Shadowing Practice: Past Simple Tense for Beginners | Talk About Yesterday in English | English Podcast - Learn English Speaking with Video

Les maken...
1
Hi friends, welcome back to Daily English Talk.
2
Hey everyone, I'm Tom and this is Lily and we are your English learning friends.
3
If you are new here, welcome to the family.
4
We are so happy you found us.
5
Every single day we help you speak English with more confidence.
6
We upload every single day.
7
So if you want to improve your English fast, subscribe right now and come back tomorrow.
8
We will be here waiting for you.
9
We are always here.
10
Always.
11
Lily, do you ever leave?
12
Tom, I literally live in this microphone.
13
That explains everything!
14
Okay, today's topic is one of the most important grammar topics in English.
15
We are talking about the past simple tense.
16
Yes, past simple is how you talk about yesterday, last week, last year, anything that already happened and is finished.
17
And by the end of today's episode, you will be able to talk about your day in English.
18
Things you did, things you ate, places you went, all of it.
19
question for you.
20
Okay, so before we start, I have to tell you something.
21
Tom did something really embarrassing yesterday morning.
22
Really, truly embarrassing.
23
Oh no, here we go.
24
And the question is this: What do you think Tom did?
25
Did he: A.
26
Fall asleep on the bus, B.
27
Forget to turn his camera off after the meeting ended, or C.
28
Wave at someone who was not waving at him?
29
Why are all three options embarrassing things I have actually done before?
30
Because I know you, Tom.
31
I know you very well.
32
Ah, fair enough.
33
Keep listening.
34
We will tell you the answer at the end of the episode.
35
And trust me, it is a good one.
36
Okay, Tom, so let's talk about yesterday.
37
What did you do?
38
Whew.
39
Yesterday was a lot.
40
I woke up late because my alarm did not go off.
41
Oh no!
42
What time did you wake up?
43
I woke up at 9 :15, and I had a meeting at 9 :30.
44
Tom, what did you do?
45
I jumped out of bed, I grabbed my laptop, I didn't eat breakfast, I ran to my desk, and I joined the meeting exactly at 9 :31.
46
A minute late!
47
That's actually impressive!
48
Thank you, but here is the embarrassing part.
49
I forgot to turn my camera off after the meeting ended, and I sat there for 20 minutes talking to myself,
50
eating crackers, making weird faces.
51
Were other people still on the call?
52
Three people, three people watched me eat crackers and talk to my cat for 20 minutes.
53
That is the greatest thing I have ever heard.
54
One of them typed in the chat, "Tom, we can still see you," and I just...
55
I closed the laptop.
56
Immediately.
57
Oh, Tom.
58
Oh, beautiful, wonderful Tom.
59
It was a great day.
60
A fantastic day.
61
Alright, let's talk grammar.
62
Tom's story used a lot of past simple.
63
Did you notice?
64
Let me give you some examples from my story.
65
I woke up late.
66
My alarm did not go off.
67
I grabbed my laptop.
68
I ran to my desk all past simple
69
so what is past simple it is the tense we use
70
when something happened in the past
71
and it is finished done over complete we usually use it
72
with time words words like yesterday last night last week last year two days ago in 2020 Now,
73
let's look at how to make past simple sentences.
74
There are two types of verbs: regular verbs and irregular verbs.
75
Regular verbs are easy.
76
You just add -ed to the base form.
77
Watch.
78
Walk becomes walked.
79
Talk becomes talked.
80
Cook becomes cooked.
81
Clean becomes cleaned.
82
For example: I walked to the store, she cooked dinner, they talked for an hour.
83
Simple, right?
84
Now, irregular verbs are different.
85
They don't follow the "ed" rule.
86
They have their own special past simple form.
87
You need to learn these.
88
Don't worry, we will practice them today.
89
Here are some very common irregular verbs: Go becomes went.
90
I went to the supermarket.
91
Eat becomes ate.
92
She ate breakfast.
93
"See" becomes "saw." "We saw a great movie." Have becomes had.
94
He had a terrible meeting, just like Tom.
95
Exactly like Tom and "buy" becomes "bought", "wake" becomes "woke", take becomes took,
96
run becomes ran, come becomes came.
97
And now for negative sentences.
98
