This podcast episode from "Mr. English" teaches listeners how to effectively describe past experiences using regular and irregular verbs, time expressions, and the past tense of "to be," empowering them to share stories and engage in conversations about their past activities.
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Hello everyone and welcome back to Mr.
English channel where learning English
is easy and fun. I'm Emily and I'm Paul.
Hello Emily. How are you today? What a
beautiful day to learn some English,
right? Hi Paul. I'm doing great, thank you.
you.
Yes, the sun is shining and I feel so
good. I'm super excited to talk about
our topic today. How about you, Paul?
Are you ready for some English fun? Oh,
I'm fantastic, Emily. Ready to learn and
have some fun?
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Thank you everyone for your support. We
really appreciate it. So, Emily, what
exciting and super useful topic do we
have for our lovely listeners today? I'm
curious. Today, Paul, we're going to
talk about something that we do every
single day. Describing past experiences.
Well, it's all about telling stories,
big or small, about what you did
yesterday, what happened last week, or
even what you enjoyed last year. Oh,
that's a fantastic topic. It's like
opening a little window to our memories
and sharing them with others. We talk
about our past all the time, don't we?
It's super important to know how to say
I went or I ate. I think this will be
very helpful for everyone. Exactly. So,
let's start with something very, very
easy. Regular verbs in the past tense.
These verbs are super friendly because
they follow a simple rule. We just add e
d to the end of them. For example, if
you walk to the park today, yesterday
you walked to the park. Ah, simple,
right? Oh, I like friendly verbs.
So, if I play soccer with my friends
today, yesterday I played soccer with
them. Is that correct? Yes, exactly. You
played soccer. That's perfect, Paul.
Good job. And if I talked to my friend
on the phone yesterday, I talked to my
friend on the phone for a long time. See
how easy it is to make that small
change? It is simple. So, let me try a
few more examples. Last night, I watched
a really interesting movie. And this
morning, my cute little cat jumped on
the sofa and woke me up. Perfect
examples, Paul. Those are excellent.
See, it's not difficult at all. Think of
other common verbs like listen, work,
clean. So, yesterday you listened to
your favorite music, you worked on your
computer for many hours, and maybe you
cleaned your room. It's just that little
e d sound at the end. H. But Emily, I
know some verbs are a little different.
They don't like the e d so much, right?
They don't follow the rules. What do we
do with those? Ah, yes, Paul, you are
very smart to notice that.
You are right. Those are our irregular
verbs. They are a little bit special
because they change their form
completely. But don't worry, we'll only
learn some very common and important
ones today. For example, the verb go
changes to went in the past. Oh, I
understand now. So, if I go to school
today, but yesterday I went to the store
to buy some food. That makes sense. It's
a completely new word. Yes. Fantastic.
You got it right away. Another very
common one is have. It changes to had in
the past. So, I have breakfast right
now, but yesterday I had a very big and
delicious dinner with my family. Okay. I
had a wonderful time last weekend when I
visited my cousins. And what about see?
That's an important one. It changes to
saw, right? Like this morning I saw a
beautiful red bird in my garden. Yes,
exactly. You're learning so fast, Paul.
You are doing an amazing job. And eat
changes to ate. So, yesterday I ate a
big juicy apple. And drink changes to
drink. I drink some fresh water after my
walk. Wow, these irregular verbs are
very useful. I also made a delicious
chocolate cake for my friend's birthday
party last week. M delicious. These are
verbs we use every single day. Now,
Paul, it's not enough to just say what
you did. We also need to say when you
did it. These words and phrases are
called time expressions for the past.
They help us understand exactly when
something happened. Oh, like yesterday.
That's the most common one I hear. Yes,
exactly. Yesterday is a super common and
very useful one. You can say I walked my
dog yesterday morning. We also have last
week, last month, and last year. These
are great for longer periods of time. So
if I say I traveled to a new city, I can
add I traveled to a new city last year.
That makes the sentence so much clearer.
That's absolutely perfect. Or I visited
my family last month. And we can also
use a go. This word tells us how long
ago something happened. For example, 2
days ago or 3 hours ago. So I finished
my homework 1 hour ago. Phew, that makes
so much sense now. These words are like
little time markers. They really help us
understand the timeline of events.
Absolutely. They make your sentences
very clear and easy to understand. You
can say, "I started reading this
interesting book a week ago." Or, "My
friend moved to a new house 3 months
ago." They are very versatile. Emily, I
simply love weekends. They're my
favorite days. And I love talking about
my weekends with my friends and family.
How can we use the past tense to talk
about all the fun things we did during
our weekend activities? That's a great
idea, Paul. It's a very common
conversation topic. A simple and common
question is, "What did you do last
weekend?" And you can answer simply
using all the verbs we just learned. For
example, I relaxed at home and watched
TV or I read a good book by the window.
H peaceful.
So if someone asks me that question, I
can say last weekend I played video
games with my friends for many hours or
I went to the park and had a picnic.
These are things I really do. Yes,
exactly. Those are perfect answers. Or,
I cooked a big dinner for my family. Or,
I visited my grandma and we talked for a
long time. See how easily we're using
both regular and irregular verbs to
describe our activities. It's all coming
together. It's like putting puzzle
pieces together to build a full picture
of our weekend.
So, it's really easy to share what we
did for fun and tell our stories. This
is so practical. Now, let's move on to
something even more exciting. Trips or
vacations. Even a short trip to a nearby
town or a small adventure can be fun to
describe using past tenses. Oh, I
absolutely love talking about trips.
