aiMOOC

E6 M - Talk about now, routines and the past

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E6 M - Talk about now, routines and the past

Mini-description: Choose simple tenses that match your meaning. Talk about routines, actions happening now and short past events. Use clear connected sentences. Try English first. Use German help only when you need it.

Einleitung

Look at the picture. What can you say?

Now: The students are studying. Routine: They study at school every day. Past: They studied yesterday.

This aiMOOC helps you notice, understand, practise and use three useful forms:

present simple for routines and things that happen regularly.
present progressive for actions happening now.
simple past for finished past events.

Important: Meaning comes first. You do not need long grammar rules.

Deutsch-Hilfe: Du wählst die Zeitform danach, was Du sagen willst: regelmäßig, gerade jetzt oder abgeschlossen in der Vergangenheit.

I can ...

After this course, you can say:

I can talk about my routine.
I can say what is happening now.
I can tell a short story about yesterday.
I can ask and answer simple questions.
I can connect ideas with and, but, because and then.

Media starter: Morning, school, free time

Think and say:

What do you usually eat for breakfast?
What are you doing right now?
What did you do before school yesterday?

Watch a short part. Listen for routine verbs such as get up, have breakfast, go, start, play.

Hint: Listen once without stopping. Then listen again and write three verbs.

Deutsch-Hilfe: Achte zuerst nur auf Verben für tägliche Abläufe. Du musst nicht jedes Wort verstehen.

Vorwissen-Check

Choose the sentence that matches the situation.

Situation A: every school day → I walk to school. Situation B: at this moment → I am sitting in class. Situation C: yesterday afternoon → I played basketball.

Now make one sentence about yourself for each situation.

Notice: Three meanings, three useful forms

Routines: present simple

Mia's routine:

Mia gets up at seven. She has breakfast with her brother. Then she goes to school. After school, she often meets her friend Ava. They sometimes play table tennis.

Notice: We use the present simple for routines and repeated actions.

Useful time words: every day, often, usually, sometimes, on Mondays.

Examples: I play football on Tuesdays. Ben plays football on Tuesdays. Do you walk to school? Yes, I do. / No, I don't.

Deutsch-Hilfe: Bei he, she, it steht im Aussagesatz oft ein -s am Verb: she plays, he walks.

Happening now: present progressive

At the playground now:

Leo is running. Ava is sitting on a bench. Two children are playing with a ball. Their teacher is talking to a parent.

Notice: We use am / is / are + verb-ing for actions happening now.

Useful time words: now, right now, at the moment.

Examples: I am reading. She is talking. They are playing. Are you listening? Yes, I am. / No, I'm not.

Hint: Listen for am, is, are and the -ing ending.

Deutsch-Hilfe: Diese Form beschreibt, was gerade passiert: I am reading = Ich lese gerade.

Finished past events: simple past

Yesterday after school:

Leo walked home at three. He opened the door, had a snack and called his friend. Then they played a computer game. Later, Leo did his homework.

Notice: We use the simple past for finished actions in the past.

Useful time words: yesterday, last night, on Saturday, two days ago.

Examples: We played outside. I watched a film. She went home. Did you play outside? Yes, I did. / No, I didn't.

Optional extra: irregular verbs

Deutsch-Hilfe: Viele regelmäßige Verben bekommen -ed. Einige häufige Verben sind unregelmäßig: go → went, have → had, do → did.

Understand: Which meaning do you need?

Read the three mini-situations.

A — Routine Noah gets up at 6:45. He usually has cereal. He rides his bike to school.

B — Now It is 10:20. Noah is sitting in English class. He is working with a partner.

C — Past Yesterday, Noah visited his grandma. They cooked pasta and watched a funny film.

Check:

Which text tells us about a usual day?
Which text tells us what is happening at this moment?
Which text tells us about finished events?

Solution: A = routine, B = now, C = past.

Vocabulary in context

Use these words in small situations:

routine: get up, have breakfast, go to school, start lessons, do homework, go to bed
free time: meet friends, play a game, ride a bike, watch a film, listen to music
classroom: read, write, listen, speak, work with a partner, ask a question
past events: visited, played, watched, walked, went, had, did

Mini-task: Choose four words and tell a partner one routine, one action now and one past event.

Pronunciation

Speak clearly. You do not need a perfect accent.

Focus 1: -s she plays – he walks – Mia gets up

Focus 2: -ing reading – playing – talking

Focus 3: -ed played – watched – visited

Try: Read these sentences aloud.

Mia walks to school every day.
She is walking with Ava now.
Yesterday, they walked home together.

Private recording option: You may record your voice only on your own device. Listening to yourself is enough. Do not upload a recording unless your teacher clearly asks for it and your school rules allow it.

Practise: Speaking

Work with a partner.

Student A asks:

What do you usually do after school?
What are you doing now?
What did you do yesterday?

Student B answers with 2–3 connected sentences.

Example: I usually go home and have a snack. Right now, I am talking to you. Yesterday, I played basketball and then I did my homework.

Then swap roles.

Practise: Reading

A busy Tuesday

Lena usually walks to school with her friend Kim. They talk about music on the way. Today, Lena is not walking. She is sitting on a bus because it is raining. Yesterday was different, too. Lena stayed at home after school and helped her dad in the kitchen. Then she called Kim and they talked for ten minutes.

Questions:

How does Lena usually go to school?
Why is she on a bus today?
What did she do after school yesterday?
Find one routine, one action happening now and two past actions.

Hint: Look for usually, today and yesterday.

Deutsch-Hilfe: Suche zuerst die Zeitwörter. Sie helfen Dir, die Bedeutung zu erkennen.

