Lesson Planning - Part 1 - Why do we plan lessons?




There are four different past tenses, each of them used in different occasions and with a specific form. a) Past simple tense is used: 1. Past action with a given time ? I ended that relationship last September. 2. When the time is asked about ? When did you come at work? 3. For an action that took place at a definite time even if the specific time is not mentioned ? They came to China a long time ago. 4. Past habits ? He played video games a lot. 5. Series of completed actions ? I woke up at 6am, took a shower around 6:30, had my breakfast at 7, then left for work at around 7:30. Form: To make the simple past tense, we use the past form only or the auxiliary ?did? + base form. We form the past tense of regular verbs by adding ?ed or ?d to the base form of the verb while irregular verbs have different rules to follow. Positive: Subject + past form of the verb She walked She ate Negative: Subject + aux. verb ?did? + not + base form of the verb She did not walk. She didn?t walk. She did not eat. She didn?t eat. Question: Aux. verb ?did? + subject + base form of the verb Did she walk? Did she eat? Students often make mistakes with the form of the verbs (regular or irregular) so I would use the memory cards and matching games for better remembering. b) Past continuous 1. Interrupted past actions - I was washing the dishes, when the telephone rang. 2. Parallel actions ? I was reading a book while my brother was playing computer games. 3. Specific time as an interruption ? I was still watching TV at 2 P.M. Form: To form a sentence in the past continuous, we use the past tense of the aux. verb ?be? (was/were) + the present participle (verb + ing). Positive: Subject + was/were + verb + ing She was walking She was eating Negative: Subject + was/were + not + verb + ing She wasn?t walking She wasn?t eating Question: Was/were + subject + verb + ing Was she walking? Was she eating? c) Past perfect 1. Completed action before another action in the past ? Sarah had cooked dinner before she went to work. 2. Third conditional sentences ? If I hadn?t bought the rain coat, I would have been soaked. 3. Reported Speech ? The teacher asked if we had written the homework. c) Past perfect Form: To form a sentence in the past perfect, we use the past form of the aux. verb ?to have? and the past participle. Positive: Subject + had + past participle She had walked She had eaten Negative: Subject + had + not + past participle She hadn?t walked She hadn?t eaten Question: Had + subject + past participle Had she walked? Had she eaten? d) Past perfect continuous 1. Duration of a past action ? They had been studying in London for 2 years before they moved to U.S.A. Form: To make the past perfect continuous, we use the past form of the aux. verb ?to have? + been + the present participle (verb + ing) Positive: Subject + had + been + verb + ing She had been eating Negative: Subject + had + not + been + verb + ing She hadn?t been eating Question: Had + subject + been + verb + ing Had she been eating?

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