THE PAST  When we talk about the past we

usually use more than one tense.

PAST SIMPLE
We use the past simple to state facts and completed ations
on the past.

“My grandfather travelled around SouthAmerica in 1972”

“People didn't drive cars 200 years ago”
“The box I found yesterday contained some money”

REGULAR VERBS  To form the past simple of regular verbs we add –ED to
the infinitive form.

“James walked here”

“We planned the holiday last year”
“She studied French”

IRREGULAR VERBS  Many verbs in the past simple are irregular. They don’t
follow a standard pattern. You find them in the 2nd column in the list of irregular
verbs.

go  ______________
eat  ______________
see  ______________
be  ______________
have  ______________
can ______________

INTERROGATIVES AND NEGATIVES  We form questions and negatives with

DID and DIDN'T + INFINITIVE VERB

'Did you see Amy?' 'No, we didn't.'

“I didn't meet Paul”

PAST TIME EXPRESSIONS: they indicate when an action happened in a specific

time in the past.

 yesterday, three days ago, last week/month/year,

 in 2006
  … years ago.

VERB TO BE  WAS /WERE – WASN’T / WEREN’T. Look at the examples below

and finish the sentences.

 He was a footballer WHO…

 His parents were very angry BECAUSE …
 The exam wasn’t difficult BECAUSE …
 Were you at school yesterday? 'No, I wasn't! I…
 Where was James last week? HE…
 There was a lot of traffic in the street BECAUSE …

ACTIVITY 1. What did Linda do at the weekend? What didn't she do? Write
sentences using past simple tense.
1. Do my homework ___
2. Phone Tania ____
3. Go swimming X
4. Buy a present for Cathy ____
5. Buy cardboard for the school project X
6. Get books from the library X
7. Finish my book ____
8. Relax ____

Last weekend, Linda….

_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________

ACTIVITY 3. Complete the first part of Harry’s story with the past simple forms
of the verb in brackets.

Everything went (go) wrong yesterday I ________ (get) up late, because

my brother ________ (not set) the alarm clock. I ________ (have) a shower
but the water ________ (be) cold! I ________ (leave) the house at 8.30, so
of course I ________ (miss) the bus. I ________ (walk) to school. It ________
(take) me 30 minutes, and I ________ (not arrive) on time. My teacher was
angry and ________ (give) me a detention. In the morning, we ________
(have) a listening test in French. I ________ (not understand) anything and
I________ (get) all the answers wrong!

ACTIVITY 4. Complete the end of Harry’s story with the past simple forms of the
verbs in the box.

be – not come – feel – get – have – not enjoy – make – rain – stay – wait –
walk

In the afternoon, we ________ a PE lesson, but it ________ and I ________very wet.

Normally I love PE but I________it yesterday. I ________at school for an extra
hour because of my detention. Then I ________at the bus stop for the bus but it
________home. My parents ________worried because I was late. But my mum
________a nice dinner. I ________much better after that!

PAST CONTINUOUS
We use the past continous to describe an ongoing situation
in the past.

“They were sitting here five minutes ago”

“She wasn't feeling well at the start of the lesson”
“What were you doing at half past six last night?”

STRUCTURE  ______________________ + ______________________ (affirmative)

 ______________________ + ______________________ (negative)

ACTIVIDAD 1. Complete the sentences with the past continuous form of the
verb in brackets.

▶ Leo was playing (play) the guitar.

1. I __________ (think) about you yesterday.

2. We __________ (sit) at the back of the cinema.
3. You __________ (not/wear) any shoes!
4. Tony __________ (walk) and I __________ (run).
5. I __________ (not/expect) that!
6. __________ they __________ (watch) us?
7. What __________ (happen) at ten o’clock?
8. When I arrived, Molly __________ (leave).

PAST CONTINUOS + PAST SIMPLE  We also use the past continuous to talk
about activities that were in progress when another action or event happened.
We usually use the past continuous for the activity in progress and the past
simple for the action or event that interrupts the previous one.

“She was having breakfast when her friend arrived”

“He was walking to school when it started to rain”

TIME EXPRESSIONS We use WHEN (CUANDO) and WHILE (MIENTRAS) in

sentences which have the past simple and continuous together.

WHILE + PAST CONTINOUS  “While I was waiting for the bus, I saw Ben”

WHEN + PAST SIMPLE  “He was walking to school, when it started to rain”

ACTIVIDAD 2. Circle the correct option. Choose the correct verb form: Past
Simple or Past Continuous.
1. What did you do / were you doing last weekend?
2. It was raining / rained when we walked to school yesterday.
3. She was studying / studied when her friend called her.
4. I watched / was watching TV at 9 o’clock last night.
5. My dad cooked / was cooking dinner when I got home.
6. We played / were playing football in the park last Saturday.
7. He wasn’t listening / didn’t listen to the teacher at that moment.
8. What were you doing / did you do at 8 a.m. this morning?
9. I was reading / read a book while my sister was talking on the phone.
10. They were walking / walked to the cinema when it started to rain.
11. My brother was sleeping / slept when I arrived home.
12. We had / were having lunch while it was raining outside.

ACTIVIDAD 3. Complete the sentences using the correct forms of the verbs in
brackets.

