PRACTICE STAGE ACTIVITIES

TEACHER INPUT (Tense)

Most recounts are written in the past tense form as it narrates events that are completed.
Study the examples and the explanations on the past tense form and aspect.
Verbs
Verb-to-be (be)

Explanation

Examples

Use was with singular nouns and Akiko was at home last night.
with the pronouns I, he, she, it, Akiko and her sisters were born in
this and that.
Osaka.
Use were with plural nouns and
with the pronouns you, we, these
and those.
We use the past simple tense to:

Simple past

to talk about complete

events or actions in the past.

to talk about events

which occurred at a definite
point of time in the past

With the past time

adverbials like ago,
yesterday, last month, in
1998, etc

to narrate past events

Past Perfect Tense The past perfect tense refers to

an activity or situation
completed before another event
or time in the past. It is more
common in written English than
in spoken English.
Activities completed before
another time in the past
Use had for both singular and
plural subjects
Add had to a past participle to

We saw the Himalayas for the first

time.
At lunchtime today we arrived at
Pokhara.

They arrived three days ago.

First, they flewto Nepal and then

theytrekked in the mountains.
Notes:
Time clauses in the past are often
introduced by before and after.
e.g. he left before/after he heard the
news
I had eaten when Bob came.
(The past perfect expresses an
activity that was completed before a
particular time in the past.
I ate noon. Bob came at 1.00 pm.
My meal was completed before Bob
came).

PRACTICE STAGE ACTIVITIES

form the past perfect tense
Before Helen died, she had
learnt six languages and had
written 11 books.

Helen died.
Before she died she had written 11
books and had learnt six languages.

present

Past

Past participle

walk

walked

walked

eat

ate

eaten

cut

cut

cut

let

let

let

come

came

come

drive

drove

driven

Regular verbs

The past form is used for the

I called but no one picked up the
simple past tense. Regular verbs phone.
are the simple form + -ed.
She shouted for help but no one
heard her.

Irregular verbs

Verbs that end other than with + - Base form

ed

Past tense

go

went

think

thought

draw

drew

bring

brought

win

Won

eat

ate

PRACTICE STAGE ACTIVITIES

TASKSHEET A
Below is the recount of Hu Weis trip to Beijing. Some of the words have been written in the
present tense. Rewrite the underlined words in the past tense. Write in the space provided.
A trip to Beijing
Last month, my parents take me to Beijing. We stay at Huabei Hotel. On the
first day, we go to the Great Wall. It is a very old stone wall in China. It is over 1500
miles in length.
A lot of people from different countries like climbing the Great Wall. When
we climb to the top of the Great Wall, we are exhausted but we are truly amazed by
the breath-taking view.
The highlight of our trip is visiting the Palace Museum. There are 9999 palaces. It
has a very long history. I buy a lot of souvenirs of the Palace Museum. It is a must
visit place in Beijing.
The following days, we go to the Summer Palace, Tian Tan, North Lake and
Xiang Hill. I now know more about the history of China. We have a fabulous holiday
in Beijing and we will definitely go back next year.

Last month, my parents took me to Beijing. __________________________________

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PRACTICE STAGE ACTIVITIES

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TASKSHEET B
Hu Wei has just returned from a holiday in Beijing. Below is Hu Weis recount of her trip.
Read the model text and write a similar one using the notes given below.
MODEL TEXT
Last month, my parents take me to Beijing. We stay at Huabei Hotel. On the first day,
we go to the Great Wall. It is a very old stone wall in China. It is over 1500 miles in length.
A lot of people from different countries like climbing the Great Wall. When we climb
to the top of the Great Wall, we are exhausted but we are truly amazed by the breath-taking
view.
The highlight of our trip is visiting the Palace Museum. There are 9999 palaces. It has a
very long history. I buy a lot of souvenirs of the Palace Museum. It is a must visit place in
Beijing.
The following days, we go to the Summer Palace, Tian Tan, North Lake and Xiang
Hill. I now know more about the history of China. We have a fabulous holiday in Beijing and
we will definitely go back next year.
Now, choose another city or town you are familiar with and write a parallel paragraph.
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PRACTICE STAGE ACTIVITIES

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