Some adult ESL teachers might be wondering, “Why do I need to know the past perfect tense? Can’t I just stick to the present simple?”
Well, the past perfect is an important verb tense in English, and it’s time to embrace it (or at least try to understand it). Not sure what it is or how to teach it? Don’t worry; this guide is here to help you navigate the complex world of the past perfect tense, complete with amusing activities to keep you (and your students) entertained while learning. Let’s get started!
What is the Past Perfect?
The past perfect tense is used to describe an action that was completed before a specific time in the past. It is formed by using the auxiliary verb had and the past participle of the main verb. For example:
- When the smoke alarm went off, I had already burned the toast. (The action of burning toast was completed before the smoke alarm started making a loud noise.)
- My laundry had frozen stiff when I gave up and took it off the line. (First, the laundry froze, and then I took it off the line.)
Why is it Important to Teach the Past Perfect?
Adult ESL learners must understand and use the past perfect tense correctly to communicate effectively in English. It is often used in spoken and written English to describe events that happened before other events in the past. For example:
- I had just finished hunting down the spider when the cockroaches appeared. (The action of finishing the spider hunt happened before the action of cockroaches appearing.)
- They had already set fire to the car when I arrived. (The action of setting fire to the car happened before the action of arriving.)
5 Past Perfect Activities for the Adult ESL Classroom
Now that you understand the basics of the past perfect tense, it’s time to get creative and try out some activities to help your adult ESL learners master this verb tense. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
Past Perfect Activity #1: story retelling
Have your learners work in pairs or small groups to retell a story using the past perfect. They can use a book or a story they are familiar with, or you can provide a short passage for them to work with. Encourage them to use the past perfect tense to describe events that happened before other events in the story. Here is an example of a story you could use with your students:
The Lost Key
Omar lost his key. He searched everywhere for it, but he couldn’t find it. He looked in his room, in the living room, and even outside, but the key was nowhere to be found.
Feeling frustrated, he decided to call his friend Byung-Jin for help. Byung-Jin had a spare key, so he came over to help Omar look for his lost key.
Byung-Jin asked Omar where he last saw the key. Omar remembered using it to open the garage earlier that day. Then he put it in his pocket and went to the store to buy some groceries.
Byung-Jin suggested they look in the car just in case Omar dropped the key while in the car. They searched the car, and sure enough, the key was lying on the floor under the driver’s seat.
Omar was relieved to have found his key, and he thanked Byung-Jin for his help.
This is what the same story might look like using the past perfect:
The Lost Key
Omar had lost his key. He had searched everywhere for it, but he couldn’t find it. He had looked in his room, in the living room, and even outside, but the key was nowhere to be found.
Feeling frustrated, he decided to call his friend Byung-Jin for help. Byung-Jin had a spare key, so he came over to help Omar look for his lost key.
As soon as Byung-Jin arrived, he asked Omar where he had last seen the key. OImar remembered that he had used it to open the garage earlier that day. He had then put it in his pocket and gone to the store to buy some groceries.
Byung-Jin suggested they look in the car, just in case Omar had dropped the key while he was getting out. They searched the car, and sure enough, the key was lying on the floor under the driver’s seat.
Omar was relieved to have found his key, and he thanked Byung-Jin for his help.
Past Perfect Activity #2: timeline creation
Have your adult ESL learners create a timeline of their own lives using the past perfect. They can start with their birth and work their way up to the present, including significant events and milestones along the way. Encourage them to use the past perfect tense to describe events that happened before other events on their timeline. To show your students more examples of using the past perfect, you can use the website OurTimeLines.com to generate a timeline of significant historical events. Give examples using any historical events your students can relate to, such as:
- When you were born, the internet had already been invented.
- When I finished high school, the Berlin Wall had already been demolished.
- When you were a teenager, Wikipedia had already gone online.
You can also encourage your students to provide more examples of comparing historical or past events using the past perfect tense. For example:
- When the Wright brothers flew their first airplane, the Eiffel Tower had already stood for more than 20 years.
- When I was born, the first man had already walked on the moon.
