aiMOOC

E7 G - Simple past – Finished past events

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Einleitung

Yesterday is finished. What happened?

This aiMOOC helps you use the simple past for finished events in the past with a clear time: yesterday, last Saturday, two days ago, at 5 o'clock.

Mini example: Yesterday I played football. Then I watched a film.

Try English first. Use the pictures, sentence starters and word banks. If you get stuck, open the German hint.

Level: English as a first foreign language, Year 7, G level, Baden-Württemberg.

The people and short profiles in this course are fictional. You do not need to share private data.

I can ...

I can say what I did yesterday.
I can use a clear past-time expression.
I can use some regular and irregular past forms.
I can ask and answer simple past questions.
I can write a short text about a finished past event.

Before you start: What do you know?

Look at these chunks:

today – yesterday – last week – two days ago

Which chunks point to a finished time in the past?

Try: Say one sentence with yesterday.

Model: Yesterday I played a game.

Hint: Use: Yesterday I ...

Deutsch, wenn nötig: Das simple past passt hier, weil die Handlung abgeschlossen ist und der Zeitpunkt in der Vergangenheit liegt.

Notice: See and hear the simple past

First viewing – no transcript: Watch the first part. Listen for past forms.

Which word ending can you hear in regular verbs?
Which two irregular forms do you notice?
What happens after did in a question?

Second viewing: Pause after an example and repeat it quietly.

Hint: Listen for -ed, forms such as went and the pattern Did ... + base verb?

A picture story: yesterday after school

Try first. Look at the picture and complete the idea:

Yesterday after school, Mina ...

Word bank: missed – waited – walked – called

Model: Yesterday after school, Mina missed the bus.

German help: Wähle ein Verb aus der word bank. Die Handlung ist vorbei.

Understand: Form and meaning

Finished event + clear past time

Use the simple past for an event that is finished.

Time	Example
yesterday	Yesterday I played football.
last Saturday	Last Saturday we watched a film.
two days ago	Two days ago I visited my cousin.
at 5 o'clock	At 5 o'clock I finished my homework.

Notice: The time tells us: this event is over.

Regular verbs

Many verbs take -ed.

Base verb	Simple past	Example
play	played	I played football.
watch	watched	We watched a film.
visit	visited	She visited her cousin.
finish	finished	He finished his homework.

Small spelling help: live → lived, study → studied, stop → stopped.

Do not learn every spelling rule at once. Start with the verbs you need.

A few important irregular verbs

Base verb	Simple past
go	went
have	had
see	saw
eat	ate
do	did
get	got

Try: Yesterday I went to the park.

Hint: Irregular forms do not simply take -ed.

Negative and question

Negative: I didn't play football.

Question: Did you play football?

Short answer: Yes, I did. / No, I didn't.

Important: After did or didn't, use the base verb.

Correct: Did you go?

Not here: Did you went?

Was and were

Use was or were with forms of be.

I was at home.

We were at the cinema.

Keep it simple: learn these as useful chunks.

Try: Vocabulary in context

Fictional profile: Jay, 13

Yesterday Jay came home at 4 o'clock. He finished his homework. Then he played a game. At 7 o'clock he had dinner.

Useful chunks:

came home
finished my homework
played a game
had dinner
watched a film
went to bed

Try: Choose three chunks. Say three sentences about yesterday.

Sentence starter: Yesterday I ...

Listening and viewing

Listening mission 1: Watch a short part without subtitles. Tick mentally when you hear a finished past event.

Listening mission 2: Watch again. Listen for a time expression such as yesterday, last ... or ago.

Speaking echo: Repeat one short model sentence. Focus on being clear, not on sounding like a native speaker.

German help: Erst hören und ausprobieren. Untertitel oder weitere Hilfen erst danach nutzen.

Mini listening: teacher or partner voice

Do not read the transcript yet. Ask a teacher or partner to read this text slowly once:

Listening task: What did Alex do? Note three actions and one time expression.

<details> <summary>Transcript – open after listening</summary> Yesterday Alex walked to the sports centre. He played basketball with two friends. Then he bought a drink. He went home at six o'clock. </details>

Check: walked – played – bought – went; time: yesterday / at six o'clock.

Reading

A short Friday story

Last Friday, Sam and Noor went to the cinema. They bought popcorn and watched a funny film. The film finished at 8 o'clock. Then they walked to the bus stop. They got home at 9 o'clock.

Try first:

Where did Sam and Noor go?
What did they buy?
When did the film finish?
When did they get home?

Hint: Find the time expressions first.

German help: Suche zuerst last Friday, at 8 o'clock und at 9 o'clock. Danach findest du die passenden Handlungen leichter.

Pronunciation

Three useful -ed endings:

watched → short ending sound

played → voiced ending sound

wanted → extra syllable

You do not need perfect accent imitation. Your goal is clear speech.

Try: Say: I watched. I played. I wanted.

Then use one in a full sentence: Yesterday I watched a film.

Speaking

Picture prompt: What happened?

Use the picture as a fictional scene.

Sentence starters:

Yesterday they ...

First, they ...

Then, they ...

Finally, they ...

Partner dialogue:

A: What did you do yesterday?

B: I ...

A: Did you ...?

B: Yes, I did. / No, I didn't.

Help card: played football – met friends – went home – watched TV – did homework

Recordings are optional. Keep them private unless your teacher gives a safe school-approved way to share them. Do not upload recordings just because an exercise asks you to practise.

Writing

Task: My finished afternoon

Write 4–5 connected sentences.

Writing frame:

Yesterday after school, I ...

Then I ...

At ... o'clock, I ...

After that, I ...

Finally, I ...

