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Lesson 33
A1
Core
60 min

Common Irregular Verbs

went, had, saw, did β€” past simple shortcuts.

Learn the most common irregular past simple verbs and use them to talk about yesterday.

  1. A0/A1
    Beginner
  2. A1/A2
    Elementary
  3. A2/B1
    Pre-Intermediate
  4. B1/B1+
    Intermediate
  5. B2
    Upper-Intermediate
  6. C1
    Advanced
  7. C2
    Proficiency

Look & say Β· Step 1

5 min

Get ready

discussion
Yesterday

Where did you go yesterday?

activity
Food

What did you have for breakfast?

reflection
Saw

Name 1 person you saw yesterday.

Words to learn Β· Step 2

8 min

New words today

Open in Vocabulary Bank

go β†’ went

Past of go

"I went to school."

have β†’ had

Past of have

"We had dinner."

see β†’ saw

Past of see

"She saw a cat."

do β†’ did

Past of do

"He did the test."

eat β†’ ate

Past of eat

"I ate pizza."

drink β†’ drank

Past of drink

"She drank water."

buy β†’ bought

Past of buy

"I bought a book."

write β†’ wrote

Past of write

"He wrote a letter."

read β†’ read

Past of read (sounds like 'red')

"I read a book yesterday."

say β†’ said

Past of say

"She said hello."

run β†’ ran

Past of run

"We ran to the bus."

sleep β†’ slept

Past of sleep

"I slept well."

Activate Β· Personalise Β· Recycle

Use these words now

Make each sentence true for you. Say it aloud to a partner.

run β†’ ran

"For me, run β†’ ran is …"

Finish the sentence with your own idea.

read β†’ read

"For me, read β†’ read is …"

Finish the sentence with your own idea.

see β†’ saw

"For me, see β†’ saw is …"

Finish the sentence with your own idea.

You'll meet these words again in Reading, Listening, Speaking and Homework.

Matching
Match present and past forms.

Tap an item on the left, then tap its match on the right.

Answer all items, then check.
Categorise
Group the verbs.
Answer all items, then check.

Sounds & saying Β· Step 3

5 min

Tricky vowels

Listen carefully: 'ate' /eΙͺt/, 'saw' /sɔː/, 'bought' /bɔːt/, 'said' /sed/ (NOT 'sayed'), 'read' (past) /red/ (like 'red').

  • β€’ I ate breakfast.
  • β€’ She saw a film.
  • β€’ We bought tickets.
  • β€’ He said hello.
  • β€’ I read a book.

Language focus Β· Step 4

10 min

Irregular past simple

Open in Grammar Bank

Quick rule

Irregular past simple

Some verbs don't take -ed.

When to use it
  • You must learn the past form.
  • The form is the same for I / you / he / she / we / they.
See it in action
1

go β†’ went (I went home.)

2

have β†’ had (She had lunch.)

3

see β†’ saw (We saw a film.)

4

do β†’ did (He did his homework.)

5

eat β†’ ate (I ate pizza.)

Question 1.Yesterday I ___ to the cinema.

Question 2.She ___ a sandwich for lunch.

Question 3.We ___ our friends at the park.

Question 4.He ___ his homework last night.

Answer all items, then check.
Conversation Builder
Build it. Hear it. Say it.

Rebuild each line, spot the natural chunks, then practise responding aloud.

1
1Build
Tap words below to build the sentence…
2
1Build
Tap words below to build the sentence…
3
1Build
Tap words below to build the sentence…
4
1Build
Tap words below to build the sentence…

Quick check 1.Past of 'eat' =

Quick check 2.Past of 'go' =

Answer all items, then check.

Reading Β· Step 5

7 min

Tom's Sunday

Last Sunday Tom had a busy day. πŸ“… He got up at 8, had a big breakfast 🍳 and went to the park with his dog. πŸ• He saw his friend Lisa there. They ran together for 30 minutes. πŸƒ After that, Tom went to a cafΓ©, drank a coffee β˜• and read the newspaper. πŸ“° In the afternoon he bought a new book πŸ“š and wrote some emails. πŸ“§ In the evening he ate pasta with his family 🍝 and slept very well. πŸ›Œ

Question 1.Where did Tom go in the morning?

Question 2.What did he drink at the cafΓ©?

Question 3.What did he eat in the evening?

Answer all items, then check.
True / False
Is each sentence True or False?

Q1.Tom saw Lisa at the park.

Q2.Tom wrote a book.

Answer all items, then check.

Listening Β· Step 6

10 min

How was your weekend?

Listening audio

Tap play to listen. Replay as many times as you need.

Anna

Hi Mark! How was your weekend?

Mark

Great! I went to the mountains with my brother.

Anna

Nice! What did you do there?

Mark

We had a long walk, saw a beautiful lake and ate in a small restaurant.

Anna

Did you take photos?

Mark

Yes! I wrote about it on my blog too.

Anna

Cool! I just slept and read a book.

Question 1.Where did Mark go?

Question 2.What did they see?

Question 3.What did Anna do?

Answer all items, then check.
Tick what you hear
Tick the verbs you hear in past form.
Answer all items, then check.

Practice Β· Step 7

8 min

Choose the word

Question 1.I ___ to the cinema last night.

Question 2.She ___ pizza for dinner.

Question 3.We ___ a great film.

Question 4.He ___ a new phone.

Answer all items, then check.
Type a short answer
Write 1–3 words

Q1.Past of 'have' =

Q2.Past of 'see' =

Q3.Past of 'do' =

Answer all items, then check.

Survival English Β· Step 8

4 min

Writing β€” short past narrative

Task

Write 5–6 sentences about your last Sunday using 5 irregular verbs.

Strategy

Plan the day in order: morning β†’ afternoon β†’ evening. Use 'and' / 'then' to link.

Example

On Sunday I got up late. I had toast for breakfast. Then I went to the park and saw my friend. We ate ice cream and drank lemonade.

Writing Β· Step 9

5 min

Write a little

Your task

Write 6 sentences about yesterday using at least 5 irregular verbs (went, had, saw, did, ate, drank, bought, wrote, read, said, ran, slept).

Show model answer

Yesterday I went to work by bus. I had a coffee and a sandwich. I saw my colleague Sara. We did a project together. After work I bought some bread and ate dinner at home. I slept at 11.

Speaking Β· Step 10

12 min

Talk together

Pairs: ask and answer 'What did you do yesterday?' Use 5 irregular verbs each.

Useful phrases

  • β€’ I went to ___
  • β€’ I had ___
  • β€’ I saw ___
  • β€’ I ate / drank ___
  • β€’ I bought / read / wrote ___
Dialogue completion
Choose the natural reply.
  • A
    Where did you go last weekend?
  • B
    _______________
  • A
    What did you eat for lunch?
  • B
    _______________
  • A
    Did you see the new film?
  • B
    _______________
Answer all items, then check.

Homework Β· Step 11

Take-home

Practice at home

vocab

Learn 10 irregular verbs in past form.

writing

Write a short diary for yesterday (6 sentences).

speaking

Record 5 sentences about last weekend.

Recap Β· Step 12

3 min

What you learned

  • βœ… Irregular verbs don't take -ed.
  • πŸ“š You learned 12 high-frequency irregular past forms.
  • πŸ“ You can write a short story about yesterday.
  • πŸ—£οΈ You can talk about your weekend.
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