- By the time the wooly mammoth became extinct, the first Egyptian pyramids had already been built. (Note the passive voice)
Still using the timeline, you can also introduce yet and switch to negative.
- When the Berlin Wall fell, the Cold War hadn’t officially ended yet.
- Harvard University didn’t offer any classes in calculus for the first few years because calculus hadn’t been invented yet.
- When the first human landed on the moon, humans hadn’t traveled to Mars yet.
- When I started college, I hadn’t decided on a major yet.
- When I applied for my first job, I hadn’t gained any work experience yet.
- When I was born, computers hadn’t become widespread yet.
By using these examples and asking your students to provide their own, you can help them understand the importance of using the past perfect tense when talking about events that happened before other events in the past and adding yet when talking about events that hadn’t happened before other events in the past.
Past Perfect Activity #3: survey questions
Begin by introducing the concept of the past perfect tense and its use in forming yes/no questions. Review the past perfect verb conjugation and provide examples for students to practice.
Next, have students work in pairs or small groups to create a timeline of events they consider interesting and well-known. Encourage them to research and gather information from reliable sources.
Once the timelines are complete, instruct students to create past perfect yes/no questions based on the events on their timelines. For example, Had the Gulf War already occurred before the release of the first Harry Potter book? or Had the fall of the Berlin Wall already occurred before the release of the first commercial version of the internet?
Once the students have created their past perfect yes/no questions, have them survey students from another class (with the permission of the other teacher). Encourage them to ask a variety of students to gather a diverse range of responses.
Finally, have the students present their findings to the class. Consider raising the challenge level by encouraging discussion and critical thinking with questions. Such questions could include Why do you think some students were able to correctly answer the past perfect questions while others were not? or What can we learn about history by conducting this survey and analyzing the results?
Past Perfect Activity #4: picture prompts
Before class, select various pictures or photos depicting different scenarios or events. There must be at least one person or animal in each image. These can be found online or in print media, or you can use your own photos.
Begin by reviewing the past perfect verb conjugation and providing examples for students to practice.
Present each picture or photo to the class and have students brainstorm a list of activities or events that the person in the picture might have done before the scene depicted in the image. Encourage them to use their imagination and be creative.
Once the students have come up with a list of activities, have them choose one and write a sentence using the past perfect tense to describe what the person had done before the scene depicted in the photo. For example, if the photo shows a person standing before a beautiful sunset, the sentence might read: Before watching the beautiful sunset, the woman had gone for a hike, set up her tent, and made a stone fire ring.
Encourage students to use descriptive language and include details in their sentences.
Have students share their sentences with the class and discuss the different activities and events they came up with. Encourage students to ask each other questions using the past perfect to practice using the tense in conversation.
Repeat this activity with additional pictures or photos to give students more practice with the past perfect tense.
Past Perfect Activity #5: role-playing
Before class, brainstorm a list of scenarios in which students can use the past perfect in conversation. These could include situations such as an employee discussing a project they had completed with a manager, a person recounting their travels to a friend, a couple discussing their past relationships, or a customer service representative describing the actions they had taken to resolve a customer’s issue to a supervisor.
Begin the activity by briefly reviewing the past perfect verb conjugation and providing examples for students to practice.
Next, assign roles to the students and provide them with a script or outline of the conversation they will be having. Be sure to include past perfect verb forms in the script to give students practice using the tense in conversation.
Have the students rehearse their conversations in small groups or pairs. Encourage them to use descriptive language and include details in their conversations.
Once the students are comfortable with their roles and the conversation, have them perform their role-plays in front of the class. Encourage the rest of the class to ask questions using the past perfect to further practice using the tense in conversation.
Repeat this activity with different scenarios to give students more practice using the past perfect in conversation.
Incorporating these and other activities into your lesson plans can help your adult ESL learners feel confident using the past perfect tense. With practice and guidance, they will be able to effectively communicate using this important verb tense in no time!
So, while the past perfect tense may seem daunting and confusing at first, with a little practice and some creative and amusing activities, even the most grammar-phobic students can master it. Don’t be afraid to embrace the past perfect and take a trip through time with your adult ESL learners – it’s sure to be a grammatically good time!
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