Solution: She usually walks. She is on the bus because it is raining. Yesterday, she stayed at home, helped her dad and called Kim.

Use: Short writing

Write a mini-report called My day: usually – now – yesterday.

Write 6–8 sentences:

2–3 sentences about your routine.
2 sentences about what is happening now.
2–3 sentences about yesterday.

Connect ideas with and, but, because, then.

Example start: I usually get up at seven and I have breakfast in the kitchen. Right now, I am working on this English task. Yesterday, I ...

Hint: First decide the meaning: routine, now or past.

Deutsch-Hilfe: Prüfe danach nur wenige Punkte: he/she + -s, am/is/are + -ing, passende simple-past-Form.

Solution check: Underline your routine sentences once, your now sentences twice and circle the verbs in your past sentences.

Sprachmittlung

Your German-speaking classmate asks what Lena's Tuesday was like. Explain the three most important ideas from the reading text in German. Do not translate every sentence. Keep names and times correct.

Rule: Say the important meaning, not every word.

Feedback

Use this short feedback check for your speaking or writing:

Meaning: Is it clear if I mean routine, now or past?
Verb form: Did I choose a useful form?
Connection: Did I use and, but, because or then?
Clarity: Can another person understand me?
One focus: What is one thing I want to improve next?

Partner feedback can be simple: I understand ... / One good sentence is ... / Check ...

Use again: 30-second story

Look at the playground picture again.

Tell a tiny story:

One sentence about what children often do there.
Two sentences about what is happening now in your imagined scene.
Two sentences about what happened there yesterday.

Use fictional names only.

Safe and smart learning

Use fictional personal data in tasks.
Recordings are voluntary and private unless your teacher gives a clear safe task.
Do not upload photos, voices or personal information without permission.
If you use AI for checking, read the result carefully. Decide yourself. Rewrite in your own words.
Clear communication is more important than sounding like a native speaker.
Do not use cultural clichés. People and routines are different everywhere.

Interaktive Aufgaben

Quiz: Teste Dein Wissen

Which sentence talks about a routine? (I walk to school every day.) (!I am walking to school right now.) (!I walked to school yesterday.) (!I was walking to school.)

Which sentence tells us what is happening now? (She is reading a comic.) (!She reads comics every Friday.) (!She read a comic yesterday.) (!She will read a comic.)

Which sentence talks about a finished past event? (We played basketball yesterday.) (!We play basketball on Mondays.) (!We are playing basketball now.) (!We usually play basketball.)

Choose the correct form for a routine: Mia ___ breakfast at seven. (has) (!is having) (!had) (!have)

Choose the correct form for now: Ben ___ to his teacher. (is talking) (!talks) (!talked) (!talk)

Choose the correct past form: Yesterday, I ___ home at three. (went) (!go) (!am going) (!goes)

Which time word often fits the present simple? (usually) (!yesterday) (!right now) (!last night)

Which time word often fits the present progressive? (at the moment) (!last Saturday) (!every Monday) (!two days ago)

Which question asks about the past? (Did you play football yesterday?) (!Do you play football?) (!Are you playing football?) (!Does she play football?)

Which sentence connects two past actions clearly? (I did my homework and then I called Sam.) (!I do my homework every day.) (!I am doing my homework now.) (!I usually call Sam.)

Memory

routine	something you do often
right now	at this moment
yesterday	the day before today
gets up	present simple form
is reading	action happening now
played	simple past form

Drag and Drop

Ordne die richtigen Begriffe zu.	Thema
every day	present simple
right now	present progressive
yesterday	simple past
she plays	routine
they are talking	action happening now

Kreuzworträtsel

routine	What do we call something you do regularly?
progressive	Which word completes the name present ...?
yesterday	Which time word means the day before today?
breakfast	Which morning meal can be part of a daily routine?
watched	What is the simple past form of watch?
currently	Which word can mean at the present time?

LearningApps

Lückentext

Offene Aufgaben

Leicht

My routine: Write five short sentences about a normal school day.
What is happening?: Look around the classroom and say four safe, non-personal sentences about actions happening now.
Yesterday in three sentences: Write three true or fictional sentences about yesterday.
Read aloud: Read six course sentences clearly. Focus on understandable rhythm, not accent.

Standard

Three-time interview: Create a short partner dialogue with one routine question, one now question and one past question.
Picture story: Choose a copyright-safe Commons picture and write six sentences: routine, now and past.
Mini email: Write a short fictional email to a friend about a normal day and one event from yesterday.
Key message: Read the Lena text and explain its main ideas in German without translating sentence by sentence.

Schwer

One-minute talk: Give a short talk called “My week, this moment, yesterday”. Use notes, not a full script.
Mini story: Write 8–10 connected sentences about a fictional school day. Keep the time meaning clear.
Feedback partner: Exchange texts and give feedback on meaning, connection and one grammar focus.
Private audio project: Create a 45-second audio story on your own device. Keep it private unless your teacher provides a safe sharing space.

Lernkontrolle

Choose and explain: For three situations, choose present simple, present progressive or simple past and explain why the meaning fits.
Improve a text: Correct a short fictional text in which routine, now and past are mixed up. Explain two changes.
New picture: Describe a new picture with one routine sentence, two now sentences and one imagined past sentence.
Mini conversation: Ask and answer questions about a routine, the current moment and yesterday. React with one follow-up question.
Connected report: Write 8 sentences about a fictional school day using and, but, because and then.
Learning choice: Choose one sentence from your work that is very clear and one sentence you want to improve. Explain your choice.