Use this Past Simple Tense PowerPoint in your next lesson to teach the basics of the past tense. The past tense can be tricky for ESL students due to the many rules they need to learn in order to form verbs correctly. This PPT presents the different past tense rules in a clear, easy-to-understand way, and includes plenty of examples so students can practice forming the past tense on their own.

A PowerPoint for teaching the past simple tense.

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How to Use This Past Tense PowerPoint

Start by showing students the first slide, which features a timeline illustrating time references in the past, such as yesterday, last week, last year, and so on. Use this visual to help students understand the concept of the past tense in context. You can also ask questions like, “Did we have school yesterday?” or “I was born in 1985. When were you born?” These questions help frame the concept of past time and prepare learners for what comes next.

Once students understand the idea of the past tense, begin working through the presentation. It starts with the most common rule: adding -ed to regular verbs. Go through the examples and practice changing each verb to the past tense together. For example: play → played, watch → watched, talk → talked. Have students say the forms out loud as they go.

The PowerPoint continues by introducing other past tense rules and includes plenty of examples for practice. Once you’ve gone through the full presentation, go back and review it again. This time, encourage students to make full past tense sentences using the verbs they’ve just practiced.

Watch the Past Tense PowerPoint Video Lesson

This video version of the Past Tense PowerPoint is guided by a native English speaker, making it great for pronunciation practice. You can play it in class or share it with students to review at home.

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