What Happened Last Night?

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A2Grammar in Context

What Happened Last Night?

I can reconstruct a simple past sequence and ask about a missing action.

Created by , British English teacher.

I’m studying:

Try the activities, then check your answers.

Choose a short recording.

Your situation

Tom left a notebook at the language club. “I took the bus there, met Eva and put the notebook on a chair,” he explains. “Then I went to the café.” Eva says, “I saw it after you left. I gave it to the tutor.”

Read the situation transcript

Tom left a notebook at the language club. “I took the bus there, met Eva and put the notebook on a chair,” he explains. “Then I went to the café.” Eva says, “I saw it after you left. I gave it to the tutor.”

Who had the notebook at the end of Eva’s account?

Compare your idea

The tutor had it because Eva gave it to the tutor.

How it works

Adult man passing a plain notebook to a woman beside one chair.
He gave her the notebook.Picture context: recount this handover after it happened last night. Gave is the irregular past of give.

Irregular past verbs help report a sequence: took, met, put, went, saw, gave. Some forms change greatly; put stays the same in spelling.

Ask a past question with did plus the base form: Where did you put it? Who did you give it to? The answer returns to the past form: I gave it to the tutor.

Take/took; meet/met; put/put; go/went; see/saw; give/gave. Did + base form?

Notice this

I took the bus.

Took reports a past journey choice.

Compare this

I put it on a chair.

Put has the same written base and past form.

Hear the examples

I took the bus.

Took reports a past journey choice.

I put it on a chair.

Put has the same written base and past form.

Where did you go next?

Use go after did.

Eva gave it to the tutor.

Gave reports the final transfer.

One mistake worth avoiding

Instead of: Where did you went?

Say: Where did you go?

Use go after did.

You say

Hear the prompt, answer aloud, then deliberately reveal or hear one possible model. Check it and retry with a changed detail.

Your turn 1

Tell a two-step journey using went and took.

Compare a possible model
Reveal the model text

I took a bus and went to the club.

Check yourself: Keep both events in the past.

Retry with one detail of your own. Other wording is welcome when it meets this check.

Your turn 2

Ask where someone put an object.

Compare a possible model
Reveal the model text

Where did you put the notebook?

Check yourself: Use did and the base form put.

Retry with one detail of your own. Other wording is welcome when it meets this check.

Your turn 3

Report how an object moved between people.

Compare a possible model
Reveal the model text

Eva gave it to the tutor.

Check yourself: Make the people and object clear.

Retry with one detail of your own. Other wording is welcome when it meets this check.

Adult man passing a plain notebook to a woman beside one chair.
She took the notebook.Picture context: recount the same handover from the recipient’s perspective. Took is the past of take.

Two guided self-checks

Say or write your answer before opening a model.

Self-check 1

Change give to the past: She gives it to me.

Compare a model and explanation

She gave it to me.

Give becomes gave.

Self-check 2

Ask a question about this: He saw the notebook.

Compare a model and explanation

Did he see the notebook?

See follows did.

Check your understanding

Choose one answer to each question, then check your answers. One of the ten questions is listening.

1. Tom ___ the bus to the club. Use take.

2. Eva ___ the notebook on a chair. Use see.

3. Where did Tom ___ it?

4. Eva gave it to the tutor. Who received it?

5. Choose the correct question.

6. Correct “I goed to the café.”

7. Which sequence matches Tom’s account?

8. Who received the keys?

Read the listening transcript

I found the keys by the door and gave them to my neighbour.

Opening this transcript makes this a reading-supported attempt.

9. Choose the correct negative.

10. What changes when a past statement becomes a did question?

Automatic scoring needs JavaScript. Use the answer key after attempting all ten questions.

Answer key with explanations

  1. Tom ___ the bus to the club. Use take.

    took: Took is the simple past of take.

  2. Eva ___ the notebook on a chair. Use see.

    saw: Saw is the simple-past form.

  3. Where did Tom ___ it?

    put: Use put after did; put is also the past form.

  4. Eva gave it to the tutor. Who received it?

    The tutor: The person after to is the recipient here.

  5. Choose the correct question.

    Who did Eva give it to?: Did takes the base form give.

  6. Correct “I goed to the café.”

    I went to the café.: Went is the simple past of go.

  7. Which sequence matches Tom’s account?

    He met Eva before going to the café.: The account places meeting Eva before then going to the café.

  8. Who received the keys?

    A neighbour: The recording states that the speaker gave them to a neighbour.

  9. Choose the correct negative.

    I didn’t see the notebook.: Didn’t takes see.

  10. What changes when a past statement becomes a did question?

    The main verb returns to its base form.: The past marking moves to did.

Take it with you

I can reconstruct a simple past sequence and ask about a missing action.

Try the companion lesson

Grammar Focus: Past Simple: Irregular VerbsExplore the Grammar catalogue