Word bank: went – played – watched – visited – had – ate – did – finished

Check:

Did I use a finished past time?
Did I use past forms?
After didn't, did I use the base verb?
Can another learner understand my text?

Feedback and improve

Read your text again.

Step 1: Underline the time expression.

Step 2: Circle the past verbs.

Step 3: Improve one sentence.

Step 4: Read the improved text aloud.

You may use teacher-approved AI feedback only as a check. Verify suggestions. Keep your own text and your own ideas. Do not send private information to external AI services.

Mediation mini-task

Your German-speaking friend asks what Sam and Noor did last Friday.

Explain the key information in simple German without translating every word.

Hint: Give place, two actions and one time.

Mini-transfer: use it again

Choose a finished time:

yesterday – last weekend – two days ago

Say or write:

When? + What happened? + What happened next?

Model: Last weekend I visited my aunt. Then we played cards.

E-Ausblick: later, not now

Later you may meet the past perfect: had + past participle.

For this G-level course, do not practise it yet. Stay with the simple past for clear, finished past events.

Self-check: Can do

Choose: yes – almost – not yet.

I can ...	yes / almost / not yet
use yesterday, last ... or ... ago
form regular past verbs
use some irregular past forms
ask Did you ...?
use didn't + base verb
write 4–5 sentences about a finished past event

If you choose almost or not yet, repeat one short section and try the task again.

Interaktive Aufgaben

Quiz: Teste Dein Wissen

Which sentence shows a finished past event? (Yesterday I played football.) (!I play football every Friday.) (!I am playing football now.) (!I will play football tomorrow.)

Which time expression fits the simple past here? (last Saturday) (!every Saturday) (!now) (!tomorrow)

What is the simple past of go? (went) (!goed) (!goes) (!going)

Which sentence is correct? (I watched a film yesterday.) (!I watch a film yesterday.) (!I watching a film yesterday.) (!I watches a film yesterday.)

Which negative sentence is correct? (I didn't play football.) (!I didn't played football.) (!I don't played football.) (!I not play football.)

Which question is correct? (Did you visit your cousin?) (!Did you visited your cousin?) (!Do you visited your cousin?) (!You did visit your cousin?)

What is the simple past of have? (had) (!haved) (!has) (!having)

Which sentence uses was correctly? (I was at home yesterday.) (!I were at home yesterday.) (!I did was at home yesterday.) (!I am at home yesterday.)

What comes after didn't? (base verb) (!past verb) (!verb with ing) (!verb with s)

Which sentence has a concrete past time? (We finished at 8 o'clock.) (!We usually finish early.) (!We finish now.) (!We will finish soon.)

Memory

yesterday	finished past time
went	past form of go
watched	regular past verb
Did you play?	simple past question
didn't visit	simple past negative
last Friday	clear past-time expression

Drag and Drop

Ordne die richtigen Begriffe zu.	Thema
Yesterday	finished past time
played	regular past form
went	irregular past form
Did you go?	question
didn't go	negative sentence

Kreuzworträtsel

yesterday	Which word means the day before today?
watched	Which past form belongs to watch?
went	Which past form belongs to go?
played	Which past form belongs to play?
visited	Which past form belongs to visit?
finished	Which past form can mean completed?

LearningApps

Lückentext

Offene Aufgaben

Leicht

Picture sentence: Choose one picture in this course and write one sentence with Yesterday ...
Past-time card: Make three small cards: yesterday, last weekend, two days ago. Add one example sentence to each.
Verb pairs: Create six cards with base form and past form, for example go – went.
Mini dialogue: Practise a four-line dialogue with What did you do? and Did you ...?

Standard

Picture story: Use two course pictures and write a four-sentence fictional past story.
Class interview: Ask a partner three safe questions about yesterday. Do not ask for private information. Note only language examples.
Private audio practice: If you want, record four sentences for yourself. Listen once and improve clarity. Uploading is not required.
Mediation: Read the cinema story and explain its key events in short German sentences.

Schwer

Story chain: Write six connected sentences with first, then, after that, finally.
Error detective: Create five sentences with typical simple-past mistakes and correct them underneath.
Mini tutorial: Design a one-page explanation for another Year 7 learner using one rule, two examples and one picture.
Feedback loop: Write a five-sentence text, get feedback from a partner or approved tool, check every suggestion and publish only your own improved version.

Lernkontrolle

Choose the tense from context: Explain why Yesterday I walked home needs the simple past. Use the ideas finished and past time.
Question and answer: Turn You played football yesterday into a question and a negative answer. Explain what happens to the verb after did.
Picture transfer: Choose a new everyday picture and write three connected simple-past sentences with one concrete time expression.
Improve a text: Correct: Yesterday I go to town. I didn't bought anything. Did you went there too? Explain each change in simple words.
Reading transfer: Read a short new past story. Mark the time expression and sort the verbs into regular and irregular forms.
Communicate: Tell a partner about a fictional finished event in 30–45 seconds. Your partner asks one simple-past question. Respond clearly.

Lernnachweis

For a good learning record, show that you can:

identify a finished past time
use useful time expressions such as yesterday, last ... and ... ago
use common regular and irregular past forms
form didn't + base verb
form Did + subject + base verb?
understand a short listening or reading text about past events
speak in short connected sentences
write a short clear past-event text
check feedback and improve one part of your own work

OERs zum Thema

Freie Medien im Kurs

The course uses Wikimedia Commons files as learning prompts. Their file pages show author and licence information. The videos are embedded from YouTube and are used for viewing/listening practice; no video is copied into the course.

Folgekurs

Continue with:

E7 G - Simple past – Telling a short story

Use the same cycle again: notice → understand → try → use → communicate → feedback → improve → use again.

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