Went, Ate, Saw: Irregular Past Tense Verbs

About This Resource

A complete Grade 5 ESL grammar pack on irregular past tense verbs: 30 common verbs such as go/went, eat/ate and buy/bought, verb sound patterns, negatives with didn't, questions with did, and a story to read and write. Includes a lesson plan, worksheet, quiz, homework, A5 flashcards, a rubric, detailed slides with speaker notes, Word files and answer keys.

Overview

Children learn that many common verbs do not take -ed in the past. They study 30 high-frequency irregular verbs in sound groups (buy, bring, think, catch → bought, brought, thought, caught; drink, swim, begin → drank, swam, began), find irregular verbs in a short story, use didn't and did with the base verb, and write about a day out using at least eight irregular verbs.

Resource Details

Subject: ESL
Topic: Irregular Past Tense Verbs
Category: Grammar
File Type: PDF
File Size: 402.4 KB
Published: 30 Oct 2026
Downloads: 0

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Grade 5 ESL (ages 10–11), A2–B1 45 minutes Grammar reading speaking recount writing memory strategies

Learning Objectives

Use the past tense of 30 common irregular verbs correctly.
Make negatives and questions in the past with didn't and did plus the base verb.
Write a short recount using irregular past tense verbs.

How to Use This Resource

Ask "What did you do yesterday?" and write children's irregular verbs on the board (went, ate, saw).
Teach the verb groups with the slides and flashcards, then use worksheet activities 1 to 6.
Use the quiz to check learning and send the verb memory homework home.

Classroom Activity Ideas

Verb slap: spread the base form cards on a table; the teacher says a past form and children race to slap the matching card.
Story chain: each child adds a sentence to a class story using a new irregular verb.
Two truths and a lie: children tell three things they did last weekend and the class guesses the lie.

Differentiation

Support: learn 15 verbs first with the flashcards. Challenge: learn the past participles too (go, went, gone) and use them in present perfect sentences.

Assessment

Worksheet activities 1 to 5 and the quiz check verb forms and did/didn't. Use the rubric for the recount in activity 6.

Teacher Tips

Teach irregular verbs in sound groups rather than in alphabetical order. Patterns such as bought, brought, thought and caught are much easier to remember together.

What's Included

12-page printable PDF lesson pack: teacher lesson plan with timings, materials and differentiation
Key vocabulary list (8 words with meanings and examples)
Student worksheet (6 activities)
Quiz / assessment (4 parts)
Homework practice page
Printable flashcards: 8 A5 picture cards (separate PDF)
Assessment rubric (4 levels)
Lesson slides (editable PowerPoint)
Editable Word version of all student pages
Complete answer key (also as a separate PDF)