▶ His phone rang while he was doing the exam. (ring/do)

1. Jane ___________________ sweets when her tooth___________________

(eat/break)
2. While I ___________________ the door, I ___________________ white paint on my
trousers. (paint/get)
3. What___________________ they ___________________ about when we
___________________ into the room? (talk/come)
4. While we ___________________ at the bus stop, we ___________________ an
accident. (wait/see)
5. What ___________________ you ___________________ while you
___________________ with your mum? (buy/shop)
6. She ___________________ to the shops when someone ___________________ her
handbag. (walk/steal)
7. While I ___________________ on the beach, my brother ___________________ for
a swim. (lie/go)
8. Sam ___________________ on the bus when a bird ___________________ in
through the window. (sit/fly)
9. ___________________ you ___________________ your phone while you
___________________ for the bus? (drop/run)
10. I ___________________ to music when my dad ___________________ me to switch
it off. (listen/tell)

PRESENT PERFECT
We use the present perfect to talk about events that
happened in the past but we don’t know when. We also use
the present perfect when a past event
has some connection to now.
“I have lost my phone”

“He has visited Turkey and Russia”

“Someone has broken the chair”

“I have read that book”

STRUCTURE  ______________________ + ______________________ (affirmative)

 ______________________ + ______________________ (negative)

PAST PARTCIPLE VERBS  To form the past participle of REGULAR VERBS we

add –ED to the infinitive form.

“He has painted a lot of pictures”

“We have lived here for several years”
“She has studied since she was a child”

PAST PARTCIPLE VERBS  For IRREGULAR VERBS check the 3rd column in
the list of irregular verbs.

“I’ve eaten sushi many times”

“She has written three short stories this year”

“They’ve gone to the new museum downtown”

TIME EXPRESSIONS  We don’t use a finished time expression, like yesterday
or last year with the present perfect, because it isn’t important or we don’t
know when an event happened.
We can, however, use unfinished time expressions, for example, EVER, NEVER,
TODAY, ONCE, TWICE. (Note that ever and never go before the past participle.)

“I’ve never eaten Indian food”

“She has visited Paris twice”

“This is the best movie I’ve ever seen”

ACTIVITY 1. Complete the text with the present perfect forms of the verbs in the
box
Bill Ennis is an Australian artist. He has painted (paint) a lot of pictures and
__________ a lot of prizes. Famous people around the world __________ his
pictures. As a result, he __________ rich.

But Bill is different from most people. Although he has a lot of money, he
__________ an expensive car or a big house. In fact, he __________ to drive and
he still lives in the house that he grew up in.

So how __________ Bill __________ his money? He has created organizations that
help people in poor countries. These organizations __________ for hundreds of
children to go to school.
But Bill __________ these children or been to their countries. In fact, Bill has
never left Australia, although his pictures __________ in exhibitions around the
world. He is scared of flying so he __________ on a plane.

ACTIVITY 2. Find information about a famous person who is still alive. Write
sentences about their achievements.

We also use the present perfect to talk about EXPERIENCES in a living

person's life “Suzanne Collins has written some good books” (She will probably
write more books in the future.)

Use the following ideas to help you:

 Become very rich

 Build a big house
 Buy a fast car
 Help people in poor countries
 Learn another language
 Make films
 Meet famous people
 Travel around the world
 Win prizes
 Write a book

E.G  “(famous person) has written four books and she has won some prizes.
She has become famous but she hasn’t become very rich.”

FINAL ACTIVITY. Reading: “The Story of ChatGPT”

ChatGPT is a computer program that can understand and produce human
language. It was created by a company called OpenAI, based in the United
States. The first version of this program appeared in 2020. At that time, people
were starting to use artificial intelligence (AI) tools more often.
The name “ChatGPT” comes from “Chat” (to talk) and “GPT” (which stands for
“Generative Pre-trained Transformer”). That means it can create texts after
learning from lots of examples.
In the beginning, only a few people used ChatGPT. While some students and
teachers were exploring it, others didn’t know it existed. But everything
changed in 2022, when OpenAI launched a free version online. In just a few
weeks, millions of people around the world started using it.
Since then, ChatGPT has become one of the most popular AI tools. It has
helped people write emails, do homework, prepare for exams, and even create
poems or stories. Many companies have used it to improve communication and
save time.
Today, ChatGPT is part of everyday life for many users. Of course, it’s not
perfect — it sometimes makes mistakes — but it has already changed the way
people learn, write, and work.

Reading Comprehension Questions. Answer in full sentences.

1. What is ChatGPT?
2. When did the first version of ChatGPT appear?
3. What does “GPT” stand for?
4. What were some people doing when others didn’t know about ChatGPT?
5. What happened in 2022?
6. How have people used ChatGPT since it became popular?
7. Is ChatGPT perfect? Why or why not?

GRAMMAR PRACTICE – Past Simple, Past Continuous, Present Perfect

Choose the correct verb tense. Circle the correct option.

1. In 2020, people (started / have started / were starting) to use more AI tools.
2. While teachers (explored / were exploring / have explored) ChatGPT, others
didn’t know it existed.
3. OpenAI (launched / has launched / was launching) the free version in 2022.
4. ChatGPT (has helped / helped / was helping) many students with
homework.
5. I (have used / used / was using) ChatGPT since last year.

Complete the sentences using the correct form of the verb in brackets.

1. People __________ (use) ChatGPT for many different things since it became
popular.
2. In 2020, OpenAI __________ (create) the first version.
3. While people __________ (test) the program, others were reading about it.
4. Millions of people __________ (start) using it in 2022.
5. I __________ (ask) it questions many times this month!