You use "did not" or "didn't" plus the base form of the verb, not the past simple form, the base form.
99
So, you say "I didn't go" not "I didn't went" That is a very common mistake.
100
She didn't eat lunch.
101
They didn't come to the party.
102
My alarm didn't go off.
103
See?
104
Base form after didn't.
105
And for questions, you use did + subject + base form.
106
Did you sleep well?
107
Did she call you?
108
Did they finish the homework?
109
And you answer with "Yes, I did" or "No, I didn't." short and clean.
110
Let's repeat together.
111
Repeat after us: I woke up late.
112
Repeat.
113
you I woke up late.
114
She cooked dinner.
115
Repeat.
116
She cooked dinner.
117
They didn't come.
118
Repeat.
119
They didn't come.
120
Did you sleep well?
121
Repeat. Did you sleep well?
122
Amazing!
123
You're doing it!
124
You are speaking past simple English right now.
125
Now let's go deeper!
126
We have five vocabulary words and phrases for today, all connected to talking about your day and your past.
127
Let's go!
128
Word number one: woke up.
129
W -O -K -E -U -P woke up.
130
"Woke up" is the past simple of "wake up." It means you stopped sleeping and your eyes opened.
131
Your day started.
132
example sentences I woke up at 7 o 'clock She woke up early this morning.
133
They woke up late and missed the bus.
134
Now, Tom, when did you wake up yesterday?
135
I woke up at 9 :15 as we discussed.
136
As the whole internet now knows.
137
And normally, when do you wake up?
138
Normally, I wake up at 7.
139
I am a very responsible adult.
140
sure tom sure okay let's drill it repeat after me i woke up At 7, Repeat.
141
I woke up at 7.
142
She woke up early.
143
Repeat, she woke up early.
144
They woke up late.
145
Repeat.
146
They woke up late.
147
Excellent, you are doing great!
148
Word number two.
149
"Went to.
150
W -E -N T -O Went to.
151
"Went to" is the past simple of "go to." It means you traveled to a place.
152
You moved from one location to another.
153
Example sentences: I went to the supermarket.
154
She went to school.
155
We went to a cafe after work.
156
Lily, where did you go yesterday?
157
Oh, I had a great day, actually.
158
I went to a little bakery near my house in the morning, and I went to the park in the afternoon with my dog.
159
What's your dog's name again?
160
Biscuit.
161
Biscuit, of course it is.
162
He is exactly as cute as his name.
163
Okay, let's drill it.
164
Repeat after me.
165
I went to the store.
166
Repeat.
167
I went to the store.
168
She went to school.
169
Repeat.
170
She went to school.
171
We went to a cafe.
172
Repeat.
173
We went to a cafe.
174
Perfect.
175
Keep going.
176
Word number three had.
177
H .A .D. Had.
178
Had is the past simple of have.
179
It is one of the most useful irregular verbs in English.
180
We use it in so many situations.
181
Example sentences: I had breakfast at 8.
182
She had a long meeting.
183
They had a lot of fun at the party.
184
Tom, did you have breakfast yesterday?
185
No, I did not have breakfast.
186
I had zero breakfast.
187
I had crackers.
188
during the meeting. On camera.
189
Crackers count!
190
The crackers were from three days ago, Lily.
191
They were stale.
192
This story gets worse every time.
193
It was a great day.
194
Let's move on.
195
Repeat after me.
196
I had breakfast.
197
Repeat.
198
I had breakfast.
199
She had a coffee repeat she had a coffee they had a great time repeat they had a great time Wonderful,
200
you are a past simple champion!
201
Word number four.
202
didn't.
203
DIDN' T didn't.
204
Didn't is the short form of did not.
205
We use it to make negative sentences in the past simple.
206
Remember after didn't we always use the base form of the verb.
207
Example sentences.
208
I didn't sleep well last night.
209
She didn't finish her homework.
210
He didn't call me back.
211
Lily, what didn't you do yesterday that you wanted to do?
212
Okay, I didn't clean my apartment.
213
I really wanted to, but I spent too much time at the park with Biscuit.
214
And then I came home and watched a cooking show instead.
215
What cooking show?
216
I won't say the name, but it was very dramatic.
217
People were crying over bread.
218
Overbred?
219
It was a baking competition.
220
The bread was very important to them.
221
Okay.
222
Repeat after me, everyone.
223
I didn't sleep well.
224
Repeat.
225
I didn't sleep well.
