ESL Helpful Handouts Page 1 of 6

Irregular Past Tense Verbs And Question Formation In The Past Tense
Some English verbs have irregular past tense forms. For example, the past tense form of eat is ate.
This is the past tense of is conjugation of eat:
I ate
You ate
He ate
She ate
We ate
They ate

Tim, Rita, and Joe ate hamburgers for lunch yesterday.

The past tense forms of these verbs are irregular.

break - broke bring – brought buy – bought catch – caught come – came do – did
drink – drank drive - drove fly - flew get – got go – went have – had
hear - heard meet - met pay -paid put – put ride - rode run - ran
see – saw send - sent sleep – slept stand – stood think – thought write – wrote

The information and practice exercises on pages 1-3 will prepare you to play the grammar game on pages 4-6.

Write the past tense form of the verb in the blank.

Example: Melinda __came__ (come) home at 5:00 yesterday afternoon.

1. Julianne _______________ (see) a movie 14. Ben and Yolanda _______________ (think)
Saturday afternoon. about their family this morning.
2. We _______________ (do) the laundry this 15. Charlie _______________ (run) a marathon
morning. in October.
3. Mia _______________ (sleep) for 9 hours 16. Harry _______________ (drink) 5 cups of
last night. coffee this morning.
4. Joe _______________ (eat) a hamburger for 17. Stanley _______________ (drive) to the
lunch. beach last summer.
5. Mark _______________ (stand) in line at the 18. Deborah _______________ (ride) her bicycle
post office for 30 minutes this morning. in the park on Sunday.
6. Lisa _______________ (get) up at 7:30 this 19. David _______________ (fly) to Chicago last
morning. week.
7. Linda _______________ (write) in her 20. Jordan ________________ (send) his mother
journal every day last month. a birthday present.
8. Barry _______________ (go) downtown last 21. We _______________ (hear) a baby cry this
week. morning.
9. Nick _______________ (bring) his dictionary 22. I ________________ (pay) the rent on the
to class yesterday. first of May.
10. Annette _______________ (have) supper at 23. I _______________ (break) my arm two
6:00 yesterday. years ago.
11. Marie _______________ (buy) new clothes 24. She_______________(drink) tea this morning.
last week.
12. Josh _______________ (put) his coat in the 25. Bill _______________ (meet) his best friend
closet. at school.
13. Frank _______________ (catch) a fish at the
lake.
Free handout – http://sites.google.com/site/eslhelpfulhandouts. Written by S. Watson. Photos: www.flicker.com (Creative Commons License).
Photo acknowledgements: JoshBerglund19, Qole Pejorian.
ESL Helpful Handouts Page 2 of 6

Irregular Past Tense Verbs And Question Formation In The Past Tense

Questions In The Past Tense

Questions about the past use a question word, the past tense of do (did), the subject, and the main verb.
The answer uses the past tense of the main verb.

When and What time ask for information about time.

Question Word + Did + Subject + Main Verb

When did Julianne see a movie? Julianne saw a movie Saturday afternoon.
Question Word + Did + Subject + Main Verb
What time did Lisa get up? Lisa got up at 7:30 this morning?

Where asks for information about a place.

Question Word + Did + Subject + Main Verb

Where did Bill meet his best friend? Bill met his best friend at school.

What asks for information about things.

Question Word + Did + Subject + Main Verb

What did Joe eat for lunch? Joe ate a hamburger.

Who asks about people.

Question Word + Did + Subject + Main Verb

Who did Bill meet at school? Bill met his best friend at school.

Last is added to the question in order to ask about the most recent occasion that something happened.

Question Word + Did + Subject + Last + Main Verb

When did you last pay the rent? I paid the rent on the first of May.
What time did you last see the doctor? I saw the doctor at 10:00 this morning.
Where did you last go on vacation? I went to Spain.

How many asks for a number.

How many hours did you sleep last night? I slept 9 hours last night.

How many cups of coffee did Harry drink this morning?

Harry drank 5 cups of coffee this morning.

Free handout – http://sites.google.com/site/eslhelpfulhandouts. Written by S. Watson. Photos: www.flicker.com (Creative Commons License).
Photo acknowledgements: JoshBerglund19, Qole Pejorian.
ESL Helpful Handouts Page 3 of 6

Irregular Past Tense Verbs And Question Formation In The Past Tense

Fill in the blank with the correct form of the verb.

Example #1: When did Julianne _see__ a movie? Example #2: When did you last write an e-mail?
Julianne _saw_ a movie Saturday afternoon. I _wrote_ an e-mail this morning.

1. When did you_______ the laundry? 17. When did you _______a baby cry?
We________the laundry this morning? We_______a baby cry last night.

2. How many minutes did Mark_______in line at the post office? 18. When did you last _______the rent?
Mark________in line at the post office for 30 minutes this morning. I_______the rent on the first May.

3. What time did Lisa_______up this morning? 19. When did you_______your arm?
Lisa_______up at 7:30 this morning. I_______my arm two years ago.

4. When did Barry_______go downtown? 20. Who did Bill_______at school?

Barry_______downtown last week. Bill________his best friend at school.

