Past Simple: Regular Verbs, Irregular Verbs and Was/Were

Lesson plan

Level: A2
Age group: 6th form
Duration: 45minutes
Topic: Sports & Technology
Grammar Focus:

• Past Simple (regular and irregular verbs)
• was / were
• there was / there were
• didn’t / wasn’t / weren’t (negative forms)
• Questions in the Past Simple

Lesson Objectives:

By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

• Use Past Simple of regular and irregular verbs in affirmative, negative, and question forms.
• Use was/were and there was/there were correctly.
• Talk and write about past experiences related to sports and technology.

Materials:

• Whiteboard & markers
• Student notebook:Wider World 1 2^nd edition (SB, WB)
• Printed worksheets (with all the tasks below)
• Pictures/icons of sports and gadgets
• Computer or projector

Procedure

1. Warm-Up (5–7 minutes)

• Ask: What sports do you like? What technology do you use every day?
• Show 3–4 pictures of sports and gadgets (e.g., football, swimming, laptop, headphones).
• Quick brainstorming: What did you do yesterday related to sports or tech?
  (Write one or two student answers on the board in Past Simple.)

2. Presentation & Guided Practice (10minutes)

• Briefly revise the Past Simple of regular and irregular verbs (play – played, go – went).

SB p. 131-132

• Revise was/were and there was/there were (use examples with sports and tech).
• Ask students to repeat examples chorally and correct any pronunciation.

3. Controlled Practice (20 minutes)

Task 1: Fill in the Past Simple verbs (affirmative) – 5 sentences
Task 2: Choose was or were – 5 items
Task 3: Complete with There was / There were

Students work individually, then check in pairs. Go over answers as a class.

Task 4: Rewrite in the negative using didn’t, wasn’t, weren’t
Task 5: Write Past Simple questions for the answers given

Do these in pairs or small groups. Support weaker students as needed.

4. Extra Challenge / Mixed Practice (10 minutes)

Task 6: Choose the correct negative (multiple choice)
Task 7: Correct the mistakes in 5 Past Simple sentences
Task 8: Make three sentences (affirmative, negative, question) from prompts

This can be a pair activity. Early finishers can write more with their own ideas.

Speaking (Optional Extension)

If time allows, do a Find Someone Who… activity using past actions:

• Find someone who played a sport yesterday
• Find someone who used a tablet at the weekend
• Find someone who was at school on Saturday
•  

Wrap-Up & Homework (3–5 minutes)

• Review the difference between was/were and did/didn’t
• Ask: What did you learn today?
• Homework idea: Write 5 sentences about your weekend using past simple (1 with there was, 1 negative, 1 question).

Worksheets with tasks

Task 1: Fill in the blanks with the correct Past Simple form of the verbs in brackets.

1. Yesterday, we __________ (watch) a basketball match on TV.

2. My brother __________ (go) to the gym last weekend.

3. I __________ (not use) my tablet last night.

4. They __________ (play) volleyball at school yesterday.

5. She __________ (have) a problem with her computer.

Task 2: Choose the correct form of was/were.

1. There ___ a tennis match at the stadium.  a) was  b) were

2. The smartphones ___ very expensive in 2005.  a) was  b) were

3. My tablet ___ new, but it stopped working.  a) was  b) were

4. The players ___ tired after the game.  a) was  b) were

5. There ___ a cool sports app on my old phone.  a) was  b) were

Task 3: Complete the sentences using There was or There were.

1. __________ a football match on TV last night.

2. __________ two laptops on the table.

3. __________ a big goal in the last minute!

4. __________ many people at the swimming pool.

5. __________ a new video game in the shop.

Task 4: Write the negative form of the sentences.

1. I played football yesterday. → _____________________________

2. She was at the sports centre. → _____________________________

3. They used a computer in the lesson. → _____________________________

4. We were in the gym after school. → _____________________________

5. He had a new tablet. → _____________________________

Task 5: Write questions for the answers.

1. Q: ______________________________________?
   A: Yes, I played tennis yesterday.

2. Q: ______________________________________?
   A: No, she wasn’t at school.

3. Q: ______________________________________?
   A: They watched a football match on Saturday.

4. Q: ______________________________________?
   A: No, we didn’t use the laptop.

5. Q: ______________________________________?
   A: Yes, there were two matches last night.

Task 6: Choose the correct word to complete the sentence.

1. There ___ any basketball matches last week.  a) wasn’t  b) weren’t  c) didn’t

2. My sister ___ go to the tennis club yesterday.  a) didn’t  b) wasn’t  c) weren’t

3. We ___ at home on Saturday evening.  a) didn’t  b) weren’t  c) wasn’t

4. I ___ have a new phone last year.  a) wasn’t  b) didn’t  c) weren’t

5. There ___ a computer in the classroom.  a) wasn’t  b) didn’t  c) weren’t

Task 7: Correct the mistakes in the sentences.

1. He didn’t played basketball yesterday. → _____________________________

2. There weren’t a tablet in the bag. → _____________________________

3. My friends was at the stadium. → _____________________________

4. She didn’t used the internet. → _____________________________

5. Was there many people at the gym? → _____________________________

Task 8: Make sentences (affirmative, negative, question) using the prompt.

1. go / swimming
✅ __________________________
❌ __________________________
❓ __________________________

2. have / a new laptop
✅ __________________________
❌ __________________________
❓ __________________________

3. watch / a football match
✅ __________________________
❌ __________________________
❓ __________________________

4. be / in the sports centre
✅ __________________________
❌ __________________________
❓ __________________________

5. use / the tablet
✅ __________________________
❌ __________________________
❓ __________________________

Answer Key

Task 1 Answers:

1. watched

2. went

3. didn’t use

4. played

5. had

Task 2 Answers:

1. was

2. were

3. was

4. were

5. was

Task 3 Answers:

1. There was

2. There were

3. There was

4. There were

5. There was

Task 4 Answers:

1. I didn’t play football yesterday.

2. She wasn’t at the sports centre.

3. They didn’t use a computer in the lesson.

4. We weren’t in the gym after school.

5. He didn’t have a new tablet.

Task 5 Sample Questions:

1. Did you play tennis yesterday?

2. Was she at school?

3. What did they watch on Saturday? / Did they watch a football match on Saturday?

4. Did you use the laptop?

5. Were there two matches last night?

Task 6 Answers:

1. weren’t

2. didn’t

3. weren’t

4. didn’t

5. wasn’t

Task 7 Corrections:

1. He didn’t play basketball yesterday.

2. There wasn’t a tablet in the bag.

3. My friends were at the stadium.

4. She didn’t use the internet.

5. Were there many people at the gym?

Task 8 – Example Responses:

1. I went swimming. / I didn’t go swimming. / Did you go swimming?

2. He had a new laptop. / He didn’t have a new laptop. / Did he have a new laptop?

3. We watched a football match. / We didn’t watch a football match. / Did you watch a football match?

4. She was in the sports centre. / She wasn’t in the sports centre. / Was she in the sports centre?

5. They used the tablet. / They didn’t use the tablet. / Did they use the tablet?