Warm-up

Let's think about yesterday. Have a go — don't worry about mistakes.

You already know one past word. Complete this sentence:

"Yesterday I tired, so I went to bed early."

SPEAK

Have a go out loud: say one thing you did yesterday. Any verb, any sentence.

Listen in on this conversation

Ana: How was your weekend?

Sam: It was great! I watched a new film and went for a walk by the river.

Look at "watched" and "went" above. Both talk about yesterday, but they don't look the same. Why not, do you think? Say your idea out loud before you check.

Check your idea CLICK
English has two kinds of past verbs. Most verbs just add -ed (watch → watched) — we call these regular. But some very common verbs change completely (go → went) — we call these irregular. You have to learn those ones by heart, but there aren't many of the really common ones.
Today: regular verbs with -ed, seven common irregular verbs (go, see, eat, have, make, get, come), and questions and negatives with did — so you can tell someone about yesterday.

Regular Verbs: Add -ed

Most verbs are easy — just add -ed for the past.

Spot the pattern

Three things people said this morning:

Before you check: what do all three bold verbs have in common?

Check the pattern CLICK
Every verb just adds -ed to the end: watch → watched, walk → walked, clean → cleaned. The verb stays the same for I, you, he, she, we, they — no extra "s" like in the present.
verb + -ed
Small spelling note: if the verb already ends in -e, just add -d. For example: dance → danced, arrive → arrived.

Your turn

Complete each sentence. Type only the missing verb.

1. Base verb: play.

"Yesterday I football with my friends."

2. Base verb: visit.

"We my grandmother last weekend."

3. Base verb: like.

"She the pizza a lot."

SPEAK

Say two things you cooked, washed, or watched yesterday. Use a regular -ed verb each time.

The Wild Ones: Irregular Verbs

A few very common verbs don't follow the -ed rule. They change completely.

Spot the pattern

Try adding -ed to "go", "see" or "eat" in your head. Does it sound right? Say your idea before you check.

Check the pattern CLICK
No -ed here! These verbs change into a completely new word: go → went, see → saw, eat → ate. Seven of the most useful ones to learn now: go → went, see → saw, eat → ate, have → had, make → made, get → got, come → came.
subject + irregular past verb (no -ed)

Your turn

Complete each sentence with the correct past form.

1. Base verb: have.

"Yesterday my brother a big breakfast."

2. Base verb: get.

"I a new phone last week."

3. Base verb: come.

"They to my house on Saturday."

SPEAK

Say three things using go, see, or eat about last weekend. For example: "I went...", "I saw...", "I ate..."

Questions & No: "Did you...?"

To ask a question or say "no" in the past, we need the little word did.

Spot the pattern

Watch what happens to the same idea three ways:

"I washed the car."
→
"I didn't wash the car."
"I washed the car."
→
"Did you wash the car?"

Look carefully: in the negative and the question, is the verb "washed" or "wash"? Say your idea before you check.

Check the pattern CLICK
It's "wash" — the base verb, with no -ed! Once "did" appears, it carries the past for the whole sentence, so the main verb goes back to normal. This is true for irregular verbs too: not "did you went", but "did you go?"
Positive: subject + verb-ed / irregular past
Negative: subject + did not (didn't) + base verb
Question: Did + subject + base verb ... ?
Common mistake to avoid: never put two past forms together, like "did went" or "didn't went". Once "did" is there, the main verb stays in its base form.

Your turn

Rewrite the whole sentence.

1. "I saw my friend yesterday." Make it negative.

2. "She went to work." Make it a question.

3. "We watched TV last night." Make it negative.

SPEAK

Ask a friend three questions about yesterday. Start every question with "Did you...?"

Your Turn to Talk

Time to tell a real story about yesterday — this time, it's all you speaking.

The situation

Think about your whole day yesterday, from morning to night.

Tell the story out loud for one minute. Try to answer:

01:00

Now put it in writing

Write 3–5 sentences about yesterday. Try to use a regular -ed verb and one of the seven wild verbs (go, see, eat, have, make, get, come). The checker will tell you which ones it finds.

Mix It Up

Real life mixes everything together. Here it's all mixed up — you decide.

Fix the mistakes

Each sentence has one mistake. Rewrite the whole sentence correctly.

1. "I goed to school yesterday."

2. "She did went to the party."

3. "She no visited her friend yesterday."

4. "Did you saw him yesterday?"

Which form fits?

5. Your friend looks tired this morning. You ask: "___ you sleep well last night?"

6. "I was very tired, so I ___ to bed early last night."

7. "It was a quiet day — we ___ have any homework yesterday."

SPEAK

One-minute challenge: talk about your last holiday. Say what you did, what you saw, what you ate — and one thing you didn't do.

What Do You Remember?

First, from earlier lessons

1. The present form you knew before today — complete it: "She in a shop." (base verb: work)

2. Say it out loud: how do you make a question in the present simple? Give one example.

Compare with a possible answer CLICK
One possible answer: Do / Does + subject + base verb. For example: "Do you like tea?" or "Does she work in a shop?"

Now, today's grammar — fresh sentences, no looking back

3. Base verb: cook.

"Yesterday I dinner for my family."

4. Base verb: make.

"Last week we a cake together."

5. "You did your homework last night." Make it a question.

Think back

Which part helped you most today — the wild verbs, the questions, or the speaking? Say why you think that one worked for you.

Can you now...?

At the start we said: today's grammar so you can tell someone about yesterday. Tick what's true:

Anything you didn't tick — go back to that tab and try the exercises once more. They'll still check your answers.