226
She didn't call.
227
Repeat.
228
She didn't call.
229
He didn't finish.
230
Repeat.
231
He didn't finish.
232
Perfect.
233
Negative past simple.
234
Done.
235
Word number five, well, phrase number five, Did you, D -I -D -Y -O -U. Did you?
236
Did You is how we start a question in past simple.
237
It's simple, it's clean, and it is used in hundreds of everyday questions.
238
Example Sentences Did you sleep well?
239
Did you eat lunch?
240
Did you finish the report?
241
Did you have fun?
242
Let's practice with a little dialogue.
243
I will ask you questions.
244
Lily answers.
245
Ready?
246
Ready.
247
Did you wake up early today?
248
Yes, I did.
249
I woke up at 6 :30.
250
Did you have coffee?
251
Yes, I did.
252
I had two cups, actually.
253
Did you bring Biscuit to the studio?
254
I wish.
255
No, I didn't.
256
He stayed home today.
257
Aw, poor Biscuit.
258
He's fine.
259
He has a very comfortable bed and about 40 toys.
260
Okay, everyone, your turn.
261
Ask someone near you, "Did you sleep well last night?" or "What did you eat for breakfast?" Practice those questions today.
262
And if you don't have anyone to practice with, practice with us.
263
Write your answers in the comments.
264
We read every single one.
265
past simple vocabulary.
266
Listen first, then we will repeat it slowly.
267
Hey Tom, what did you do last weekend?
268
I went to my friend's birthday party on Saturday.
269
It was so much fun.
270
We ate, we danced, we talked for hours.
271
Did you stay late?
272
Yes, I did.
273
I didn't get home until midnight.
274
Midnight?
275
Did you sleep in on Sunday?
276
No, I didn't actually.
277
I woke up at 7 :30.
278
I had a big breakfast and I went for a walk.
279
That sounds like a great weekend.
280
It really was.
281
Okay, now let's go slowly.
282
Repeat after each sentence.
283
What did you do last weekend?
284
Repeat.
285
What did you do last weekend?
286
I went to my friend's birthday party.
287
Repeat.
288
I went to my friend's birthday party.
289
Did you stay late?
290
Repeat.
291
Did you stay late?
292
Yes, I did.
293
I didn't get home until midnight.
294
Repeat.
295
Yes, I did.
296
I didn't get home until midnight.
297
I woke up at 7 :30.
298
Repeat.
299
I woke up at 7 :30.
300
I had a big breakfast.
301
Repeat.
302
I had a big breakfast.
303
I went for a walk.
304
Repeat.
305
I went for a walk.
306
Beautiful.
307
That is real English.
308
That is how people actually talk.
309
Okay, let's do a quick summary.
310
Today we learned Past Simple, the tense for finished actions in the past.
311
Regular verbs add -ed.
312
Walk becomes walked.
313
Cook becomes cooked.
314
Talk becomes talked.
315
Irregular verbs have special forms.
316
Go becomes went, have becomes had, wake becomes woke, eat becomes eight, C becomes saw.
317
For negatives, use didn't plus the base form: I didn't go, she didn't eat, they didn't come.
318
For questions, use "did" plus the subject plus the base form.
319
Did you sleep well?
320
Did she call?
321
Did they finish?
322
And today's five key phrases: woke up, went to, had, didn't Did you?
323
Use them today.
324
Talk about yesterday with someone.
325
Tell them what you did, what you ate, where you went.
326
That is how you practice.
327
And now, our favorite part, we want to hear from you.
328
Write in the comments three things you did yesterday.
329
Use past simple.
330
For example, I woke up early.
331
I went to work.
332
I had pizza for dinner.
333
Just three sentences.
334
That is your English homework for today.
335
We will read your comments and reply.
336
We love seeing your progress.
337
And if you want extra practice, write a question using "did you" and ask us.
338
We might answer in the next video.
339
Alright everyone, that is it for today.
340
Past simple, done.
341
You learned how to talk about yesterday in English, and that is a huge step.
342
Every day you come back here, your English gets better, little by little.
343
That is how it works.
344
If this video helped you, please hit the like button and subscribe.
345
We upload every single day, and we are here for every step of your English journey.
346
And remember, even on the embarrassing days, even on the stale cracker days, you keep going, in English and in life.
347
Words of wisdom from Tom.
348
See you tomorrow, family.
349
Keep practicing.
350
Bye -bye.

