Grade 1 English Tense β Past tense Notes
Past tense π°οΈ
Topic: Tense β Subtopic: Past tense
Class: English (Kenya) β Age: 6
Past tense tells about things that already happened β things that are finished.
Example: I walked to school. (This happened before now.)
Use words like:
- yesterday π (Yesterday I played.)
- last night π (Last night we sang.)
- ago (Two days ago I visited the market.)
For many verbs, make past tense by adding -ed.
- play β played (I played with my friend.) π²
- walk β walked (She walked to school.) πΆββοΈ
- cook β cooked (Mama cooked ugali.) π²
- like β liked (He liked the story.) π
Tip: if a word already ends with "e", just add -d (live β lived).
Some verbs change in a different way. Learn a few.
- eat β ate (We ate chapati.) π½οΈ
- go β went (I went to the market.) π
- see β saw (She saw a bird.) π¦
- have β had (He had a ball.) β½
- buy β bought (Mama bought sweets.) π¬
Affirmative (Yes): Subject + past verb β I walked home.
Negative (No): Subject + did not (didn't) + base verb β I did not (didn't) walk home.
Question: Did + subject + base verb? β Did you walk home?
Notice: After "did" we use the base verb (walk), not "walked".
- Yesterday I ____ (play) with my friend. β _______
- She ____ (eat) ugali. β _______
- We ____ (go) to the farm. β _______
- He did not ____ (watch) TV. β _______
(Answers below β try first!)
- 1. played
- 2. ate
- 3. went
- 4. watch (because "did not" + base verb)
Make a circle of friends. One child says a present action, e.g., "I play." The next child says the past: "You played." Use simple verbs: play, eat, go, see, walk.