A selection of English ESL past simple and past continuous printables

This ws. is a review of all verb types used in the present time.  Present Continuous - modal/semi-modals - to be - to be + past participle (passive voice) - have got - regular simple present construction - imperative.   the construction of the verbs - adverbs associated with certain verbs and a lot of examples are given.  

COMPLETE PRESENT TENSE VERB REVIEW

When I heard this song I found it very easy to follow and I thought I would be a very good listening activity. I took some words out of the lyrics because I wanted my students to practice Past Simple and Past Continuous, but you can change the words, add or do as you please according to your students'  needs.

At the end, I added some discussion questions in relation to de topics and ages dealt in the song. Again, you can modify them according to your students'  needs.

Talking about your past (Song 1 years)

The photocopiable activity begins with a text that is actually a joke. It continues with some verbs in the text activity, allways relates to Simple Past. As it is for spanish speakers, theres a part where translating the verb occurs. After, we can see if the student understood the verbs with a sentence completion activity. 

It's a grat activity for those student who don't like ti study at all, as is a fun and different way of learning this topic. Hope you enjoy it!!

The old lady and her dog. Long joke to practice past simple verbs

To practise time linkers and story telling (past simple and continuous). Two-part exercise: 1) Teacher cut up the sentences and ss put the story in order 2) ss need to recreate the story according to the pictures and given time linkers. They can write their sentences. It can be done as a group work or individually or pair work.

Time linkers in story about Mary

This is a chart showing the Future Continuous tense with examples in use.





You can get a PDF in A4 or A3 format here when you register for free...





http://www.tefllessons.com/product/present-perfect-simple-chart/





Students can keep this handout in their file or it can be used as a poster. There is an A4 and an A3 version to download. You can find the charts for all other tenses here too.





https://tefllessons.com/product/past-simple-tense-chart/





https://tefllessons.com/product/present-simple-chart/





https://tefllessons.com/product/future-perfect-tense-chart/

Present Perfect Chart

Compare this to my TIME RELATED VERB CONSTRUCTIONS - horizontal - version.  This is a list of verbs in their different aspects, which follow an ideal time line from the past to the future. The simple and continuous forms are opposite each other so that  the difference between their uses is easier to understand. 

TIME RELATED VERB CONSTRUCTIONS

This is definitely my favourite activity in my lesson plan ! Makes me cry each time I watch the video... Anyway.



1) students watch the video

2) they reorder the pictures

3) they associate each of them with a keyword

4) they recap to sum up the story

5) they practise their vocabulary thanks to a "fill in the blanks" activity

6) they practise their grammar skills : simple past or past continuous ? / perception verbs / expression of probability / expression of agreement



Easy and interesting ! Enjoy !

WW1 : The Christmas Truce ( Sainbury's ad )

Simple activity to practice past perfect continuous and past perfect simple. Divide the class into groups of 3-4 students. Cut out the sentence cards, shuffle them, and give one pile to each group.

The students will take turns to take a card and read out the sentence written on it. The other students in the group must form a response explaining the situation on the card using the past perfect or past perfect continuous.

Example:
Student A: "When I saw you, you were sweating"
Student B: "Because I had been playing badminton with Kenko."
Student C: "Because I had eaten a spicy curry." 
Student A will then decide who gave the best/funniest/most imaginative answer and award the card to that student. The student with the most cards at the end of the game is the winner.

We have provided an easy print version of the game on the last page to save on coloured ink. but do you really want to hit print? This is also a QR code activity, so you could save yourself the time and paper and have them do it, in colour, on their smartphones. Visit english-able.com for QR codes and more.

This is an official Englishable activity uploaded by the copyright holder.

Past Perfect/Past Perfect Continuous Explain Yourself Game

A technical overview of all present tenses, with only Past Simple and Past Continuous. I used colours for each different feature to help students notice the differences on a broader scale. you can change the examples if appropriate (e.g. the names or the verb itself). the same verb is used throughout to point out the differences. students should be reminded of the difference between state and action verbs, to realize that not all the verbs could be used in the whole chart. If I have a projector, I usually make certain words white, and the students have to say the correct form or tense marker. The Past Perfect should be input by students in class, or use it as it is for lower levels

Present and Past tenses

This is one of the 'top' google search verb tense mind maps.  All Past Tenses are shown in an easy to follow, colour associated, hierarchic mind map.  It couldn't be more simple.  All active and passive forms are shown on one page.  A hit on 'like' or a thank you would be highly appreciated.  

ALL PAST TENSES - active and passive - mind map 

This worksheet is to be done after listening to Mr. Bojangles by Nina Simone. PAST SIMPLE VERBS, REGULAR AND IRREGULAR. It's really helpful if you include the solutions in the resource as it makes it easier for us in class to check the answers. Also, the solutions make the resource suitable for self-study.

Mr. Bojangles - Nina Simone - Song Gap Fill

This is a chart showing the Future Continuous tense with examples in use.







https://tefllessons.com/product/future-continuous-chart/







Students can keep this handout in their file or it can be used as a poster. There is an A4 and an A3 version to download. You can find the charts for all other tenses here too.







https://tefllessons.com/product/past-simple-tense-chart/







https://tefllessons.com/product/present-simple-chart/







https://tefllessons.com/product/future-perfect-tense-chart/

Future Continuous Chart/Table 

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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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

708 Past simple and past continuous English ESL worksheets pdf & doc