Comprehensive English Grammar Lessons: Verb Forms & Tenses

Posted on Aug 14, 2025 in English

Present Simple: Verb “To Be”

Lesson Title: Me, You, and Be!

• Grammar Topic: Present Simple – Verb to be
• Objectives:
  • Use “to be” in simple sentences.
  • Recognize “am/is/are” forms.
  • Answer simple questions with “to be”.
• Grammar:
  • Affirmative: I am, You are, He/She/It is
  • Negative: I am not, She is not
  • Questions: Are you…? / Is he…?
• How to Teach It:
  • Flashcards + Gestures
  • Color-code Subject and Verb
  • Puppet Introduces Itself (e.g., “I am Dino”)

Present Simple & Present Continuous

Lesson Title: Let’s Talk About Today!

• Grammar Topic: Daily routines & actions happening now
• Objectives:
  • Talk about daily routines.
  • Use “do/does” and “am/is/are” correctly.
• Grammar:
  • Present Simple:
    • ✅ I play / He plays
    • ❌ I don’t play / She doesn’t play
    • ❓ Do you play? / Does she play?
  • Present Continuous:
    • ✅ I am playing / She is playing
    • ❌ I am not playing / He isn’t playing
    • ❓ Are you playing? / Is she playing?
• How to Teach It:
  • Flashcards for routines
  • Song: This is the way…
  • Act out verbs (mime)

Past Simple: Regular Verbs

Lesson Title: Yesterday Was Fun!

• Grammar Topic: Past Simple – Regular verbs
• Objectives:
  • Use -ed form to talk about the past.
  • Build affirmative, negative, and question sentences.
• Grammar Structure:
  • ✅ I played / She danced
  • ❌ I didn’t jump
  • ❓ Did you watch TV?
• How to Teach It:
  • Mime: Yesterday I…
  • Timeline: Today / Yesterday
  • Flashcards of actions

Past Continuous

Lesson Title: What Were You Doing?

• Grammar Topic: Past Continuous
• Objectives:
  • Describe ongoing actions in the past.
  • Ask and answer with “was/were + -ing”.
• Grammar Structure:
  • ✅ I was playing / They were reading
  • ❌ He wasn’t sleeping / They weren’t talking
  • ❓ Were you watching TV? / Was he drawing?
• How to Teach It:
  • Act out scenes (e.g., Yesterday at 5:00…)
  • Draw a timeline with actions
  • Match present vs. past continuous actions

Present Perfect: Experiences

Lesson Title: Have You Ever…?

• Grammar Topic: Present Perfect (experiences)
• Objectives:
  • Talk about life experiences using “have/has + participle”.
  • Use “never, ever, already, yet” in context.
• Grammar Structure:
  • ✅ I have eaten / She has visited
  • ❌ I haven’t seen it / He hasn’t finished
  • ❓ Have you been there? / Has she done it?
• How to Teach It:
  • Use experience flashcards (e.g., places, food, events)
  • Class survey with “Have you ever…?” questions
  • Use real-life contexts: birthdays, trips, etc.

Present Perfect with Time Markers

Lesson Title: Mastering the Present Perfect

• Grammar Topic: Present Perfect (advanced use)
• Objectives:
  • Use “just, already, yet, ever, never” correctly.
  • Contrast with Past Simple.
• Grammar Structure:
  • ✅ She has just finished / I have already eaten
  • ❌ We haven’t studied yet
  • ❓ Have you ever been to London?
• How to Teach It:
  • Timeline: Present Perfect vs. Past Simple
  • Context clues for “already/yet/just”
  • Compare: I went to Paris last year vs. I have been to Paris

Detailed Lesson Plan: Past Simple – Regular Verbs

Lesson Title: “Yesterday Was Fun!”

• Grammar Topic: Past Simple – Regular Verbs (e.g., walked, played, jumped)
• Objectives: By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:
  • Identify and use the Past Simple of regular verbs.
  • Form affirmative, negative, and interrogative sentences in the past tense.
  • Talk about past actions using simple vocabulary.
  • Participate in a speaking activity using the past tense.
• Grammar Explanation:

  Affirmative:

  → Subject + verb + -ed

  (I played football yesterday.
  She walked to school.)

  Negative:

  → Subject + did not (didn’t) + base verb

  (He didn’t jump.)

  Interrogative:

  → Did + subject + base verb?

  (Did you watch TV?)

• Note: Watch out for spelling rules:
  • Play → played
  • Stop → stopped
  • Dance → danced
• How to Teach It:
  • Start by showing photos of common activities in the past (e.g., “Yesterday I danced” with mime).
  • Write example sentences on the board, highlighting -ed endings.
  • Use a timeline with “Today / Yesterday” to visualize change in time.
  • Model pronunciation and have students repeat.
• Common Learner Difficulties:
  • Adding -ed to irregular verbs (e.g., go-ed instead of went).
  • Forgetting to use did/didn’t in questions/negatives.
  • Spelling mistakes (e.g., stoped instead of stopped).
• Materials:
  • Flashcards with regular verbs (past actions)
  • A “Yesterday/Today” timeline poster
  • Mini-whiteboards and markers
  • Past tense dominoes or bingo
  • Simple worksheet (fill in the blanks)

Activity & Lesson Structure (45 minutes)

Detailed Lesson Plan: Present Simple – Verb “To Be”

Lesson Title: “I Am… You Are… Let’s Be Grammar Stars!”

• Grammar Topic: Present Simple – Verb Be (affirmative and negative forms)
• Objectives: By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:
  • Identify and use the verb “to be” in present simple (affirmative and negative).
  • Form simple sentences using “I am / You are / He is / She is”.
  • Respond to basic questions using the verb “to be”.
  • Use the grammar in a short speaking activity.
• Grammar Explanation (for the teacher):

  Verb “To Be” – Present Simple

  Subject	Verb	Example
  I	am	I am a student.
  You	are	You are happy.
  He/She/It	is	She is nice.
  We	are	We are friends.
  They	are	They are at school.

  Negative Form:

  • I am not tired.
  • He is not sad.
  • You are not angry.
• How to Teach It:
  • Contextualize: Use flashcards or drawings showing children, animals, and objects with feelings or descriptions (e.g., “She is happy”, “It is big”).
  • Color Coding: Highlight subject + verb separately (e.g., “I” in blue, “am” in red).
  • Repetition & Gestures: Students repeat phrases while mimicking the meaning (“I am tired” – pretend to yawn).
  • Puppet or Mascot: A puppet introduces itself: “Hello! I am Dino. I am green!”
• Common Learner Difficulties:
  • Confusing “is” and “are” (e.g., “You is nice”).
  • Omitting the verb “to be” (e.g., “He happy”).
  • Using contractions incorrectly (e.g., “She’s not” = “She not”).
• Materials:
  • Flashcards with pronouns and emotions/descriptions
  • A puppet or soft toy
  • Small mirrors (for the “I am” activity)
  • Worksheet for matching pronouns and verbs
  • Markers and mini-whiteboards
  • Music player for a song (“I am happy” style)

Lesson Structure: (45 minutes)