Context & Background

In the YouTube video titled "Past Simple Tense for Beginners," hosts Tom and Lily engage in a friendly and humorous discussion aimed at helping English learners better understand how to talk about past events. They emphasize the importance of the past simple tense for describing what happened yesterday, last week, or even last year. Through relatable anecdotes and a light-hearted tone, they not only teach grammar but also create an inviting environment where learners can feel comfortable practicing their English skills. This combination of humor and useful content makes the video an excellent resource for anyone looking to improve their fluency.

Top 5 Phrases for Daily Communication

When discussing past events, it's essential to have key phrases at your disposal. Here are five useful expressions extracted from the conversation in the video:

  • I woke up late.
  • I jumped out of bed.
  • I grabbed my laptop.
  • I forgot to turn my camera off.
  • I sat there talking to myself.

These phrases not only showcase the use of the past simple tense but are also practical for everyday communication. Practice these sentences to start incorporating them into your daily English conversations.

Step-by-step Shadowing Guide

Shadowing is a powerful technique for language learners, allowing you to enhance your speaking skills and improve understanding through repetition. Here's a simple guide on how to implement shadowing using this video:

  1. Watch and Listen: Start by watching the video without any distractions. Pay attention to how Tom and Lily use the past simple tense to narrate their experiences. Focus on their intonation and pronunciation.
  2. Pause and Repeat: Use a shadowing app to pause the video after each sentence or phrase. Repeat what you hear while trying to mimic their pronunciation and rhythm. This will help you grasp the natural flow of English speech.
  3. Practice in Context: After shadowing, take the phrases you have learned and create your own sentences about your past experiences. For instance, you could say, "I woke up early yesterday," or "I ate breakfast at home."
  4. Record Yourself: Use a voice recorder to capture your practice sessions. Listen to your recordings to identify areas for improvement. Comparing your speech to the video is an effective way to refine your skills.
  5. Daily Practice: Incorporate this shadowing exercise into your daily routine. The more you practice, the more confident you will become in speaking English. Consistency is key to mastery.

By utilizing the shadow speech technique found in this video, you can effectively enhance your language skills and learn English with YouTube in a fun and engaging manner. Happy practicing!

Grammatica in deze video

De structuren die de spreker het meest gebruikt, met de exacte woorden uit de video:

StructuurIn de video
Present perfect have/has + voltooid deelwoord — iets uit het verleden dat nu nog telthave actually done · have ever heard
Lijdende vorm be + voltooid deelwoord — het gaat om wat er gebeurt, niet om wie het doetis finished
Werkwoord + -ing enjoy, keep, stop… + -ing — werkwoorden die door de -ing-vorm worden gevolgdKeep listening · stopped sleeping · love seeing
Overtreffende trap the -est / the most … — het hoogste of laagste van een groepthe most important · the greatest · the most useful

Wat is de Shadowing-techniek?

Shadowing is een wetenschappelijk onderbouwde taalleermethode die oorspronkelijk is ontwikkeld voor professionele tolkentraining en gepopulariseerd door polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. De methode is eenvoudig maar krachtig: je luistert naar native Engelse audio en herhaalt het onmiddellijk hardop — als een schaduw die de spreker volgt met slechts 1–2 seconden vertraging. In tegenstelling tot passief luisteren of grammaticadrills, dwingt shadowing je hersenen en mondspieren om echte spraakpatronen tegelijkertijd te verwerken en te reproduceren. Onderzoek toont aan dat het de uitspraaknauwkeurigheid, intonatie, ritme, verbonden spraak, luisterbegrip en spreekvaardigheid aanzienlijk verbetert — waardoor het een van de meest effectieve methoden is voor IELTS Speaking-voorbereiding en echte Engelse communicatie.

Shadowing-techniek: lees de volledige stap-voor-stap-gids →