5. What did Nick________to class yesterday? 21. When did you last drink a Coca-Cola?
Nick_______his dictionary to class yesterday. I________ a Coca-Cola yesterday.

6. What time did Annette ___________ supper yesterday? 22. When did you last do the laundry?
Annette __________ supper at 6:00 yesterday. I _______ the laundry on Tuesday.

7. When did Marie_______new clothes? 23. Where did you last stand in line?
Marie_______new clothes last week. I_______in line at the grocery store.

8. Where did Josh_______his coat? 24. Where did you go last weekend?
Josh_______his coat in the closet. I________to the park.

9. Where did Frank __________ a fish? 25. Where did you buy your shoes?
Frank __________ a fish at the lake. I_______ my shoes at Macy’s.

10. When did Ben and Yolanda______about their family? 26. When did you last drive a car?
Ben and Yolanda __________ about their family this morning. I________a car this morning.

11. When did Charlie __________ a marathon? 27. When did you last fly in an airplane?
Charlie _______________ a marathon in October. I________in an airplane last year.

12. How many cups of coffee did Harry __________ this morning? 28. When did you last hear a baby cry?
Harry __________ 5 cups of coffee this morning. I_______ a baby cry this morning.

13. When did Stanley ___________ to the beach? 29. Where did you last break a glass?
Stanley __________ to the beach last summer. I_______a glass in the kitchen.

14. Where did Deborah __________ her bicycle on Sunday? 30. Where did you put your wallet?
Deborah __________ her bicycle in the park on Sunday. I_______my wallet in my pocket.

15. When did David ___________ to Chicago? 31. How many e-mails did you send yesterday?
David _______________ to Chicago last week. I_______6 e-mails yesterday.

16. What did Jordan ___________ his mother? 32. When did you last catch a cold?
Jordan ___________ his mother a birthday present. I _______ a cold 6 months ago.

Free handout – http://sites.google.com/site/eslhelpfulhandouts. Written by S. Watson. Photos: www.flicker.com (Creative Commons License).
Photo acknowledgements: JoshBerglund19, Qole Pejorian.
ESL Helpful Handouts Page 4 of 6

Irregular Past Tense Verbs And Question Formation In The Past Tense

Past Tense Game

Instructions:

You will need a pair of dice for this game.

This game is played in pairs. Student A gets Worksheet A and Student B gets Worksheet B. The worksheets are on
pages 5 and 6.

Student B casts the dice and adds the numbers rolled. Student A asks the question on his/her own worksheet that
corresponds with that number. If Student B answers correctly, then he/she crosses out that question on Student A’s
worksheet. For Example, if Student B rolls a 4, then Student A asks Question 4 on Worksheet A which is: Where did
you buy your shoes? If Student B answers correctly, he/she crosses out Question 4 on Student A’s worksheet.

Now, Student A casts the dice and adds the numbers rolled. Student B asks the question on his/her own worksheet
that corresponds with that number. If Student A answers correctly, then he/she crosses out that question on
Student B’s worksheet. For Example, if Student A rolls a 7, then Student B asks Question 7 on Worksheet B which is:
What time did you have supper yesterday? If Student A answers correctly, he/she crosses out Question 7 on Student
B’s worksheet.

If a student does not answer a question correctly, the question remains active and does not get crossed out. This
question can be asked again depending on the roll of the dice. This gives the student an opportunity for self-
correction the next time the question is asked.

The first student to cross out all of the opponents questions wins the game.

The worksheets are on pages 5 and 6.

Free handout – http://sites.google.com/site/eslhelpfulhandouts. Written by S. Watson. Photos: www.flicker.com (Creative Commons License).
Photo acknowledgements: JoshBerglund19, Qole Pejorian.
ESL Helpful Handouts Page 5 of 6

Irregular Past Tense Verbs And Question Formation In The Past Tense

Worksheet A

1 2 3
When did you last drink a Coca- Where did you meet your best How many e-mails did you send
Cola? friend? yesterday?

4 5 6

Where did you buy your shoes? When did you last fly in an When did you last pay the rent?
airplane?

7 8 9

How many hours did you sleep When did you last catch a cold? What time did you get up this
last night? morning?

10 11 12

What did you bring to class? When did you last ride a bicycle? Where did you last stand in line?

Free handout – http://sites.google.com/site/eslhelpfulhandouts. Written by S. Watson. Photos: www.flicker.com (Creative Commons License).
Photo acknowledgements: JoshBerglund19, Qole Pejorian.
ESL Helpful Handouts Page 6 of 6

Irregular Past Tense Verbs And Question Formation In The Past Tense

Worksheet B

1 2 3

When did you last hear a baby Where did you put your wallet? What time did you come home
cry? yesterday?

4 5 6

Where did you go last weekend? When did you last think about When did you last do the
your family? laundry?

7 8 9

What time did you have supper What did you eat for breakfast? How many e-mails did you
yesterday? write yesterday?

10 11 12

Where did you last break a When did you last drive a car? When did you last see a movie?
glass?

Free handout – http://sites.google.com/site/eslhelpfulhandouts. Written by S. Watson. Photos: www.flicker.com (Creative Commons License).
Photo acknowledgements: JoshBerglund19, Qole Pejorian.