TH sound and have a discussion about the lyrics.

Thunder_Imagine Dragons_Song Activity

I made this explanation for a remedial group who were having a hard time understanding when to use the Simple and when to use the Progressive.  It has clear explanations and two short exercises, allowing the students to use their imaginations to create sentences. 

Past Tenses

Nice song that tells the story of Rasputin in a funny way. Noce for practicing Simple Past and Past Continuous and introduce Students to narrations and anecdotes. Also nice to talk about disco music from the 70s and different musical preferences.
You can find the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvDMlk3kSYg


Rasputin: A song from the 70s (Boney M)

You can use this worksheet to practise/revise the past simple and the past continuous tenses in a fun way. It would be great for groups of 8-10 students with the A2-B1 level of English. 

Past Simple vs Past Continuous Video worksheet

A traditional Irish folk song sung by Metallica to practice verb forms of (mostly) past tenses, i.e. Past Continuous/Progressive, Past Simple and  infinitive forms. You may find the song here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIh3nO6-V_A

Whiskey In The Jar

This is a reading comprehension to practise the past simple tense and there is some use of the past continuous tense. A student teacher gets a raw deal. Then, a set of questions to answer. Key included.

My lesson observation

This is a worksheet where students have a list of different forms of the verb and conjugations were they need to match the correct form for them to complete the sentence in simple past or past progressive

Simple Present/ Past Progressive

The test is created to remember Past Simple, Past Continuous, Past Perfect,the structure used to, didn´t use to, words about people and their outlook. It contains also several speaking exercises.
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Review tenses, used to,describing people and actions vocabulary

Guided writing where students practise their writing skills and using the past simple and the past continuous in expressing their ideas.



Students combine the use of their knowledge of the grammar and vocabulary in this guided practice with the intention to learn to express their ideas in a written form.

729 Past simple and continuous English ESL worksheets pdf & doc