Even if it was just a day trip to a
lake, it's still an experience. It's so
nice to remember them. Yes. So, you can
say, "Last summer, I went to the beach
with my family." Or, "I saw many
interesting animals at the zoo." Simple
and clear. So, last year I traveled to
the mountains with some friends. I
walked a lot there exploring the trails.
It was so beautiful. The air was fresh. Wow,
Wow,
that sounds absolutely lovely, Paul. And
you used both regular and irregular
verbs perfectly in your description. You
can also say, "I visited a famous museum
in the city." Or, "I ate delicious local
food at a small restaurant." H yes, when
I went to the big city last month, I
drank a very good coffee at a charming
cafe. It was a special moment. M
memories of good food are the best.
Speaking of delicious food, Paul, let's
talk about one of my favorite topics.
Food you ate. Everyone loves food,
right? It's a universal language. Oh,
yes. I definitely love eating. So, how
do we talk about what we enjoyed for
meals in the past? What verbs do we use?
The main verb here if you are talking
about eating is eat which as we learned
becomes ate in the past. So you can say
I ate pizza for dinner yesterday
evening. Yes. And if I had something to
drink I can say I drank orange juice for
breakfast this morning. That's easy to
remember. Perfect. Or remember we can
also use have which becomes had. So, I
had a big sandwich for lunch today.
Remember, have becomes had for past
meals, too, not just for possession. Oh,
good point. I almost forgot that. So, I
had eggs and toast this morning. That's
very simple and clear. Hm. I can talk
about all of my meals now. Let's move on
to describing a past event, like a fun
party, a birthday celebration, or any
special gathering. These are often full
of happy memories and good stories. Yes.
Like last Saturday I went to a friend's
birthday party. That's a good start.
Excellent. And what did you do there?
You can say I danced a lot to the music.
Music. Or I talked to many old and new
friends. These verbs help paint a
picture. H. and I ate a big slice of
delicious cake or I listened to good
music and sang along. Yes, those are
great ways to describe what happened at
the event. You can also say I laughed a
lot with my friends or the music was
very loud. It's all about using those
past verbs to share your experience.
Emily, sometimes I hear was and were
when people talk about the past. When
exactly do we use those words? They
don't sound like the ed verbs or the
irregular verbs we talked about. That's
a very important question, Paul. You're
right to ask. Was and were are the past
forms of the verb to be. We use them to
talk about conditions, states or
locations. In the past, we use was for
I, he, she, and it. And we use were for
you, we, and they. Ah, I see. So, if I
want to say how I felt, I would say, I
was very happy yesterday. Exactly.
That's perfect. And he was tired after
work. or it was a very sunny day last
week. We use was for singular subjects.
Okay. And for were, you were at the park
this morning. We were friends in
elementary school. They were busy with
their project all day. Uh-huh. I think I
understand now. Perfect, Paul. You got
it. You're so quick. We use them to
describe how things were or where people
were. For example, the party was really
fun. My friends were at the cinema
watching a movie. They describe a state
or a place. Emily, if I want to know
about someone's past, if I want to ask
them what they did, how do I form a
question in the past tense? That's a
fantastic and very practical point,
Paul. We usually use the word did at the
beginning of our questions or what did
you? For example, did you go to the park
yesterday? Notice something very
important here. The main verb go stays
in its base form after did. Oh, that's
very interesting. So, not did you went
to the park, but did you go? The did
already tells me it's the past. Yes,
exactly. You're very quick to grasp that
rule. The did takes care of the past
tense. So, the main verb doesn't need to
change. So, what did you eat for
breakfast this morning, not what did you
eat? I understand. This makes asking
questions much, much easier. So, where
did you travel last year? or when did
you finish your work? This is super
helpful. Now, to put everything we
learned today together, let's try to
tell some short stories or anecdotes
using the past. Just small, simple
examples to show how it all works. Oh, I
love stories. That sounds like fun. I'm
ready to hear yours. Okay, here's one.
Yesterday, I woke up early in the
morning. I ate a healthy breakfast and
then I walked to the local library. I
read an interesting book for about 2
hours. After that, I met a friend for
coffee at a nice cafe. We talked a lot
about our week and laughed a lot. It was
a really great and productive day.
Sweet. That's a lovely and very complete
story, Emily. And you use so many
different past verbs and time
expressions. Okay, my turn to tell a
little story.
Last Sunday, I went to the beautiful
beach with my family. The sun was bright
and the ocean water was warm and clear.
We played games in the soft sand. I swam
in the ocean for a long time. Later, we
ate delicious ice cream by the
boardwalk. We had a lot of fun together.
Wow, Paul, that was a wonderful story.
You described your experience so clearly
and you used so many of the things we
talked about today. Good job. You are
becoming a past tense expert. Wow,
Emily, we covered so much today about
describing past experiences from the
easy regular verbs to the special
irregular ones and even how to ask
questions and tell little stories. I
feel much more confident now. Yes, it
was a great episode and it truly shows
how much you can say and understand even
with simple English when you know these
important rules. Practice makes perfect.
So, dear listeners, we truly hope this
episode was helpful and fun for you.
Remember to practice these new words and
sentences every day. Try to tell someone
about your day or your weekend. And
please, please, please subscribe to Mr.
English channel. It's the best way to
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We are here to help you learn. Also,
please share this episode with your
friends, your classmates, or anyone who
wants to learn English in an easy and
enjoyable way. And most importantly,
leave us a comment below. Tell us what
did you do last weekend. We love to read
your answers and interact with you. Yes,
we can't wait to hear about your past
experiences. Thank you so much for
listening, everyone. Keep practicing and
keep smiling. See you next time for more
English fun. Bye-bye. Bye, everyone. [Music]
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