12. Read the rules and examples to them.

The Simple Past can be used to describe:

1. An action started and finished at a specific time in the past.

Example: We travelled to Japan on our honeymoon last year.

2. A series of completed actions in the past. These actions happen 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and so on.

Example: We finished work, walked to the beach, and found a nice place to swim.

3. A duration which starts and stops in the past. Often shown by expressions such as: for two years, for five minutes, all day, all year, etc.

Example: I lived in Brazil for two years.

4. A habit which stopped in the past. We often add expressions such as: always, often, usually, never, when I was a child, when I was younger, etc.

Example: I studied French when I was a child.

5. Past facts or generalizations which are no longer true.

Examples: She was shy as a child, but now she is very outgoing.

Honeymoon in Ireland

James and Diana spent their honeymoon in Ireland. Read what they say about it.

13. Fill in the blanks with the correct form. (See Grammar reference)

Last year we (spend) _____our honeymoon in Ireland.

It (be)_____ great. We (travel) ______ around by car with two friends and we (visit)_____ lots of interesting places. In the evenings we usually (go) ______to a pub. One night we even (learn)_____ some Irish dances. We (be)______very lucky with the weather. It (not / rain)______ a lot. But we (see)_____ some beautiful rainbows.

14. Your family has just come from a holiday. Your friend is asking you some questions about your holiday. In pairs ask and answer the questions giving your own answers.

where /go e.g. Where did you go? I went to Italy.

who/ go with

where /stay

the weather/good

eat /at restaurants

visit/historical places

15. Read the interview with Mark Dilan, a pop singer. Read the questions in Past Simple and match them with Mark’s answers.

1. Did you see any wedding ceremony? Whose wedding the last one you saw and what was it like?

2. Who did you choose to be your best man?

3. Where did you have your marriage ceremony?

4. What time of the year did you get married?

5. What were the colors of the bridesmaids’ dresses? What colours did you wear?

6. Where did you go on your honeymoon?

a. -I always wanted to go to Hawaii. I think the beach is ideal, like Italy or Greece or Hong Kong. But, for my honeymoon, I took my wife to Disney World. Our wedding was during the winter so it was cold almost everywhere, but it is always warm at Disney World, so it was OK.

b. -I think lots of these things are not important to a guy. I can’t remember what colors I had at my wedding and it was only six months ago. I do remember that I had on a black tuxedo and my wife had on a white dress.

c. -Lots of my friends got married, and so did I. The last wedding I went to was my cousin’s wedding. I didn’t know the bride, but we met at a party a few days before the wedding. They got married in a big church.

d. -When I got married, I chose my best friend to be my best man. I have known him most of my life, so the choice was easy. I was not the best man at his wedding because he chose his brother.

e. -I think the time of year is not important. Because I was still a college student when I got married, I had to schedule my wedding so that I could not miss lots of classes. So I used winter holidays.

f. -I wanted to have my wedding in the yard at my house to save lots of money, but I got married in the winter. So it was too cold for a wedding outside. My ceremony was in a great big church. It was expensive, but it was very beautiful also.

Tell your class the story of the wedding you went last to. Use Past Simple and the vocabulary on the topic.

Listening: “Yesterday” by The Beatles